{"id":23545,"date":"2017-01-20T11:52:37","date_gmt":"2017-01-20T15:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=23545"},"modified":"2017-01-20T11:52:37","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T15:52:37","slug":"the-past-present-and-future-of-uk-pirate-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/the-past-present-and-future-of-uk-pirate-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"The past, present and future of UK pirate radio"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Radio Caroline circa 1960’s.<\/p><\/div>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Aaron Kuhn<\/a> who shares this excellent article from Dazed<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The influence of pirate radio has endured despite government crackdowns and the rise of legitimate alternatives \u2013 today, it continues to thrive, both legally and otherwise<\/strong><\/p>\n

Drive around some parts of London today and you\u2019re still liable to hear mainstream radio broadcasts drowned out by fleeting bursts of unfamiliar music. Pirate radio stations have been illegally hijacking the FM dial since the 1990s, but while the pirate scene is far smaller than it was in its heyday, the movement is still thriving on a local scale, while a vibrant array of online-only stations are inspired by the energy and spirit of the pirates. To put it simply, pirate radio never left London.<\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s pirate radio story starts with Ronan O\u2019Rahilly\u2019s Radio Caroline back in the 1960s, famously avoiding the authorities by broadcasting from international waters, but it was really the 1990s that paved the way for pirate radio in this country. Its evolution loosely follows that of the underground rave scene, which mainstream radio wouldn\u2019t touch in its early days. \u201cIt\u2019s the closest thing to mass organised zombie-dom,\u201d BBC Radio 1 DJ Peter Powell said of acid house. \u201cI really don\u2019t think it should go any further.\u201d Needless to say, it wasn\u2019t going anywhere, and between 1988 and 89, pirate radio stations rapidly started to appear to serve a youth hungry for new sounds that weren\u2019t being catered to by mainstream radio. By 1989, there were over 60 pirate radio stations operating in London alone.<\/p>\n

While the first pirates \u2013 from Sunrise to Centreforce to Fantasy \u2013 mostly played music from America and European countries like Belgium, it didn\u2019t take long for the British youth to start doing their own thing. \u201cThe UK kids realised people were making music in their bedrooms and they thought \u2018I can fucking do that!\u2019\u201d exclaims Uncle Dugs, one of the UK\u2019s leading authorities on pirate radio. Having been involved in radio (both legal and otherwise) for over 20 years, Dugs\u2019 new book Rave Diaries and Tower Block Tales documents life as a young raver turned award-winning DJ after years on the pirate scene. As he explains, by 1991, London\u2019s underground music landscape had become \u201c99% UK producers and DJs,\u201d transforming from acid house to hardcore and then to jungle. As London\u2019s underground grew, so did its pirate presence, with legendary stations like Weekend Rush, Kool FM, Pulse FM, Innocence, and Defection springing up by the end of 1991. \u201cYou could flick through the radio and at every .2 on the dial there was a pirate station,\u201d Dugs laughs. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t even space on the radio for a new one.\u201d[…]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Click here to read the full article at Dazed.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Aaron Kuhn who shares this excellent article from Dazed: The influence of pirate radio has endured despite government crackdowns and the rise of legitimate alternatives \u2013 today, it continues to thrive, both legally and otherwise Drive around some parts of London today and you\u2019re still liable to hear mainstream […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,297],"tags":[5367,1584,4092,850,372,5850],"class_list":["post-23545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-pirate-radio","tag-aaron-kuhn","tag-fm","tag-pirate-radio","tag-pirate-radio-london","tag-radio-caroline","tag-uk-pirate-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-67L","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7405,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/southgate-arc-notes-ofcoms-approach-to-fm-pirate-enforcement\/","url_meta":{"origin":23545,"position":0},"title":"Southgate ARC notes Ofcom’s approach to FM pirate enforcement","author":"Thomas","date":"September 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Southgate ARC news) \"The UK communications regulator Ofcom have published information about tackling pirate radio Although Ofcom have occasionally raided pirate stations operating in the 88-108 MHz band, such enforcement actions have been few and far between. After the 2008\/9 financial year, Ofcom stopped publishing their Prosecution\/Formal Warning Statistics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"City_of_London","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/City_of_London-295x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2706,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/london-pirate-radio-documentary-offers-insight\/","url_meta":{"origin":23545,"position":1},"title":"London pirate radio documentary offers insight","author":"Thomas","date":"February 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This documentary certainly touches on the motivation behind most pirate radio stations. I should note that while many FM pirate stations are dissapearing with the advent of online sources, shortwave pirates seem to be going strong and they use many of the same remote transmitter tactics that appear in this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/art-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27547,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/radio-caroline-at-50-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":23545,"position":2},"title":"Radio Caroline at 50 years","author":"Thomas","date":"August 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, William Lee, who shares this item from ABC News: Radio Caroline: Golden age of British pirate radio remembered, 50 years on They were the pirates of the open seas \u2014 bringing rock and pop music to a new generation. And the British government was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/radiocaroline.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15436,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/ofcom-tackling-pirate-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":23545,"position":3},"title":"Ofcom: Tackling pirate radio","author":"Thomas","date":"November 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This Ofcom press release\u00a0focuses on the FM pirate radio scene in London--if interested, you might also check out this short documentary on London pirates. (Source: Ofcom via Southgate ARC) A new approach to tackling pirate radio has eradicated the problem in one London borough, and could save up to \u00a31\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"London","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/London.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/London.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/London.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57133,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/the-return-of-radio-london-on-1206-khz-july-29-august-14-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":23545,"position":4},"title":"The return of Radio London on 1206 kHz (July 29 – August 14, 2023)","author":"Thomas","date":"July 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, WD3C, who shares the following announcement: RADIO PIRATE: The return of Big L Radio London on 1206 kHz, 24 hours a day, from July 29th to August 14th. Back with, in my pocket, a temporary license issued by OFCOM. This time Big L will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mediumwave"","block_context":{"text":"Mediumwave","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/mediumwave\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Radio-London.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Radio-London.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Radio-London.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Radio-London.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9109,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/happy-50th-radio-caroline\/","url_meta":{"origin":23545,"position":5},"title":"Happy 50th, Radio Caroline!","author":"Thomas","date":"March 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I wish my schedule and travel funds would have allowed me to attend Offshore Radio Day 2014,\u00a0held in the Netherlands last week. Fortunately for those of us who couldn't attend, Jonathan Marks posted an excellent set of photos and commentary from the event. Of course, Radio Caroline\u00a0dominated the show\u2013after all,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The MV Mi Amigo, c. 1974, which had been used as the home of Radio Caroline South from 1964-1967 (Photo: Albertoke from NL)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Mi_Amigo_kleine-218x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23545\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}