UK pirate radio
Encyclopedia
UK pirate radio was popular in the 1960s and experienced another surge of interest in the 1980s. There are currently an estimated 150 pirate radio stations in the UK. A large proportion of these pirate radio stations operate in London
, with significant clusters in Harlesden
, Stoke Newington
, Southwark
and Lambeth
.
"Pirate radio" in the UK first became widespread in the early 1960s when pop music
stations such as Radio Caroline
and Radio London
started to broadcast on medium wave to the UK from offshore ships or disused sea forts. At the time these stations were not illegal because they were broadcasting from international waters. The stations were set up by entrepreneurs and music enthusiasts to meet the growing demand for pop and rock music
, which was not catered for by the legal BBC Radio
services.
The first British pirate radio station was Radio Caroline
, which started broadcasting from a ship off the Essex
coast in 1964. By 1967 twenty-one pirate radio stations were broadcasting to an estimated daily audience of 10 to 15 million. The format of this wave of pirate radio was influenced by Radio Luxembourg
and American radio stations. Many followed a top 40 format with casual DJs, making UK pirate radio the antithesis of BBC radio
at the time. Spurred on by the offshore stations, several landbased pirate stations took to the air on medium wave at weekends, such as Telstar 1 in 1965, and RFL in 1968.
According to Andrew Crisell UK pirate radio broke the BBC's virtual monopoly of radio to meet demand that had been neglected. In reaction to the popularity of pirate radio BBC radio
was restructured in 1967, establishing BBC Radio 1
, Radio 2
, Radio 3
and Radio 4
. A number of DJs of the newly created pop music service BBC Radio 1 came from pirate stations. The UK Government also closed the international waters loophole via the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act
of 1967, although Radio Caroline continued to broadcast (with some sizable off-air periods between 1968–72 and 1980–83) until 1988.
officially outlawed offshore stations, but unlicensed radio continued, moving from ships and sea-based platforms to urban areas in the latter part of the 1960s (they were already illegal under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949). During this period, home-made medium wave/'am' transmitters [or sometimes short wave] were often constructed inside cheap, expendable biscuit tins.
The main method employed by most medium-wave or short-wave pirate stations during the 1960s and 70s involved programming played back on cassette recorders (often powered by a car battery), with a long wire antenna slung up between two trees. Around this time, VHF/FM transmitters were being built by more adventurous builders. A surge in pirate radio occurred when cheap portable transmitters became available and by the mid 1980s a 50 watt radio transmitter could be obtained for around £200, or could be built for less. The operation of a pirate radio station required a good quality cassette recorder, a transmitter and a high roof, with tower blocks providing the ideal transmission site for pirate radio stations. A 40 watt transmitter broadcasting from the roof of a fifteen storey tower block could reach a forty mile radius. Radio shows were often pre-recorded at home, with the pirate radio station operators setting up temporary transmitters on the roof of tower blocks.
The 1970s and 1980s saw a wave of landbased pirate radio, broadcasting mostly in big cities. These included community-focused local stations such as Sunshine Radio
in Shropshire
and Radio Jackie in south west London
. In London pirate stations emerged that, for the first time in UK radio broadcasting, focused on particular music genres such as Kiss FM
(dance), Solar Radio (soul) Alice's Restaurant Rock Radio & Radio Floss (rock).
