Thameside Radio was a pirate radio

Pirate radio

Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...

 station launched in the Winter of 1977 which offered "very slick pop rock with competitions", according to Time Out magazine. According to the Richmond and Twickenham Times, they broadcast from "a certain Notting Hill

Notting Hill

Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...

 tower block

Tower block

A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, office tower, apartment block, or block of flats, is a tall building or structure used as a residential and/or office building...

" - a reference to Trellick Tower

Trellick Tower

Trellick Tower is a 31-storey block of flats in North Kensington, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. It was designed in the Brutalist style by architect Ernő Goldfinger, after a commission from the Greater London Council in 1966, and completed in 1972...

 

The station received "30-40 letters each week" and the Richmond & Twickenham Times estimated listenership at "some 20,000 listeners" . It pioneered new music and is noted by the New Muscical Express for giving airplay to "Win a Night Out with a Well-Known Paranoiac" by Barry Andrews which was subsequently picked up by BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

.

Increasing numbers of raids resulted in the station "losing 5 transmitter

Transmitter

In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...

s in 6 months" and Thameside "ceased live transmissions, taping its shows shortly before broadcast" .

In late 1984, Thameside set up the first London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 pirate TV station

Pirate television

A pirate television station is a broadcast television station that operates without a broadcast license. Like its counterpart pirate radio, the term pirate TV lacks a specific universal interpretation...

for a one-off event, which received coverage in the national press

See also

• Thameside Radio Revisited which podcasts weekly from an archive of recordings of Thameside Radio shows.
• The Thameside Radio Story for more information about the station.
• The Intrepid Birdman's archives which include a section on Thameside Radio 90.2.
• Surrey-sounds for more info on Thameside and a clip from New year 79/80