Pirate radio in the United Kingdom has been a popular and enduring radio medium since the 1960s, despite expansions in licensed broadcasting, and the advent of both digital radio and internet radio. Although it peaked in the 1960s and again during the 1980s/1990s, it remains in existence today. Having moved from transmitting from ships in the sea to tower blocks across UK towns and cities, in 2009 the UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom estimated more than 150 pirate radio stations were still operating.
1960s
Pirate radio in the UK first became widespread in the mid-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 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, ten pirate radio stations were broadcasting to an estimated daily audience of 10-15 million. Influential pirate radio DJs included John Peel, Tony Blackburn, Kenny Everett, Johnnie Walker, Tony Prince, Emperor Rosko, and Spangles Muldoon.
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, land-based pirate stations took to the air on medium wave at weekends, such as Radio Free London in 1968.
Radio Caroline's audience was one third the size of the BBC Light Programme in the parts of the country where it could be received, but the Light Programme's audience did not decrease, indicating that pirate radio appealed to an audience that the BBC did not serve.
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 formed Radio 1 came from pirate stations. The UK Government also closed the international waters loophole via the 1967 Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, although Radio Caroline would continue to broadcast in various forms right up to 1990.
1970s The Marine Broadcasting Offences Act 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 (despite being already illegal under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949). During this period, home-made medium wave (and sometimes short wave) transmitters were often constructed inside cheap, expendable biscuit tins. The main method employed by most medium-wave or short-wave pirate stations during the 1970s involved programming played back on cassette recorders (often powered by a car battery), with a long wire antenna slung up between two trees.
The 1970s and 1980s saw a wave of land-based pirate radio, broadcasting mostly in larger towns and cities, transmitting from flats and tower blocks. These included community-focused local stations as well as stations emerging for the first time to specialise in particular music genres. One of the earliest was Radio Jackie originally broadcasting in south west London.
Soul music stations would start to appear in the 1970s. The first of these was Radio Invicta, regarded as Europe's first soul music station first broadcasting in 1970. The station would launch the careers of Pete Tong, Gilles Peterson and a number of the shows were presented by what was then known as the "Soul Mafia" - DJs such as Chris Hill and Froggy.
1980s
Entering the 1980s, transmitters capable of FM broadcasting were beginning to be picked up reasonably cheaply, with the ability to transmit over a forty-mile radius from a 15-storey tower. Engineers such as Pyers Easton would build them for stations such as London Greek Radio and Kiss FM.
In London, a notable moment would be the launching of Britain's first black owned music station Dread Broadcasting Corporation (DBC) in 1980. DBC played reggae and soca as well as other black music and would be instrumental to the later development of black community broadcasting as well as launching the career of BBC presenter Ranking Miss P.
Soul stations would become prolific in the early-mid 1980s, with Invicta joined by Horizon Radio, and JFM in 1981. Both of these would broadcast until 1985 when they were followed by Solar Radio and Starpoint. London Weekend Radio (LWR) would start life in 1983 playing contemporary pop music during the day with more specialist shows in the evenings and weekends; however, having briefly closed down, management of the station was handed to club promoter Zak Dee and in 1984, LWR rose again as a dedicated soul, hip hop, jazz-funk, and reggae station, launching the career of Tim Westwood. LWR's biggest rival would arrive in the form of Kiss FM, first broadcasting in late 1985. The station was formed by George Power who had previously run another pirate station, London Greek Radio, along with DJs Gordon Mac and Tosca Jackson. By 1988, Kiss would boast a line-up of top DJs including Norman Jay, Jazzie B (of Soul II Soul), Colin Faver, Trevor Nelson, Judge Jules, Danny Rampling, Paul Trouble Anderson, and Coldcut, playing soul, jazz-funk, reggae, hip hop and the emerging sounds of house music. A 1987 Evening Standard readers' poll placed Kiss in second place behind Capital Radio and ahead of Radio 1.
Around the UK, the West Midlands and Birmingham would see a large number of stations forming including the likes of Peoples Community Radio Link (PCRL) which started in 1985, and Sunshine Radio. Although launching in very late 1979, Merseyland Alternative Radio broadcast from the Wirral in the early 1980s, showcasing many bands from the Merseyside area.
