Table of contents

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………3

2. How it all began……………………………………………………………..4

3. Marconi………………………………………………………………………….4

4. First steps……………………………………………………………………….5

5. Radio stations…………………………………………………………………6

- 2MT Writtle

- 2MO London

6. BBC………………………………………………………………………………..8

- The company era

- Company becomes corporation

- The regional scheme

- Long waves

- Short waves

7. Normandy Calling……………………………………………………….14

8. Pirate Radio………………………………………………………………..15

- 1960s

- 1970s – 1980s

- 1990s

- Today

- Political pirate radio stations

- Legal situation

Page 1

9. Radio listening Level today…………………………………………………20

10.Bibliography……………………………………………………………………….21

Page 2

Introduction

Radio Broadcasting in the UK began in 1920 with Marconi's experimental station 2MT located in

Writtle, Essex. Guglielmo Marconi brought together his own research together with the work of

scientists, being particularly inspired by the work of Heinrich Hertz, but bringing together the work of

others such as Augusto Righi, who was Marconi's tutor, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, Nikola

Tesla, David Hughes, Sir Oliver Lodge and Alexanda Popov to produce commercially viable wireless

communication systems.

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How it all began

Michael Faraday worked on many electromagnetic theories from around 1831 to 1857. James Clerk

Maxwell had mathematically predicted that radio waves existed in 1864 and it was Heinrich Hertz who

produced the first man-made radio waves using a 'Spark-Gap' transmitter between 1885 and 1889.

Nikola Tesla developed many complex electromagnetic principles while it was David Hughes who

invented the microphone in 1880. In 1894 Sir Oliver Lodge perfected a radio wave detector called a

Coherer, a predecessor of the electronic valve method of detection.

Marconi

Marconi was born on April 25th 1874 and was brought up in England

and Italy. He attended scientific lectures given by Augusto Righi and did

much work on the development of radio. By 1895 Marconi had made

experimental transmissions using 'Hertzian Waves' over several

kilometers in Italy. However insufficient interest was shown in his native

Italy so, in 1896, he moved to London where the benefits of the wireless

telegraphy system were demonstrated to General Post Office and Armed Forces. After much

development work Marconi made the first radio transmission across the Atlantic from Poldhu,

Cornwall to Signal Hill, St Johns, Newfoundland, Canada in December 1901.

Marconi is often credited with the invention of radio, but perhaps he should be credited with the

bringing together of many other scientists work to evolve a workable wireless communication system.

However even this statement can be challenged, since it is probable that the Russian scientist

Alexander Stepanovitch Popov actually stole the lead over Marconi's work.

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First steps

Marconi set up an experimental transmitting station at Poldhu Point, not far from The Lizard and

Mullion in Cornwall. Here he built very large aerial systems that would be required to send his signal as

far as possible - the aim was to send his radio signals across the Atlantic - the great "Atlantic Leap".

One of the first aerial systems was circular in structure, but this was damaged by gales. Another type of

aerial system was fan shaped, shown on the right. The transmitter was a simple, but powerful, spark

gap type that essentially produced clicks that could convey the Morse Code.

At this time it was not possible to transmit actual sounds such as voice or music by radio waves.

The 12th December 1901 marked Marconi's very first trans-Atlantic transmission involved sending the

letter S in Morse Code from his station on the cliff at Poldhu. This radio signal was received by Marconi

at Signal Hill in Newfoundland, using a large antenna about 600 feet long suspended from a kite. The

signal heard was just the three faint clicks dot dot dot that denote the letter S in Morse Code. After

much more development work Marconi's radio system would provide the world with one of the most

important communication tools known to mankind.

Marconi's work was a tremendous achievement and over the next few years Marconi's wireless

telegraphy sets, which used Morse Code, were fitted to many to ocean going ships so that they could

communicate with wireless telegraphy stations on the mainland.

The Sinking Of The Titanic: Marconi's wireless telegraphy system saved the lives of over 700 passengers

aboard the Titanic which sank in April 1912. The distress calls were sent out to near-by shipping using

the Marconi apparatus and were received by the Carpathia which was to effect a rescue. Marconi's

work was widely credited for saving the lives of hundreds of people. The military also found a use for

the wireless equipment which was used during the First World War.

