What are the Constituent Parts of Free / Pirate Radio?

An interesting debate has arisen on the Shortwave DX Blog as to what free radio quintessentially amounts to; what if anything, its definition can be concluded to be. 

As you can imagine opinions differ, and whilst I don't pretend the following to be an exhaustive list of the variables from which one can decide what at heart constitutes a true free radio station, here goes:

• A station using its own transmitter, studio, and antenna from a remote location such as a private dwelling, or out in the field.
• An individual or collective who record programmes to be broadcast from facilities not of their own. These could belong to another free radio (unlicensed and technically illegal) station, or an operator licensed to broadcast on for example shortwave.
• An established free radio station previously known for using their own broadcasting equipment and location but who are now letting a relay operator take the strain. This might be a station who had previously broadcast for many years but left the scene, only to return but without the hitherto means or personal circumstances to get on air. I would say Weekend Music Radio is an example of this.
• Legal stations from mediumwave, FM, DAB, or online-only relayed onto shortwave by usually unknown operators, often without the legal station's knowledge and for no apparent reason than perhaps to test a rig and antenna without divulging their own identity. 
• A usually active free radio station synonymously known for broadcasting by way of their own equipment but using the facilities of another free radio station, identity known or otherwise.
• A operator known for being relayed by another, but who eventually goes the whole hog of acquiring / constructing their own rig and antenna.

There have been numerous examples of the above, albeit some more than others. The debate stemmed from Free Radio Service Holland simultaneously broadcasting on five frequencies for their recent Christmas programme.  This is a station of significant vintage, albeit one that now only broadcasts a couple of times a year, and nowadays allegedly via the facilities of an unknown operator(s). I believe the same can be said about Radio Titanic, in theory active for 50 years, but only fleetingly on air in recent times. This then precipitates another debate: can a station realistically say it had been broadcasting for a certain length of time if it only takes to the air once a year, using its own transmitting equipment or otherwise? Some stations may have broadcast more times in two years than others have done in fifty, but would otherwise be considered differently.

I have previously interchangeably used the terms Free Radio and Pirate as synonyms of each other, but can a pirate station be called as such if it doesn't take the attendant risk of having its own transmitter and antenna? Having rethought the issue, to me at least, free radio seems to be a more appropriate title for those who don't run the risk of being visited by the authorities. 

What, then, is a free radio / pirate station? As a purist, I regard it as someone who takes the risk of broadcasting their own live or pre-recorded programmes via their own(ed) equipment. Now, that doesn't man that the aforementioned won't consist of monotonous non-stop music; I do not see a link between great programmes and how they are broadcast, but an extra cachet is certainly attached to those who transmit their own programmes, even if some relay 'stations' can sometimes sound better. Perhaps in these instances the operator is more relaxed knowing he cannot be raided at any moment! As I have said in a previous post, it was rare for a station operator to have reached technical mastery whilst having charisma behind the mic, spinning great tracks and even taking calls live on air. Live Wire Radio would be the obvious example from the 1990s who ticked all the aforemtioned boxes. 

I fully understand that for some, great programming trumps all other variables attached to being involved in free radio, an attitude I have some sympathy with. However, to me at least, authentic pirate radio starts and ends with the mystery of the person behind the mic broadcasting from an unknown location having first constructed / bought their own transmitting equipment, and back in the day having a remote Salisbury / Wuppertal / Merlin, Ontario-type maildrop. Nowadays in most cases the latter is replaced by an email address. 

I am sure there is some satisfaction of hearing themselves on air derived by those who send tapes to Shortwave Radio in Germany or similar, but call it pirate or free radio, only stations true to the component parts of what to me the genre consists of made the scene so compelling in the 1990s. Again this is a highly subjective strand of the hobby with no right or wrong answers but simply opinions, none of which in the end matter a jot.

Fading Memories of Free Radio on Shortwave at Christmas

This time of year inevitably takes me back to the early days of my fascination with free radio on shortwave, specifically stations broadcasting from the UK.

The Christmas period was always a special time for the listener, with 48 metres buzzing with activity that generally respected the boundaries of other stations. In other words, there was (much) less of the indiscriminate frequency hopping we see today, even though it is now far easier to check activity through remote SDR's across multiple-locations.

The early days of my listening - from the autumn of 1990 - did though differ from later in the decade. I am not saying that my word is gospel but can only relate to personal experience. For example, the early years of the 1990s would see significant activity at Christmas on 6 MHz during daylight hours, whilst mid-decade onwards the festive listening bonanza would switch to 76 Metres, where the night-time scene was equally as compelling, if not more so, as its diurnal equivalent earlier in the decade. 