Despite being better catered for by legal radio, there was still space for stations playing alternative rock and indie music which was struggling to get mainstream airplay. In London, stations such as RFM (Rock FM) and London Rock, and in Manchester KFM Radio would spring up to cater for those music genres during the mid-late 1980s. In 1989, a London pirate radio station Q102 would become a short-lived but hugely influential station in the breaking of early 1990s indie and Britpop bands. This station would be the roots of the later legal XFM.
Pirate radio met with increasing opposition, especially from the authorities in the form of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). It had claimed since the 1970s 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 and in popularity.
Twice in the mid-late 1980s, the UK Government had floated plans to tackle pirate radio by offering new licenses, particularly in London. In 1989, new licenses were advertised but stations would have to commit to closing down voluntarily and come off-air as part of bidding for them. London's Kiss FM was one of those that duly did so, yet despite strong backing and support, would lose out to Jazz FM. However, further licenses were advertised subsequently and Kiss would win one on its second attempt and become the UK's first legal radio station specialising in black and dance music in September 1990.
However, even as this unfolded, a new wave of pirate radio stations emerged as the acid house scene exploded. Particularly in London, stations such as Sunrise, Fantasy, Friends FM, and Centreforce became the "seven day rave stations".
1990s The Broadcasting Act 1990 led to the brief decline of UK pirate radio by encouraging diversity in radio and developing commercial radio, whilst bringing in tougher penalties for those caught in unlicensed broadcasting. The number of unlicensed broadcasters soon began to rise again, partly out of the belief that the Act had undermined community radio and small broadcasters. As stations such as Kiss would increasingly discover that advertising revenue and market share became as important as the music it played, new pirate stations once again sprang up to cater for underground music scenes that were developing. The biggest of these would be the rising rave music scene, with stations moving to a "rave on the air" format with back to back mixing and listener participation through 'shouts' - enabled by the growth of pagers and mobile phones. In London, such stations included the likes of Rush, Kool FM, Pulse FM, Boss FM, Don FM, and Defection.
The authorities and media alleged an organised crime and drugs link with the rave stations, culminating in a high-profile raid in Hackney in the summer of 1993 on Rush. The Evening Standard headline exclaimed "Drug gangs set up fortresses." Harsher laws imposed more severe fines on DJs and businesses that advertised on stations. The Rush raid was featured in the seminal BBC Two documentary Pirates, shown as part of the Arena series in December 1993.
For those ill-served by mainstream and legal radio, pirate radio filled the void, especially for the black community. In London, stations as Galaxy Radio, Genesis, Station, and Vibes have mixed black music with phone-ins and cultural programmes, "We are trying to bring a balance into the community - to introduce culture and history and to inform people" as one of those involved in Galaxy. These stations still broadcast today.
Outside London the picture was similar, with notable pirate radio stations including PCRL, Frontline, and Sting in Birmingham; The Superstation, Buzz FM and Soul Nation in Manchester; Dance FM, Fantasy FM, and SCR in Sheffield; Passion Radio, Ragga FM, For the People in Bristol; Fresh FM in Leicester; Z100 in Liverpool, and Dream FM in Leeds.
By the mid to late 1990s, genres such as happy hardcore, jungle/drum'n'bass and speed/UK garage saw a new generation of pirate radio stations emerge. In London, Kool FM was joined by Rinse FM, Rude, Flex FM, Eruption FM, and Dream FM in championing jungle music/drum'n'bass, and the latter also happy hardcore. Speed/UK garage was being pushed by stations such as London Underground (notably the Dreem Teem), Freek FM (notably DJ EZ), Shine FM, and Girls FM. Flex FM and Rinse FM (legal now) would make a transition from jungle to UK garage during the course of the 1990s.
2000s
As pirate radio persisted into the 2000s, UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom undertook research into its popularity and published its findings in 2007. This estimated that, "there are currently around 150 illegal radio stations in the UK. At any one time, it is believed that around half of these are transmitting in London, within the M25 area". It found that: "a large proportion of these are operating in London, with notable clusters in Harlesden, Stoke Newington, Southwark and Lambeth".