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Radio stations

2MT Writtle (Near Chelmsford, Essex)

It was the invention of the Thermionic Valve, by Flemming and De

Forest, in 1906 that allowed Marconi to eventually produce a reliable

'Carrier Wave' that could be 'modulated' so that voice and music could

be transmitted, rather than the spark-gap transmitters that had been

used to produce the dots and dashes used by the Morse Code signals that had hitherto been

employed. Using this new method - the carrier wave - enabled Marconi to transmit speech and music

from his experimental station 2MT in 1920.

Marconi sited this experimental station, 2MT, in an ex army hut at Writtle, Essex . The station was

initially allowed to transmit its test transmissions for only half an hour a week.

Dame Nellie Melba made one of the first broadcasts from 2MT at 7.10 pm on 15th June 1920.

Consisting of a concert of opera music to entertain the listeners, the broadcast opened with a recital of

Home Sweet Home and finishing with the national anthem. Those early wireless listeners - the early

radio amateurs - heard the broadcasts from Chelmsford to Paris, Madrid and Berlin.

Two years later, on 14th February 1922, 2MT in Writtle would commence broadcast daily half hour

programmes of news and entertainment which lasted for a period of nearly three years. Listeners

could tune in using crystal sets, the simplest form of radio receiver that required no external power or

batteries. All that powers the headphones of a crystal set is the energy collected from its aerial which

is derived from the radio waves sent by the transmitter of the radio station to which the set is tuned.

Captain Peter Eckersley was the first engineer at 2MT in Essex. and also became an on-air announcer.

Eckersley found that he had a flair for radio broadcast entertianment and put on many performances,

along with his small team of colleagues, from the studio in the old army hut. The programmes would

consist of records, spoofs, plays and other music.

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By May 1922, seeing the commercial potential of radio broadcasting, Marconi's company was in talks

with wireless set manufactures and other interested organisations to set up more broadcasting

stations around the country under an umbrella organisation called the British

Broadcasting Company (BBC).

The main companies involved in the creation of the British Broadcasting Company and guaranteeing its

finances for an initial period of two years were The Marconi Co; The General Electric Co; The Radio

Communications Co; Metropolitan Vickers Co; Western Electric Co and The British Thompson-Houston

Company. Their joint mission was, of course, to make money from the sale of radio sets - and people

would only want to buy into this exciting new technology if there were wireless programmes to listen

to.

2LO London

Until now the government had done its best to thwart Marconi's efforts to establish public radio

broadcasting for the masses, but would eventually capitulate and grant the BBC a licence to operate a

public radio service.

Marconi's company would aim to provide quality programmes consisting of variety entertainment,

concerts and plays and fund the transmission of these wireless programmes by a tax collected from the

sale of wireless sets and from a licence fee administered by the Post Office. Along with 2MT in

Essex, two further experimental stations, 2LO in London and 2ZY in Manchester had been established

on May 11th and 16th respectively.

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B B C

The Company era

On October 18th 1922 the British Broadcasting Company was

formed - with the government indeed granting the BBC a

licence to operate - and November 14th 1922 saw the official

opening of the BBC London station 2LO, managed by Arthur Burrows, on a wavelength of 369 meters

from Marconi House on The Strand. John Reith was appointed General Manager of the BBC on 14th

December 1922, with Captain Peter Eckersley, the first engineer at 2MT, appointed as the BBC's first

Chief Engineer. The BBC was formally registered as a limited company on 15th December 1922.

On 15th November 1922 the BBC was registered and the BBC's Manchester station, 2ZY, was officially

opened on 375 meters transmitting from the Metropolitan Vickers Electricity works in Old Trafford. On

November 16th BBC Birmingham opened with 5IT transmitting from the General Electric Company

works at Witton using 420 meters. BBC Newcastle, 5NO, was the last station to open in 1922 from a

transmitter at Eldon Square using 400 meters. These 'main' stations broadcast with a power of 1.5

kilowatts.

On December 23rd 1922 the BBC broadcast the first orchestral concert, the first programme of dance

music, the first radio talks programme and commenced the first regular bulletin of general news from

London, provided from the Reuters news source. On Christmas Day 1922 the BBC broadcast "The Truth

About Father Christmas" - the first play for radio - and transmitted the first religious programme.

On January 17th 1923 the original station 2MT in Essex was closed, but more BBC stations were to be

established around the country: BBC Cardiff, 5WA, opened on February 13th on 353m from a

transmitter at the Castle Avenue electric works; BBC Glasgow, 5SC, opened using a transmitter at Port

Dundas on 420m, while BBC Aberdeen, 2BD, started on October 10th using 459m from a transmitter at

the Aberdeen Steam Laundry. BBC Bournemouth, 2BD, opened on October 17th on 385m from a

transmitter at North Cemetery, and on the 16th November 2FL Sheffield opened. The first Gaelic

broadcast from BBC Aberdeen was made on 2nd December 1923.

