Film Finder

The swinging sixties were responsible for the growing popularity and creation of the pirate and offshore English radio station network. The British national radio monopolized the airwaves and controlled the kinds of programs transmitted. Pirate stations were established by entrepreneurial spirits to transmit programs which focusing on different genres of music and community information.

Defined as any radio transmission which operates without formal licensing or permission, pirate radio stations exploited a technicality in English laws. A loop-hole existed which stated that if a radio station was broadcasting to dry land from international waters it was not considered illegal. As pirate radio began to flourish and gain in popularity laws were modified to declare them illegal no matter where they transmitted from.

Early pirate radio had its beginning as a form of publicity devised by a British newspaper. A ship broadcast light music from along the coast in an attempt to gain readership for a daily newspaper. Later some religious leaders also attempted to use pirate radio stations as a way to transmit their message to Britons.

The increasing teenage and young adult population of the 1960s in Britain had few resources for their tastes and interests. Many young musicians were increasingly influenced by American music trends and were experimenting with imported styles and sounds, adapting them to their experiences and surroundings. Illegal broadcasters were often the only radio networks young adults could hear the music they preferred and often played and produced some of the music young British musicians were making.

The pirate radio stations were, by the middle of the sixties, broadcasting regularly in neutral waters a safe distance from the British coastline. Many of the offshore stations were funded by young entrepreneurs who understood what the emerging youth market wanted to listen to. Many pirate DJs were music enthusiasts and collectors who were prepared to step outside the norm of programming and provide listeners with the variety they were seeking. Pirate stations became so popular by the end of the sixties that the national broadcasting network reformulated its content to suit the new youth demographic.

In 1967 the loophole which had made offshore radio legally acceptable was changed by the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act coming into place. Despite laws, pirate broadcasters resisted any move to stop transmission and even continued from dry land. In fact, during the 1980s there were greater numbers of pirate stations than legally licenced radio stations.

Taking advantage the lower price of transmitting equipment, pirate stations grew in urban areas of Britain particularly London. High rise apartment blocks provided the height for transmitting radio frequencies as well as anonymity for illegal broadcasters. By the 1980s, pirate radio began to cater for their local areas, playing specific genres of music, local information or ethnically based programs.

The penalties for illegal radio broadcasters have increased from the nineties right up to the Wireless and Telegraphy Act of 2006. Despite this, pirate radio broadcasts remain a popular and vital part of British urban life. Niche audiences and ethnic communities disenfranchised by mainstream media, alternative and independently produced music styles are all given air space by the many local and community based pirate DJs.

Learn more about the history and development of the Pirate English Radio Station now in our super guide to english radio .