Pirate radio met with increasing opposition, especially from the authorities in the form of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) Radio Regulatory Division (and later the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) after it became responsible for radio regulation) which had claimed since the late 1960s that pirate radio caused interference to licensed broadcasters and could interfere with frequencies used by emergency services. Nonetheless the growth of pirate radio in the 1980s was so rapid that at one point pirate radio operators outnumbered legal broadcasters. Pirate stations such as Radio Invicta
, JFM, and London Weekend Radio continued to gain popularity and increasingly operated openly. Pirate radio targeted music communities ignored by mainstream broadcasting, such as reggae
, hip hop
, jazz
, rhythm
and blues
. Stations like London Greek Radio
, which broadcast to the Greek and Greek Cypriot community, also catered to ethnic minorities.
responding to the Government's offer of amnesty for pirate stations that closed down voluntarily and applied for an official licence. But Kiss FM failed to satisfy the rising rave
audience and pirate radio resurged in 1992 and 1993. The new pirate radio stations abandoned the mainstream pop radio format and moved to a "raves on the air" format with strong emphasis on audience participation, enabled by the spread of mobile phones. Pirate radio stations would frequently lose transmitters worth several hundred pounds due to DTI raids, redirecting to backup transmitters on the roof of another building to maintain broadcast continuity. Pirate radio stations would gain revenue from advertising raves
and specialist record shops, as well as DJs who paid a fee for playing.
The Broadcasting Act 1990
led to the brief decline of UK pirate radio by encouraging diversity in radio and opening up the development of commercial radio. Many pirate radio stations such as the London based dance music station Kiss FM
applied for licences to the new Radio Authority and went legitimate. However, the number of unlicensed broadcasts has since increased, partly because many non-licensed broadcasters believed that the 1990 Act had actually undermined community based stations and small scale radio entrepreneurs. Of the pirate radio stations that gained a licence in the 1990s, such as Kiss FM
, FTP
in Bristol
, WNK Radio in Haringey
and KFM Radio
in Stockport
, only a few, such as Sunrise Radio
in London, remained in the hands of the original owners. Most have become significantly more mainstream and target a broad audience as a result of commercial pressures to achieve greater audience numbers and a particular audience type sought by advertisers.
, with significant clusters in Harlesden
, Stoke Newington
, Southwark
and Lambeth
. Set-up costs for pirate radio stations are minimal with a transmitter costing around £350. Pirate radio stations may receive income from advertising and publicising events at nightclubs. DJs may pay to broadcast on pirate radio stations to gain public exposure.
In November 2006 Ofcom
commissioned research among residents of the London boroughs of Hackney
, Haringey
and Lambeth
, finding that about 24 percent of all adults aged 14 or older living within the three London boroughs listen to pirate radio stations. The research found that 37 percent of students aged 14–24 and 41 percent of the African-Caribbean community
listened to pirate radio. The development and promotion of grass-roots talent, the urban music scene and minority community groups were identified as key drivers for pirate radio. According to the research both pirate radio listeners and those running pirate radio stations thought that licensed broadcasters failed to cater sufficiently for the needs of the public at large. Pirate radio was regarded as the best place to hear new music and particularly urban music. Furthermore pirate radio stations were appreciated for their local relevance by providing information and advertisement about local community events, businesses and club nights.
Voice Of Africa Radio
is a former pirate station serving London's African and Caribbean communities, which has become licenced and is now a community radio station. Rinse FM
has also followed suit and is now licensed as a community radio station, who work with children excluded from school and educated in pupil referral unit
s as part of their community training remit.
, which broadcast on the sound channels of BBC television after closedown to promote the cause of Scottish Independence. At the time, the BBC forbade the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru
to broadcast. In the 1970s, Radio Enoch
, named after Enoch Powell
, was set up by people on the right wing of the Conservative and Unionist Party to help re-elect a conservative government. Although Radio Enoch had vowed to return if a Labour administration was re-elected, it failed to do so after Tony Blair
was elected in 1997. Other political radio broadcasters are Interference FM, set up by a collective to broadcast on the J18 demonstrations in 1999.
Another political pirate was the Miners pirate radio station dubbed Radio Arthur by the media, which operated in the Nottinghamshire area during the 1984/1985 miners strike; downloads of some of its programmes are available on www.g0mrf.com. This station transmitted over the top of Radio Trent on both mediumwave using 3500 watts and VHF using 800 watts or more. Mentioned in a House of Lords debate in Hansard as Radio Scargill, it was stated that it had been actively pursued and closed down by the authorities, however this was incorrect and the people involved were never caught. Other recordings of Radio Arthur are on the Pirate Archive website.
The Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006
provides for Ofcom
to issue licences to radio broadcasters for the use of stations and wireless telegraphy apparatus. The Act sets out a number of criminal offences relating to wireless telegraphy, including the establishment or use of a wireless telegraphy station or apparatus for the purpose of making a unlicensed broadcast. The financing or participating in the day to day running of unlicensed broadcasting is also a criminal offence, as is the supplying of a sound recording for an unlicensed station and advertising through unlicensed stations. The Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006
allows Ofcom
to take a number of actions against individuals committing these offences, including power of entry and search and seizure of equipment. It is a criminal offence to obstruct a person exercising enforcement powers on Ofcom's behalf. Furthermore the Broadcasting Act 1990
provides that anyone convicted of an unlawful broadcasting offence is disqualified from holding a broadcasting licence for five years.
Licensed broadcasters may also take legal action against pirate radio stations. In 2000, the Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) for the first time initiated legal action against a pirate station. The CRCA sued the weekend dance music pirate station Scene FM for £50,000 for causing interference to transmissions and a reduction in advertising revenues.
, who pioneered LWR, recruited members for the British chapter of the Zulu Nation
through the pirate radio station. During that time, JFM, founded by former Radio Jackie DJ Brian Anthony, and Horizon FM broadcast soul and jazz-funk.
The West London based DBC (Dread Broadcasting Corporation
), founded by DJ Lepke
, played reggae on Friday nights in a format based on sound systems style and using heavy dub echo and reverb in the links. DBC also broadcast soul music, gospel, jazz, funk, r&b, Afrikan (South African black music) and soca
(upbeat calypso). DBC was unique among radio stations in the UK at the time, a black-run station broadcasting black music to a mixed audience. Miss P, who would later DJ the first reggae show on BBC Radio 1
, commented: "There's never been a station run like DBC. Our format allows us to play music that would otherwise never be heard publicly. We create movement within the industry."
is about UK pirate radio and loosely based on Radio Caroline
.
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...
, with significant clusters in Harlesden
Harlesden
Harlesden is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London, UK. Its main focal point is the Jubilee Clock which commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee....
, Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
, Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
and Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
.
1960s
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
stations such as Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly...
and Radio London
Wonderful Radio London
Radio London, also known as Big L and Wonderful Radio London, was a top 40 offshore commercial station that operated from 16 December 1964 to 14 August 1967, from a ship anchored in the North Sea, three and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, England...
started to broadcast on medium wave to the UK from offshore ships or disused sea forts. At the time these stations were not illegal because they were broadcasting from international waters. The stations were set up by entrepreneurs and music enthusiasts to meet the growing demand for pop and rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, which was not catered for by the legal BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
services.
The first British pirate radio station was Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly...
, which started broadcasting from a ship off the Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
coast in 1964. By 1967 twenty-one pirate radio stations were broadcasting to an estimated daily audience of 10 to 15 million. The format of this wave of pirate radio was influenced by Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....
and American radio stations. Many followed a top 40 format with casual DJs, making UK pirate radio the antithesis of BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
at the time. Spurred on by the offshore stations, several landbased pirate stations took to the air on medium wave at weekends, such as Telstar 1 in 1965, and RFL in 1968.
According to Andrew Crisell UK pirate radio broke the BBC's virtual monopoly of radio to meet demand that had been neglected. In reaction to the popularity of pirate radio BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
was restructured in 1967, establishing 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...
, Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
, Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
and Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
. A number of DJs of the newly created pop music service BBC Radio 1 came from pirate stations. The UK Government also closed the international waters loophole via the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act
Marine Broadcasting Offences Act
The Marine, &c., Broadcasting Act 1967 c.41, shortened to Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, became law in the United Kingdom at midnight on Monday, August 14, 1967 and was repealed by the...
of 1967, although Radio Caroline continued to broadcast (with some sizable off-air periods between 1968–72 and 1980–83) until 1988.
