UK Bank Holidays: Supermarket Shopping replaces Listening to Free Radio

For me at least there was once a time when a Bank Holiday was synonymous with the exciting possibilities afforded by UK-based free radio on shortwave. Whilst some, if not many, ended up being washouts, there were still many memorable daytime and particularly night-time broadcasts that made the 1990's such an interesting time to listen to 3 and 6 MHz. 

We should never compare anything (but we do), whilst remembering the words of Don Henley who opined to "don't look back you can never look back" but harking back to a different era both digitally and socially as well as musically is an occupational hazard for those of us who think most aspects of life were once better, or less bad, than they are now. 

Did we though consider in real time how good the 1990's were? I suspect not. It is only when measured against pejorative aspects of modern life do we yearn for times past which admittedly had their glaring drawbacks. Nevertheless, the rave scene of 1991-92 that captivated me so was one of those social occurrences whilst much missed, cannot be contemporaneously compared on a like-for-like basis.

I digress. My comparatively carefree days of the 1990's, especially 1991-92, 1994, and 1997 have long since given way to the realities of adult life that transcend eras. I will always have a passing interest in what constitutes today's free radio scene, but the days of almost organising my life around listening to 48 and 76 metres are distantly behind me. Zeal for free radio has been replaced by an at best mild curiosity. 

Bank Holidays weekends for the modern age are now analogous with gardening and weekly food shopping, the latter being far preferably to the former, if only for what are the normally diverse play lists heard in most supermarkets, and even Superdrug and Home Bargains. 

I therefore wended my way to 'big' Morrison's - along with it seems a sizeable minority of the local population. Hot weather brings them out, it seems. Anyway, a prolonged stay in this once 'big 4' supermarket, recently overtaken by German discounter Aldi, is rarely one for the faint-hearted, but nevertheless bore significant aural fruit:

Sade - Smooth Operator

Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up

Queen - A Kind of Magic

Wham - Young Guns(Go For It)

Dodgy - Summer Forever

INXS - New Sensation

Stevie Wonder - Isn't She Lovely?

Feeder - Going Back Around

Olivia Rodrigo - Drop Dead

David Bowie - Let's Dance

The Real Thing - You to Me are Everything

Mel & Kim - Respectable 

Declan McKenna - Brazil

Sombr - Homewrecker 

A mediocre bunch at best, albeit littered with some gems and lesser known tracks by Dodgy and Feeder. I think the foot tapper/singalong award is shared between Wham and David Bowie,  not a sentence you will otherwise see written anywhere! The tone was set nicely by INXS, but my controversial dislike of Queen and most of Rick Astley's body of work knocked an overall rating for Morrison's Bank Holiday soundtrack down to a respectable but can-do-better 7 out of 10.

Galaxy International - a galaxy of 90's shortwave favourites

Recordings of Galaxy International, a collective of free radio operators from the 1990's transmitting quite literally out in the field, have been aired over the bank holiday on 6925 KHz. Is this a precursor to the station's re-emergence? We'll have to see.

I am loathed to attempt to encapsulate what true free radio spirit consisted of, but here goes. Broadcasting live from cars from remote countryside locations within Central England, Galaxy presenters would often authenticate the experience for listeners by commenting on strong-smelling manure, and curious hikers marvelling at aerials strung between neighbouring trees. Redolent of Weekend Music Radio's golden years, telephone calls were taken live to air without filter or predictability of what might be said.

Consisting of Radio Blackbeard's Dave Norris, Paul Stuart from the mysterious Station Sierra Sierra and Mark Perry who was better known in FM circles, Galaxy would also number fellow free radio legend Bill Lewis as an occasionally visitor behind the mic. 

Originally on air in the late-90's, Galaxy rarely if ever put out a strong signal but with a limit of perhaps 60 watts, nor would they be expected to. The technical limitations of broadcasting remotely are manifold, with getting on air at all being a feat in itself. It is ironic that this weekend's recordings of live programmes from at least 25 years ago benefited from a far stronger signal, more reminiscent of Live Wire Radio than Station Sierra Sierra.