In the early years of the 1990s Christmas Day listening would feel like a regular Sunday, with the likes of Britain Radio International, Radio Fax, Radio Orion, West and North Kent Radio, and Radio Confusion (later to become Subterranean Sounds) happily coexisting with Jolly Roger Radio and Ozone Radio International. Marathon broadcasts on multiple channels, often going out live including the taking of telephone calls on air, made Weekend Music Radio essential listening. Inconvenienced by local and personal circumstances ensured the likes of Live Wire Radio and Station Sierra Sierra would only pop up briefly during daylight hours, whilst Total Control Radio (later the Nitrozone) would appear on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. As mentioned ad nauseum elsewhere in this blog, TCR was one that constantly eluded this correspondent.

As the decade wore on, conditions dictated that night-time broadcasts became en vogue. The powerful Live Wire Radio was a staple of the nocturnal 3 MHz landscape, and even successfully broadcast in the 'Dutch' 1.6 MHz band. Other highlights during festive evenings included Weekend Music Radio with loop tape broadcasts, as well as Radio Armadillo, Wizard Magic Spell, Subterranean Sounds, and the Belgian favourite Radio Grensjager (Borderhunter).

I am not suggesting that the evening scene did not exist when 48 Metres predominated at Christmas time, nor that 6 MHz was dead whilst 76 Metres flourished. I would though say, albeit with my fading memory of what is now over 30 years ago, that there was a distinct difference between the early and mid-to late 1990s, as atmospheric conditions and logistical issues for operators ensured that necessity was the mother of all (re)invention. 

In these days of instant messaging, the Internet, mobile telephony, and social media it is now a real stretch of the imagination to recall that the best way to contact a free radio operator who had been gracious enough to give you their landline number was to let it ring once during a live broadcast, for the recipient to check 1471 to see who had called. Such simplicity, but all good fun. I guess you had to be there.

There is no comparison of then to now. Everything has changed, from all the associated variables to life in general, to such a degree that it is difficult to put one's self back into the mindset of the early 1990s. To be fair, as someone of nearly 50 years young it seems unfathomable to be writing about something I first started listening to when in my early teens. There was though something authentic about free radio in those days, with vinyl being the go to format, and technical ingenuity arguably being far more important than it is now. Who could forget those iconic maildrops that made one wonder who lived at and accessed well-known free radio addresses, and at what seemed such off-the-beaten-track P O Box numbers in Merlin, Ontario, for example.

The component parts of free radio in the 1990s made for a heady mix of interest, intrigue, and mystery that was meat and drink to yours truly. Heck, some stations even managed to successfully meld technical mastery with behind-the-mic charisma, although the vast majority of operators would have to settle for one or the other. 

As another year passes by and what were to me at least the halcyon days of free radio drift further into the distance, I remind myself that an unhealthy interest in nostalgia will always leave me feeling dissatisfied. However, for the best part of a decade free radio on shortwave at Christmas time was as big as deal to me as presents, family gatherings with those now long departed, and watching my football team play on Boxing Day. Maybe nostalgia isn't what it used to be, but there was a certain something about free radio at that time which could not be bottled, quantified, or explained. How it fitted into different lives, both those of operators and listeners, is of course individual and subjective, but I continue to look back with fondness, and even some sadness. 

Seasonal felicitations to all in free radio land.

Asda Fleetwood - That's More Like It?

Fleetwood isn't for the faint hearted. With more than a hint of the managed decline about the place, 14 years of Conservative misrule has laid waste to towns stripped of much of their former industry, in Fleetwood's case deep sea fishing, that now have little to offer but dereliction, crime, low-expectations, obesity, and faded grandeur that shouts of better times. Nowadays, aside from viewing the Lake District's highest peaks from its promenade, the best thing about the town is the road out, albeit with a respectively nod to the Lofthouse's factory, still churning out all manner of Fisherman's Friends lozenges.

Nevertheless, the weekly shop doesn't do itself, although that probably isn't far off if AI can merge thought patterns with records of previous purchases. A rare trip to Fleetwood beckoned.

Despite the necessity of food shopping, wearily meandering around identikit supermarkets has in recent months taken on a new meaning. I have my doubts that people buy more items if the background music is on point as subjectivity of musical taste is a very personal thing, but I certainly take longer than previously, albeit without spending more than usual.

Interspersed with in-house advertisements, Asda Radio follows the template used by its rivals, as well as Dunelm, the home furnishings purveyor and the 'do I really need that?' emporium Home Bargains. There were perhaps more interruptions than at other supermarkets, which somewhat undermined the musical flow. Nevertheless, some classics from Tears for Fears and Soul II Soul were uneasily juxtaposed with dross - ooh, controversial - from Destiny's Child and Joss Stone:

Tears For Fears - Head Over Heels

Becky Hill (and Matoma) - False Alarm

The Weeknd - Can't Feel My Face

Joss Stone - Fell In Love With A Boy

Soul II Soul - Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)

Destiny's Child - Say My Name

As with every shopping trip that involves listening to music, the above included some foot-tappers in amongst those you wondered out loud if they would ever end. Fleetwood Asda scored a mediocre, could-do-better 6 / 10 from an overall experience that wasn't exactly music to my ears.