Pirate radio

matter

matter

Active Member
Anyone been on pirate radio before?

With my mate now, whilst he’s doing his first set, broadcasting over London, Essex and Kent. Glitches at the start and a few train wrecks, but he’s loving it, and the phone line is busy.

Years ago I had my own slot on a station in Basildon, every Tuesday, in a grotty studio on an industrial estate. You’d walk in and the turntables would be covered in fag ash, beer cans everywhere. Regular problems with the rig. And the mixer didn’t work properly. But got a proper buzz when people started texting and calling in. Highlight being some lags from Chelmsford prison listening in their cell.
 
All best with that!

Going way back I used to sometimes catch flex fm, don fm, girls fm in sw London. Signal was really good. Kenny Hawkes cut his teeth on there. There was a rawness on those shows that you’ll never get on podcasts.
 
Listened to Centre force. They started back in 1989 and Wednesday just gone announced that they have got a DAB license so from July 14 this year they will be proper
 
Used to love don fm and flex fm - before the days of mobiles so had to phone in on the house phone. Always a buzz getting a shoutout for your mates!
 
Quite a few of them still in London - I tune in to Select Radion and S-Dance when in the car.
 
Started thinking about old stations as someone started a thread on Centreforce today. Touchdown FM and then Pulse were our go tos in the early 90s...
 
I was playing on city beats FM during covid which broadcast over Birmingham for a while, equipment kept getting discovered though. Slim pickings in the midlands. There was distinct FM which was broadcasting on FM, but then went online only, I was on there for a while but only online, the FM died before my time on there.

Do online stations class as pirate, technically yes, but they aren’t the same. But then online killed the FM pirates anyway. Ask a 20 year old what FM radio is….
 
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