Pirate radio: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Pirate radio is the unlicensed use of the radio spectrum, reserved for commercial, governmental, or public use. Shortwave radio pirates are also common in the radio world.

Pirate radio is illegal in countries that require licenses of broadcasters. However, the necessary equipment is easy to hide, and the regulatory bodies (in the United States, the FCC) have not been effective in finding and prosecuting offenders.

Pirate radio is frequently associated with the anarchism movement. Members of the movement see pirate radio as a challenge to large corporations and governmental spectrum regulatory schemes seen as serving the interest of large corporations.

Pirate Radio Ships and Offshore Structures

In the USA, UK and Northern Europe, pirate radio has a long tradition broadcasting from international waters.

The first pirate radio ship was probably The Rex, a gambling ship that operated off the coast of California in the early 1930s. From 1958, several ship-based pirate stations have broadcasted into Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden. On March 28, 1964, Radio Caroline was established as the first and most famous British pirate radio station. Whenever it ceased transmissions, land-based pirate channels, often limiting transmissions to Sundays and Bank Holidays, tended to increase in number.

List of ship and fort-based pirate radio stations, 1958 - 1989

• Radio Mercur (Denmark, Sweden)
• Radio Veronica (Netherlands)
• Commercial Neutral Broadcasting Company (UK)
• Radio Nord (Sweden)
• Radio Syd (Sweden)
• Radio Caroline (UK)
  • Radio Caroline North (Northern England, Isle of Man, Scotland, Northern Ireland)
  • Radio Caroline South (Southern England)
  • Radio Seagull
  • Caroline Overdrive
• Radio Atlanta (UK)
• Radio Sutch / Radio City (UK, based on a World war II sea fort)
• Radio Antwerpen / Radio Eulenspiegel (Belgium)
• Radio London (UK)
• Radio Invicta / KING Radio / Radio 390 (UK, fort-based)
• The following stations all broadcast from the same ship, though never more than two at any one time:
  • Radio England / Radio 227 (UK)
  • Britain Radio / Radio 355 (UK)
  • Radio Dolfijn (Netherlands)
• Radio Scotland (Scotland)
• Radio Essex / BBMS (Essex and East Anglia, fort-based)
• Radio Tower (Essex, fort-based)
• Radio 270 (Yorkshire)
• The Voice of Peace (Israel; set up with the aim of promoting peace in the Middle East, generally tolerated by the Israeli Government)
• Radio Hauraki (North Island, New Zealand; the only ship-based pirate ever to broadcast in the Southern Hemisphere)
• Radio Nordsee International (West Germany, UK, Netherlands; the only radio station ever jammed by the British Government)
• Radio Atlantis (Netherlands, UK)
• Radio Mi Amigo (Belgium, Netherlands)
• Radio Delmare (Netherlands)
• Radio Monique (Netherlands)
• Laser 558 / Laser Hot Hits 576 (UK)

The most famous of these Pirate Radio stations is Radio Caroline that broadcast to great areas of the U.K., with many famous Disc Jockeys working because of their great love of the music of the era. John Peel is one such D.J. from Radio Caroline who has gone on to have a profound effect on modern, cutting edge music on BBC Radio 1. Another famous pirate radio broadcaster is Paddy Roy Bates, who went on to found the self-proclaimed nation of Sealand.

The 1970s saw illegal Pirate Radio come ashore in cities like London, Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester. Usually set up in high rise tower blocks the stations would increase their transmission capabilities by erecting the Di-pole ariels as high up as possible.

Some of the pirate stations are now legal and successful outfits, including Kiss FM in London and the rather more rural Sunshine Radio in Ludlow, Shropshire, which was run from studios at the end of a farm drive in its unlicensed days.

Modern day Pirate radio stations often cater for local communities and underground music fans that are not necessarily catered for by larger corporate Radio stations. Unfortunately, some of these illegal stations refuse to respect other legal radio stations and the emergency services by allowing their transmissions to drift across other important airwaves. This gives other more conscientious Pirate Stations an unwanted disrespectful image that leads to many raids by the DTI who confiscate and prosecute persistent offenders. It is also thought that a small percentage of Pirate stations use the station as a base for drug running and other criminal activities though this is fortunately in the minority, most Pirate stations are there simply out of a an absolute love for the music style they play.

Pirate Radio stations can apply for a Broadcasting Licence but they will usually need to go off air for a time to present a legal case.

Overall if a Pirate radio station is run within the boundaries of the law it can be a valuable asset to a community and ultimately the wider city area.

A good example of modern day Pirate radio can be found at P.C.R.L.

On August 14, 1967 - In the United Kingdom a Marine Offences Act came into force prompting many offshore radio stations to close, most prominently Radio London off Frinton in Essex at 3pm local time on this day. The Act boosted a campaign for onshore commercial radio to be legalised, which would enable listeners to choose a non-BBC English-language station and cause the establishment style of BBC radio to be relaxed and refreshed. See BBC Radio 1

In France, a strong pirate radio movement emerged in the late seventies and early eighties, in two waves.

The first wave was a political movement based mainly within French territory. Most of these stations were short lived. The first wave included

• Radio Verte
• Radio Ivre
• Radio Active in Lyon 1976,
• Radio Lorraine Coeur d'Acier in Nancy 1978,

This led to the creation of Radio Riposte by the PS in 1979 and the arrest of François Mitterrand and Laurent Fabius. Some of these stations persisted until 1981 when they became legal "Radios Libres."

The second wave was a more commercial movement largely coming out of the French Riviera following the legalization by a Supreme Court decision of private radio stations in Italy. Several stations began emitting in French from Italy. While these stations were legal in Italy, the French considered them illegal. These stations include:

• Azur 102 (1977-1984),
• Radio Continental (1977-1979) broadcasting from Bordighiera,
• Radio Vintimille Internationale (1977-1981) broadcasting from Ventimiglia,

And the late and more political Radio K (1981-1982) broadcasting from Bussana di San Remo,. All these stations went bankrupt after the election of François Mitterrand and the legalization of private radio stations in France.

The movie Pump Up the Volume has as its hero a high-schooler who does pirate radio broadcasts.

a full article on the history of offshore pirate radio would be useful.