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1924 saw more expansion with the opening of 5PY Plymouth on 28th March, the 2EH Edinburgh relay

of 5SC on May 1st and in June stations 6LV and 2LS were opened to bring a relay of 2ZY to Liverpool

and Leeds/Bradford. On September 15th 1924 BBC Belfast, 2BE, was opened. Other relay stations

were also opened; 6KH in Hull; 5NG in Nottingham; 2DE in Dundee on 12th November 1924; 6ST in

Stoke on Trent and 5SX in Swansea, which opened on the 12th December 1924. The relay stations in

the system broadcast with a power of 100 watts. On December 28th the BBC's Chelmsford transmitting

station began to transmit an alternative programme.

During 1923 the number of radio receiving licences, which cost 10 shillings, grew to 500,000 driven by

the high quality programmes transmitted. BBC London, 2LO, moved from Marconi House to new

studios at Savoy Hill, while BBC Birmingham, 5IT, moved to new studios at The Picture House on New

Street.

On November 14th 1923 John Reith became Managing Director of the BBC and declared that the BBC

must bring the best broadcasting to the widest possible number of homes. John Reith was a Scottish

engineer who envisaged that the BBC's mission must be to "inform, educate and entertain".

On 31st December 1923 Big Ben chimed in the new year for the first time by radio, while just a matter

of weeks later, in February 1924, the Greenwich Time signal ("The Pips") was broadcast for the first

time on BBC radio. By the mid 1920's programmes from the BBC could be received my most of the

population.

Company becomes Corporation

The BBC's licence expired 31st December 1926 and a government committee recommended that the

Britich Broadcasting Company should be replaced with a public authority. The first Royal Charter was

agreed upon and published on 20th December 1926 enabling the British Broadcasting Company to be

nationalised and therefore to become the British Broadcasting Corporation with the granting of the

first 10 year Royal Charter.

Page 9

While the BBC was no longer an independent commercial company, the aim of the charter was that it

would remain independent of central government interference as the corporation would, from there

on, be overseen by an appointed Board of Governors, John Reith being the first Director General (DG)

who was also knighted in 1927.

In 1929, the rather puritanical, John Reith felt that he had to sack Peter Eckersley, the original engineer

at 2MT, for having an extra-marital affair and for subsequently getting divorced.

Under Reith's leadership the BBC continued its mission to "inform, educate and entertain" and

contined broadcasts of talks, variety and concerts. However, due to pressure from the newspaper

industry the BBC was not allowed to transmit its news bulletins, assembled by the news agencies, until

after 7pm - after the newspapers had been printed, distributed and sold! This was a measure taken so

that newspaper sales would not be lost to a BBC radio news service.

By the early 1930's the premises at Marconi House at Savoy Hill were becoming inadequte for the

BBC's needs therefore the corporation had to find and establish a new operating centre. In 1932 the

BBC moved into purpose built studios at Portland Place in London - the famous and now iconic

Broadcasting House.

Popular entertainment prorammes broadcast by the BBC in the 1930's included "ITMA" - It's That Man

Again and "Band Wagon".

The regional scheme

On 21st August 1927 the BBC opened the new 5GB station at the Daventry transmitting site using

medium waves, this brought a new Regional Programme as an alternative to the longwave National

Programme to the Midland Region. 5GB was a new departure for the BBC, not only did it mark the

start of a new policy 'The Regional Scheme', but it also required a high power transmitter of between

30 - 50 kilowatts, bigger than any transmitter previously built.

Page 10

The Geneva Plan of 14th November 1926 had reduced the number of medium wave frequencies

available to the BBC so from now on the BBC would develop this pattern of services under The Regional

Scheme. It was this development that led to the eventual demise of the original pioneering low power

local stations such as 2LO, 2ZY and 5IT by 1931. These original low power local stations closed and

were replaced by the two BBC radio services; National and Regional.

With the successful establishment of 5GB at Daventry the Regional Programme was provided on

Medium Wave for the Midlands area. 5GB was deemed to be a great success and there followed the

establishment of seven regional services across the UK, each broadcasting programmes from its own

local studio - The regions covered were Midlands, West, North, South East, Scottish, Welsh and N

Ireland. The National Programme was broadcast from the centrally located transmitting station 5XX

on longwave from Daventry, backed up by medium wave fillers in areas where the long wave signal

was weak.