Being fond of their dance music, the Galaxy trio would often favour tracks from Capella, David Morales, and Pete Heller, who I will always synonymously link to the station. For Station Sierra Sierra, Kim Appleby's Don't Worry was the station's calling card.  

I couldn't say for certain when the only iteration to date of Galaxy International finished broadcasting; my uneducated guess would suggest the early 2000's, although I did step away from listening during 2002 until at least 2015. Could there be a reboot? Archive recordings put out there would suggest to be a precursor to new beginnings, or maybe it is pure mischief making. 

Either way, it certainly adds welcome intrigue to the UK shortwave free radio scene, and takes those of us who 'were there' back in time as if it was merely yesterday. 

For clarity, Galaxy International are unconnected to Radio Galaxy International from the late 1980's and early 1990's, a station operated by Paul Watt that morphed into the well-known Radio Merlin. 

Bittersweet free radio memories of April Fool's Day & Easter

Well, it is that time of year again when April Fools Day (almost) coincides with Eastertime, which back in the day represented some interesting listening times for those of us who enjoyed shortwave free radio from the UK.

Some of the more elusive and ephemeral stations operating during the late 1980s until the latter part of the 90s would also be intriguingly named. Who could forget Voice of the Leek, Groovy Granny, Wee Guy Radio, and Voice of the Gout Sufferers?

Some of the above were synonymous with the 1st of April, whilst others would pop up seemingly on a whim. For example, Wee Guy would materialise on April Fool's Day, I believe on one occasion 'mysteriously' hijacking the multi-frequency transmitters of Radio Fax. Those that know, know. 

The allegedly Welsh-leaning Voice of the Leek was sadly jut a little before my time, although the recordings I've since heard bring into question whether broadcasts actually emanated from the principality. However, so what? A dose of harmless levity does us all good. 

Groovy Granny ran during the latter stages of the 1990s until I believe the very early years of the millennium. As ever, I'm happy to be corrected by those with greater knowledge than mine. The broadcasts were not particularly my cup of Darjeeling, but I say well done for trying something different, however niche. 

As with Wee Guy Radio, Voice of the Gout Sufferers had an alter ego, the venerable Alan Hayes of Scotland's Radio Gloria International which itself was always a good listen. However, I was probably in my mid-teenage years when I last heard Alan on 48 metres. VOGS would generally pop up to QSO with Weekend Music Radio, whose live broadcasts had that special something that is sadly lacking from pre-recorded material, although Jack Russel is the consummate creator of loop programming. 

Eastertime obviously brings a four-day weekend, and subject to conditions ample opportunities to hear free radio favourites. Live Wire Radio, Radio Confusion(latterly Subterranean Sounds), Britain Radio International, Ozone Radio(Eire), Radio Orion, and West & North Kent Radio are the names that instantly spring to mind of stations who could almost be relied upon to be there on demand at some point over Easter. 

Were they great days? Well, then I was in my teens but now am in my late forties, so what sounded new, exciting, and edgy back in the day might not do to a cynical adult now staring down the barrel of becoming 50. However, in the moment, listening to UK-based free radio stations on shortwave and as with the 1989-1992 rave scene will always be something I fondly remember. Yes, I was an early starter. 

Fast forward to today and whilst I haven't tuned in at all during 2026 and am now unlikely to do so again, I wonder what became of the operators of those short-lived but fun stations, as well as the operators behind stations analogous with my heyday of listening, periods of time I would narrow down to be 1990-1992 and 1994-1997. 

Has free radio really changed much in the last 30 years? Insomuch that the ideals behind unlicensed broadcasting remain the same I would assume not so much, but technology has changed us all, as well as the way radio programmes are put together, broadcast, and listened to. 

I would also suggest that the average age of operators is much higher than it was in the early 1990s, with some of those who were then active and indeed 'around' during the 1980s still going strong, but it no longer seems to be a hobby that a younger person would enter into. In that sense the future of free radio is uncertain but who knows, all it might take is for a broadcast to go viral on TikTok for a new generation to become aware of the scene. Moving with the times is not a phrase I care for, but doing so might just give shortwave free radio a shot in the arm.

My best wishes to those still out there in free radio land. As ever, memories and links to recordings & QSL cards from the 1990s are welcome in the comment section.