Q What does the term 'pirate radio' mean

A.� 'Pirate' radio is the term used for any radio station that is broadcasting illegally, in other words, without obtaining the required licence from the Home Office, which governs the allocation of air space to radio stations.

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Q.� Why are they called 'pirates'

A.� The earliest example of illegal stations in the UK was a station called Radio Caroline, which broadcast in the early 1960s from a converted fishing trawler moored just outside the limit of British Territorial Waters, a few miles off the south coast. From there, by means of a powerful transmitter, the ship broadcast pop music to the UK around the clock, taking advantage of the growing army of pop music fans. Because the transmissions were illegal, but the ship was untouchable because it was outside British legal boundaries, the term 'pirate radio' was coined, and it stuck. Some land-based stations broadcast from wartime defences called Martello towers, but for most people, the term 'pirate radio conjures up images of the�ship-based stations who began the concept.

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Q.� It all sounds very exciting.

A.� For the 'pirates' and their millions of fans, it was. There was the feeling of being part of the new and ground-breaking pop music revolution, music for young people, broadcast by young people who spoke their language, and presented pop in a bright and breezy style, a perfect antidote to the land-based radio of the time.

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Q.� What was land-based radio like

A.� By�its own admission, the BBC had failed to grasp the impact of pop music on radio listeners, and was caught fairly and squarely in the 'just after the war' style of broadcasting�- staid dance music and plays presented�by senior broadcasters who stood for everything the pop revolution was trying to replace.

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Q.� What was the solution

A.� To their credit, the BBC, and the Government, realised that the style of pirate radio was here to stay, and in an equally revolutionary (for the time) about face, they adopted a 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em' policy and offered a legal alternative to the pirate stations�- they called it Radio One.

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Q.� So Radio One was a direct result of the impact of pirate radio

A.��It was. The BBC cleared the decks of the 'more mature' presenters, and moved them into the new middle-ground station, known as 'Radio Two' and embraced the pirate philosophy, simultaneously welcoming any pirate DJ's who fancied making the move from pirate radio to legal BBC broadcasting, and swapping a life on the ocean wave for a nice snug studio in central London.

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Q.� Did they get many takers

A.� They did�- some of the more famous pirate jocks were happy to come into the BBC new station.�Kenny Everett, Tony Blackburn, Johnny Walker, and loads more who had learned their skills on the pirate stations moved in and gave licence-funded broadcasting the shot in the arm it so badly needed.

Q.� So that was the end of pirate radio

A.� No, pirate radio continues to flourish, both here and elsewhere in the world. Although Radio One provided an eclectic mix of music in its earliest days, the late seventies and early eighties saw a rise in locally-based pirate stations, often broadcasting just a few square miles from the top of a local tower block.

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Q.� Why would anyone be interested in pirate radio now

A.� There is always a market for the alternative to the mainstream in any area of culture. Some people feel that their own local tastes�are not reflected by a London-based national station. In fact, the very groundswell of opinion that gave rise to pirate radio back in the 1960s.

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Q.� Is there a future for pirate radio in the UK

A.� It must be harder and harder, given the growth of commercial stations, the diversity of style and programming adopted by the BBC as tastes have evolved, to say nothing of more sophisticated detection equyipment which makes tracing and confiscating pirate transmitters ever easier.�There will always be individuals who want to sail against the tide, and who are wiling to risk the loss of expensive equipment, fines, or even jail,� in order to fly the flag for independent raio, in the truest sense of the word.

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