1970s and 1980s
The 1967 Marine Broadcasting Offences ActMarine Broadcasting Offences Act
The Marine, &c., Broadcasting Act 1967 c.41, shortened to Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, became law in the United Kingdom at midnight on Monday, August 14, 1967 and was repealed by the...
officially outlawed offshore stations, but unlicensed radio continued, moving from ships and sea-based platforms to urban areas in the latter part of the 1960s (they were already illegal under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949). During this period, home-made medium wave/'am' transmitters [or sometimes short wave] were often constructed inside cheap, expendable biscuit tins.
The main method employed by most medium-wave or short-wave pirate stations during the 1960s and 70s involved programming played back on cassette recorders (often powered by a car battery), with a long wire antenna slung up between two trees. Around this time, VHF/FM transmitters were being built by more adventurous builders. A surge in pirate radio occurred when cheap portable transmitters became available and by the mid 1980s a 50 watt radio transmitter could be obtained for around £200, or could be built for less. The operation of a pirate radio station required a good quality cassette recorder, a transmitter and a high roof, with tower blocks providing the ideal transmission site for pirate radio stations. A 40 watt transmitter broadcasting from the roof of a fifteen storey tower block could reach a forty mile radius. Radio shows were often pre-recorded at home, with the pirate radio station operators setting up temporary transmitters on the roof of tower blocks.
The 1970s and 1980s saw a wave of landbased pirate radio, broadcasting mostly in big cities. These included community-focused local stations such as Sunshine Radio
Sunshine Radio
Sunshine Radio may refer to:* Sunshine 855, a radio station station covering South Shropshire, North Herefordshire and North Worcestershire* Sunshine Radio , a radio station based in Hereford...
in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
and Radio Jackie in south west 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...
. In London pirate stations emerged that, for the first time in UK radio broadcasting, focused on particular music genres such as Kiss FM
Kiss 100 London
Kiss is a UK radio station broadcasting on FM and Digital Radio, specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and electronic dance music. It also broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio around the UK & nationally on Freeview, Sky and TalkTalk TV...
(dance), Solar Radio (soul) Alice's Restaurant Rock Radio & Radio Floss (rock).
Pirate radio met with increasing opposition, especially from the authorities in the form of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) Radio Regulatory Division (and later the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) after it became responsible for radio regulation) which had claimed since the late 1960s that pirate radio caused interference to licensed broadcasters and could interfere with frequencies used by emergency services. Nonetheless the growth of pirate radio in the 1980s was so rapid that at one point pirate radio operators outnumbered legal broadcasters. Pirate stations such as Radio Invicta
Radio Invicta (London Pirate Station)
Radio Invicta is a free radio station that broadcast in London from 1970 to 1984.Most of the time, Radio Invicta operated in VHF on 92.4 MHz. It used the slogans "Soul over London" and "Europe's first and only all soul station". Radio Invicta was the first UK station to play only soul music,...
, JFM, and London Weekend Radio continued to gain popularity and increasingly operated openly. Pirate radio targeted music communities ignored by mainstream broadcasting, such as reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
. Stations like London Greek Radio
London Greek Radio
London Greek Radio is an Independent Local Radio station established by London's sizeable Greek community, most of which forms part of the ethnically diverse Cypriot community...
, which broadcast to the Greek and Greek Cypriot community, also catered to ethnic minorities.
