Pirate radio in the United Kingdom
[7] 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.
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.
[8][9] 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.
[9] In London, a notable moment would be the launching of Britain's first black owned music station Dread Broadcasting Corporation (DBC) in 1980.
[9] 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.
[8] Although launching in very late 1979, Merseyland Alternative Radio broadcast from the Wirral in the early 1980s, showcasing many bands from the Merseyside area.
[12][13] 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.
[14] Pirate radio met with increasing opposition, especially from the authorities in the form of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
[9] Twice in the mid-late 1980s, the UK Government had floated plans to tackle pirate radio by offering new licenses, particularly in London.
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.
[17] The authorities and media increasingly 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.
[20][21] The Rush raid was featured in the seminal BBC Two documentary Pirates, shown as part of the Arena series in December 1993.
As pirate radio persisted into the 2000s, UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom undertook research into its continued popularity and published its findings in 2007.
[30] It found that: "a large proportion of these are operating in London, with notable clusters in Harlesden, Stoke Newington, Southwark and Lambeth".
The development and promotion of grass-roots talent, the urban music scene and minority community groups were identified as key drivers for pirate radio.
[34] Ofcom responded to a Freedom of Information request in July 2015, that revealed they had raided and seized almost 400 pirate radio set-ups in London in just a two-year period.
The station combines reggae and soca with robust articulation of "black empowerment against a system designed our oppress our brothers and sisters" and live phone-in discussions.
In 2002, Powerjam launched an appeal through one of its talk shows to raise money to save a young girl from a rare tissue disease.
[44][45] For those that had no intention of coming off the air, the internet provided a way to expand their promotion and audience reach by establishing websites and enable them to begin to stream live beyond their usual broadcast area.
[46][47] For the now legal Rinse FM, their website not only streamed shows live but it would also provide them a platform to develop their identity and to promote their events whilst still unlicensed.
The internet has been pretty cool for that, but it’s not the be-all-and-end-all",[17] whilst others argue that for music like grime, pirate radio continues to be "such an essential platform for emerging voices".
[30] The act allows Ofcom to take a number of actions against individuals committing these offences, including power of entry and search and seizure of equipment.