This new Regional Scheme required the BBC to build new, more powerful, transmitting stations that

could carry both the National Programme and the Regional Programme services to the whole country.

The first of these "Twin Wave" stations to be purpose built specifically for the Regional Scheme was

Brookmans Park in Hertfordshire - a meticulously chosen site capable of providing signals to London

and the South East. The station was a huge undertaking, using four large lattice towers, two towers

used to support the aerial system for each service.

The Brookmans Park station opened in 1929 using wavelengths of 261 meters* for the National

Programme at 70 kilowatts and 356 meters for the Regional Programme at 40 kilowatts. Because the

National Programme used shorter wavelengths (higher frequencies) the range was somewhat less than

that of the Regional Programme on 356 meters, however the longwave transmitter 5XX at Daventry

also transmitted the National Programme and would fill in any areas of poorer reception. The BBC

ensured that the new transmission arrangements would provide robust reception for listeners with

both valved radios and humble crystal sets which were still being used.

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On September 6th 1934 the BBC opened a new Twin Wave station located near the town of Droitwich

to serve the Midlands region. Droitwich was to replace the existing transmitting site at Daventry.

Initially the 5XX service was moved from Daventry to Droitwich using powerful new transmitters that

produced 150 kilowatts. Five months later, on February 17th 1935, 5GB opened from Droitwich

radiating the Regional Programme on medium wave with a power of 50 kilowatts; this replaced the

original 5GB 25 kilowatt transmitter at Daventry.

Eventually further high power "Twin Wave" stations would be built at Moorside Edge (North),

Washford Cross (West) and Westerglen (Scottish). Additional high power transmitting stations were

also established at Lisnagarvey ('N.Ireland' on 977 kHz at 100 kW), Burghead ('Scottish' on 767 kHz at

60 kW), Stagshaw ('North' on 1122 kHz at 60 kW), Clevedon ('West' on 1475 kHz at 20 kW) and Start

Point ('West' on 1050 kHz at 100 kW) to bring a Regional Programme to most areas of the UK.

Additionally Penmon (Welsh) and Redmoss (Scottish) carried lower powered (5kW) transmissions of

the Welsh and Scottish regional programme.

Long wave

Until 1924 the BBC had been providing local programmes on the medium waves from the chain of

relatively low power transmitters established around the country. In June of that year 5XX, a new

experimental transmitting station at Marconi's Chelmsford site, was opened using the long

waves enabling the BBC to be heard over most of the country and also overseas with the alternative

National Programme enabling people in Britain, who were beyond reach of a local medium wave

transmitter, to hear the BBC.

The experimental long wave station at Chelmsford was deemed a great success and to a permanent

site was sought out and on July 25th 1925 the 5XX transmitter was moved to Daventry in

Northamptonshire. Daventry was a more centralised location and with a new more powerful 25kW

transmitter on 1562 meters (187.5 kHz) enabled improved coverage across a greater area of the UK.

By this time there were over 1½ million radio receivers in use, many were still crystal sets, but valved

Page 12

radios which could amplify the signals enough to enable loudspeaker operation, though more

expensive, gradually gained popularity.

With the new 5XX Daventry station in operation the BBC experimented with stereophonic broadcasts

for the first time with a concert from Manchester being broadcast from all transmitters, 5XX longwave

transmitting the right hand channel, while the local mediumwave stations broadcast the left hand

channel.

Short wave

John Reith had been keen to provide an overseas radio service since 1924 and eventually after

technical and financial delays, a licence to broadcast on short wave was obtained from the Post Office

in 1926, and the experimental station G5SW, using the short waves, opened at the Chelmsford site on

11th November 1927. It was intended that G5SW would transmit programmes from Britain to the

Empire from a 10 kW transmitter.

The G5SW short wave transmissions were also a success for the BBC and this led to the establishment

of a permanent Empire Station at Daventry in December 1932 using two 15 kW transmitters and a

number of directional aerial arrays to beam the signals to various parts of the globe - the first

programmes from the BBC Empire Service being broadcast on 19th December 1932. King George V

made the first Round-the-Empire broadcast and the Christmas Day broadcast on December 25th 1932.

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Normandie calling

While the BBC was expanding its transmission facilities it continued providing quality programming of

great broadcasting worth. However some listeners began to find this type of programming a little dull

and when Radio Normandie commenced programmes in English from France in 1931 many British

listeners tuned in to 269meters (1113 kc/s), later changed to 274 metres. Radio Normandie was a

commercial station established in 1929 and based at Villa Vincelli la Grandier in Fécamp.