1990s
By 1989, there were about six hundred pirate radio stations in the UK, with over 60 in London. In the 1990s, a new wave of rave pirate radio stations emerged, such as Radio Sunrise, Radio Centre Force and Radio Fantasy. In the early 1990s, pirate radio briefly declined in response to tougher penalties, an intensified crackdown by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the leading dance pirate radio station Kiss FMKiss 100 London
Kiss is a UK radio station broadcasting on FM and Digital Radio, specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and electronic dance music. It also broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio around the UK & nationally on Freeview, Sky and TalkTalk TV...
responding to the Government's offer of amnesty for pirate stations that closed down voluntarily and applied for an official licence. But Kiss FM failed to satisfy the rising rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
audience and pirate radio resurged in 1992 and 1993. The new pirate radio stations abandoned the mainstream pop radio format and moved to a "raves on the air" format with strong emphasis on audience participation, enabled by the spread of mobile phones. Pirate radio stations would frequently lose transmitters worth several hundred pounds due to DTI raids, redirecting to backup transmitters on the roof of another building to maintain broadcast continuity. Pirate radio stations would gain revenue from advertising raves
Raves
Raves can refer to:* Rave party* Raves, Vosges, a commune in the Vosges département in France* Raves , a 1980s power pop group from Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
and specialist record shops, as well as DJs who paid a fee for playing.
The Broadcasting Act 1990
Broadcasting Act 1990
The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament, often regarded by both its supporters and its critics as a quintessential example of Thatcherism. The aim of the Act was to reform the entire structure of British broadcasting; British television, in particular, had earlier been...
led to the brief decline of UK pirate radio by encouraging diversity in radio and opening up the development of commercial radio. Many pirate radio stations such as the London based dance music station Kiss FM
Kiss 100 London
Kiss is a UK radio station broadcasting on FM and Digital Radio, specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and electronic dance music. It also broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio around the UK & nationally on Freeview, Sky and TalkTalk TV...
applied for licences to the new Radio Authority and went legitimate. However, the number of unlicensed broadcasts has since increased, partly because many non-licensed broadcasters believed that the 1990 Act had actually undermined community based stations and small scale radio entrepreneurs. Of the pirate radio stations that gained a licence in the 1990s, such as Kiss FM
Kiss 100 London
Kiss is a UK radio station broadcasting on FM and Digital Radio, specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and electronic dance music. It also broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio around the UK & nationally on Freeview, Sky and TalkTalk TV...
, FTP
Kiss 101
Kiss 101 was a radio station in Bristol broadcasting out to South Wales and South West England playing Hip Hop, dance music and R&B. It now forms part of a national Kiss station, which also includes Kiss 105-108 and Kiss 100 and is owned by Bauer Radio.-History:The station originally started...
in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, WNK Radio in Haringey
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey is a London borough, in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former boroughs. It shares borders with six other London boroughs...
and KFM Radio
KFM Radio
KFM was an unlicenced radio station based in Stockport, Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom.-History:KFM originally broadcast on 94.2 MHz FM from a studio on Middle Hillgate, with the transmitter and aerial at Goyt Mill in Marple from November 1983 to February 1985 while it was...
in Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, only a few, such as Sunrise Radio
Sunrise Radio
Sunrise Radio is the United Kingdom's first Independent Local Radio station to cater specifically for the Asian community. Dr Avtar Lit is the chairman and chief executive of this media group which also operates kismat radio,buzz asia,punjabi radio as well as sunrise tv-Transmission:It initially...
in London, remained in the hands of the original owners. Most have become significantly more mainstream and target a broad audience as a result of commercial pressures to achieve greater audience numbers and a particular audience type sought by advertisers.
Today
There are currently an estimated 150 pirate radio stations in the UK. A large proportion of these pirate radio stations operate in LondonLondon
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...
, with significant clusters in Harlesden
Harlesden
Harlesden is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London, UK. Its main focal point is the Jubilee Clock which commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee....
, Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
, Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
and Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
. Set-up costs for pirate radio stations are minimal with a transmitter costing around £350. Pirate radio stations may receive income from advertising and publicising events at nightclubs. DJs may pay to broadcast on pirate radio stations to gain public exposure.
