Pirate Radio: Bringing Pop Music to the People of the United Kingdom During the 60's

1960's Pirate Radio: Bringing Popular Music to the United Kingdom
by Rachael Newton

Imagine an age when all radio broadcasts were controlled by out-dated, government-run stations. There would be no freedom of expression, no deviation in rhythym; all music would be monotonous and biased to reflect government opinion and attitudes. Before 1964 and the innovation of pirate radio stations off the coast of the United Kingdom, most residents of the UK had no access to popular music or even to commercials; they were forced to listen to the only radio station with a license to broadcast- BBC Radio. Kids began loitering around record stores for hours just to get a taste of the "American Top 40" style pop music of the 60's, and there became an increasing demand for foreign-licensed radio stations run by private broadcasters operating off the coast, mostly in the North Sea. The only way that these radio stations could function without intervention was to disguise themselves on board regular-looking ships. Since they would be broadcasting through international waters and supplied by foreign investors from Panama and even Scandinavia, these radio stations technically were not breaking any UK laws, but there was still a high level of controversy. The two most popular "pirate radio" stations of the era were Radio London and Radio Caroline. These radio stations were labelled as "clandestine" broadcasting stations that would operate to appeal to a certain audience, the youth of Britain. Clandestine stations are unlicensed and usually aim to achieve a social change. They often included segments of comic relief, classical music, and educational programming. Although the stations reached a great level of success among the youthful population of Britain, the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1949 left them at odds with the UK government. By 1966, the directors of pirate radio stations were operating at the level of full-fledged criminals (Jones 1988). Regardless of any laws these radio pirates were breaking, they still retained a large population of dedicated listeners, and in 1967, BBC took action to please their listeners and began broadcasting the same pop music to attract the same group of people who were avid pirate radio listeners. Unfortunately, in October of 1967, the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act was passed to completely outlaw the broadcasting and advertising of pirate radio stations. This caused many stations to go to war with themselves, and Radio Caroline was forced to put a halt on operations for most of the 1970's. Overall, pirate radio stations in the United Kingdom achieved their goal of instigating social change through music. They pioneered the mod movement in the United Kingdom and greatly influenced the culture of not only the 1960's but generations in the future as well. To gain better insight on what life was like aboard these pirate radio ships, a great movie to check out is "The Boat That Rocked" (also called "Pirate Radio"), directed by Richard Curtis.

1)Jones, S. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, (1988). Making waves: Pirate radio and popular music

2)Conway, S. (2009). Shiprocked: Life on the waves with radio caroline. Dublin, Ireland: Liberties Press.