The English programmes were broadcast after the French programmes had gone off the air and were

supplied to the station by the International Broadcasting Company (IBC), an organisation that had been

setup by Philco radio salesman Captain Leonard F Plugge in 1930. On Sundays, when the BBC was

concentrating on religious output, Radio Normandie was said to command 80% of the British radio

audience.

The programmes were comparatively lively and fun, and financed by advertising, Philco being an early

sponsor. Henleys, a car sales company, successfully launched the SS1 motor car on the station. This

proved to sceptics that radio advertising really worked. Henley's went on to become a chain of car

showrooms and repair garages from which later Jaguars, Rovers, Land-Rovers, etc, were sold, while SS

Cars (aka Swallow Sidecars) went on to become Jaguar Cars!

Radio Normandie could be heard across Southern England and beyond and proved to be such a success

with the audience that programmes were expanded in 1932 and ran from 6pm to 3am. Roy Plomley

and Bob Danvers-Walker were voices that could be heard on Radio Normandie in the late 1930's, along

with commercials voiced by Gracie Fields.

Meanwhile the BBC Chamber Orchestra was broadcast for the first time on 18th December 1931 and

later, having moved to moved to new headquarters at Broadcasting House in Portland Place in May

1932, the BBC commenced experiments with the Baird 30 line mechanical television system, while on

December 19th The Empire Service was inaugurated.

Page 14

As 1933 arrived so did Radio Luxembourg, using a large 200kW transmitter on 1190 meters longwave,

English programmes started in June running from 5pm to midnight. Like Radio Normandie the

programmes were of a less formal nature than those provided by the BBC and also funded by

advertising and sponsorship. Again the programmes proved to be a hit with the British listening public

and by December 3rd 1933 Radio Luxembourg had expanded English programmes to run from 3.30 pm

to midnight.

Pirate radio

UK pirate radio (unlicensed illegal broadcasting) was popular in the 1960s

and experienced another surge of interest in the 1980s.[1] 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.

1960s"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

Page 15

American radio stations. Many followed a top 40 format with casual DJs, making UK pirate radio the

antithesis of BBC radio at the time.[4] 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 until March 1968.

1970s-1980sThe 1967 Marine Broadcasting Offences Act officially

outlawed pirate stations, but pirate 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).[4] 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.[5]

Page 16

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 Jackiein

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).[3]

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.[4] 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.

1990sBy 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 FM 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 raveaudience

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

Page 17

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.[7]

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.[6] 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.

TodayThere 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.[2] 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.[2]

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

Page 18

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.[9]

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 units as part of their community training remit.

Political pirate radio station

The first political radio station was Radio Free Scotland, 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 Partyto

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.

Legal situationToday, operators of non-licensed broadcasting face high fines and prison sentences.[6]

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.[12] The Wireless

Telegraphy Act 2006 allows Ofcom to take a number of actions against individuals committing these

Page 19

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.[3] Furthermore the Broadcasting

Act 1990 provides that anyone convicted of an unlawful broadcasting offence is disqualified from

holding a broadcasting licence for five years.[3]

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.

Radio Listening Reaches Highest Level Ever Recorded Among UK Population

The latest listening figures from RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) says radio listening in the UK is

at its highest level ever recorded. 47.3 million adults (95.6% of the population 15+) listen to their

favorite radio stations each week.

"The total number of radio listening hours also broke all previous records to reach 1,058 million hours

per week or 22.4 hours per listener," according to a news release.

Some other revealing facts about UK radio habits:

Over a quarter of radio listening is now via a digital receiver.

Access to a DAB receiver up 11.2% year on year to 19.7 million adults.

DAB radio is the most popular device for listening to digital radio (63.1 of all listening hours).

Hours of listening via the internet up 28.3% year on year.

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Bibliography

1. Fleming, Carole; Wilby, Pete (2002), The radio handbook2. Marc Fisher: Something In The Air: Radio, Rock, and the Revolution That

Shaped A Generation3. Scannell, Paddy, and Cardiff, David. A Social History of British Broadcasting,

Volume One4. W. Rupert Maclaurin: Invention and Innovation in the Radio Industry

5. Tom Lewis: Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio

6. Asa Briggs: The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom 

7. John Dunning: On the Air. The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio

8. Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_broadcasting

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