In November 2006 Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
commissioned research among residents of the London boroughs of Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
, Haringey
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey is a London borough, in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former boroughs. It shares borders with six other London boroughs...
and Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
, finding that about 24 percent of all adults aged 14 or older living within the three London boroughs listen to pirate radio stations. The research found that 37 percent of students aged 14–24 and 41 percent of the African-Caribbean community
British African-Caribbean community
The British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
listened to pirate radio. The development and promotion of grass-roots talent, the urban music scene and minority community groups were identified as key drivers for pirate radio. According to the research both pirate radio listeners and those running pirate radio stations thought that licensed broadcasters failed to cater sufficiently for the needs of the public at large. Pirate radio was regarded as the best place to hear new music and particularly urban music. Furthermore pirate radio stations were appreciated for their local relevance by providing information and advertisement about local community events, businesses and club nights.
Voice Of Africa Radio
Voice of Africa Radio
Voice of Africa Radio is a London-based FM radio station, founded on 1 January 2000 to correct the exclusion and marginalisation of the African community from the electronic media. Initially, the station operated unlicenced, covering the Greater London area. It attracted a wide range of African...
is a former pirate station serving London's African and Caribbean communities, which has become licenced and is now a community radio station. Rinse FM
Rinse FM
Rinse FM is a London-based community radio station, licensed for "young people living and/or working within the central,east and south London areas.". The station plays grime, dubstep, UK garage, funky, drum and bass and other genres....
has also followed suit and is now licensed as a community radio station, who work with children excluded from school and educated in pupil referral unit
Pupil referral unit
In the UK, a Pupil Referral Unit is a centre for children who are not able to attend a mainstream or special school. Each local education authority has a duty to make arrangements for the provision of education in or out of school for all children of compulsory school age...
s as part of their community training remit.
Political pirate radio stations
The first political radio station was Radio Free ScotlandRadio Free Scotland
Between 1956-1965 Radio Free Scotland broadcast through the sound channel of BBC television after God Save the Queen finished in the evening, and, later on, on 262 metres medium wave on the radio....
, which broadcast on the sound channels of BBC television after closedown to promote the cause of Scottish Independence. At the time, the BBC forbade the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
to broadcast. In the 1970s, Radio Enoch
Radio Enoch
Radio Enoch was a pirate radio station in the United Kingdom, operating out of the West Midlands, homeland of its namesake, Enoch Powell. Radio Enoch professed a socially right-wing viewpoint, and also extolled the virtues of Capitalism and Privatisation...
, named after Enoch Powell
Enoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
, was set up by people on the right wing of the Conservative and Unionist Party to help re-elect a conservative government. Although Radio Enoch had vowed to return if a Labour administration was re-elected, it failed to do so after Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
was elected in 1997. Other political radio broadcasters are Interference FM, set up by a collective to broadcast on the J18 demonstrations in 1999.
Another political pirate was the Miners pirate radio station dubbed Radio Arthur by the media, which operated in the Nottinghamshire area during the 1984/1985 miners strike; downloads of some of its programmes are available on www.g0mrf.com. This station transmitted over the top of Radio Trent on both mediumwave using 3500 watts and VHF using 800 watts or more. Mentioned in a House of Lords debate in Hansard as Radio Scargill, it was stated that it had been actively pursued and closed down by the authorities, however this was incorrect and the people involved were never caught. Other recordings of Radio Arthur are on the Pirate Archive website.
Legal situation
Today, operators of non-licensed broadcasting face high fines and prison sentences.The Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006
Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006
The Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This Act repealed the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949....
provides for Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
to issue licences to radio broadcasters for the use of stations and wireless telegraphy apparatus. The Act sets out a number of criminal offences relating to wireless telegraphy, including the establishment or use of a wireless telegraphy station or apparatus for the purpose of making a unlicensed broadcast. The financing or participating in the day to day running of unlicensed broadcasting is also a criminal offence, as is the supplying of a sound recording for an unlicensed station and advertising through unlicensed stations. The Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006
Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006
The Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This Act repealed the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949....
allows Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
to take a number of actions against individuals committing these offences, including power of entry and search and seizure of equipment. It is a criminal offence to obstruct a person exercising enforcement powers on Ofcom's behalf. Furthermore the Broadcasting Act 1990
Broadcasting Act 1990
The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament, often regarded by both its supporters and its critics as a quintessential example of Thatcherism. The aim of the Act was to reform the entire structure of British broadcasting; British television, in particular, had earlier been...
provides that anyone convicted of an unlawful broadcasting offence is disqualified from holding a broadcasting licence for five years.
Licensed broadcasters may also take legal action against pirate radio stations. In 2000, the Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) for the first time initiated legal action against a pirate station. The CRCA sued the weekend dance music pirate station Scene FM for £50,000 for causing interference to transmissions and a reduction in advertising revenues.
Black music
Pirate radio stations played a major role in blurring reggae and soul in the 1970s and 1980s. The pirate radio station London Weekend Radio (LWR) became the home of hip hop and Tim WestwoodTim Westwood
Timothy Westwood is an English DJ and presenter of radio and television. He also presents the UK version of the MTV show Pimp My Ride...
, who pioneered LWR, recruited members for the British chapter of the Zulu Nation
Universal Zulu Nation
|rightThe Universal Zulu Nation is an international hip hop awareness group formed and headed by hip hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa. Originally known simply as the Organization, it arose in the 1970s as reformed New York City gang members began to organize cultural events for youths, combining local...
through the pirate radio station. During that time, JFM, founded by former Radio Jackie DJ Brian Anthony, and Horizon FM broadcast soul and jazz-funk.
The West London based DBC (Dread Broadcasting Corporation
Dread Broadcasting Corporation
Dread Broadcasting Corporation was a west London pirate radio station established in 1981.DBC has been credited as Britain's first black music radio station, and eventually featured DJs like Neneh Cherry, and Ranking Miss P. Joe Strummer of The Clash even made a guest appearance on the station,...
), founded by DJ Lepke
DJ Lepke
DJ Lepke, born Leroy Anderson Lepke, is the co-founder of the Dread Broadcasting Corporation .DJ Lepke, together with his sister Ranking Miss P and Mike 'the Bike', formed DBC in 1980 as pirate radio station broadcasting a wide range of black music...
, played reggae on Friday nights in a format based on sound systems style and using heavy dub echo and reverb in the links. DBC also broadcast soul music, gospel, jazz, funk, r&b, Afrikan (South African black music) and soca
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
(upbeat calypso). DBC was unique among radio stations in the UK at the time, a black-run station broadcasting black music to a mixed audience. Miss P, who would later DJ the first reggae show on 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...
, commented: "There's never been a station run like DBC. Our format allows us to play music that would otherwise never be heard publicly. We create movement within the industry."
Contemporary cultural references
The 2009 movie The Boat That RockedThe Boat That Rocked
The Boat That Rocked is a 2009 British comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis, with pirate radio in the United Kingdom during the 1960s as its setting. The film has an ensemble cast featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, and Kenneth Branagh...
is about UK pirate radio and loosely based on Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly...
.
External links
- UKPir8Radio Forum, a forum dedicated to UK Pirate Radio
- Matt Mason, Pirate Radio documentary, London and UK
- Channel 4 documentary on the upswell in pirate radio in the 1980s
- "Pirate Radio Stations" House of Commons Debate, 18 May 1966
- The History of Pirate broadcasting on Merseyside
- Andromeda Independent Radio, Manchester
- Archive of pirate radio from the mid 1960s-1980s, with a history of British Pirate broadcasting
- The Pirate Archive
- 1980s FM pirate station memories
- The Pirate Files A history of pirate radio on Merseyside including newspaper reports.