If I said to you that one of the UK's foremost free radio stations to broadcast on shortwave during the 1990's started out in life as Radio Feedback Attack, I am sure that it would be puzzled faces all around. A further clue that this station remains to this day as one of the most listenable on 48 metres will though considerably narrow down the field.
Stemming from the word xenos which roughly translates from post-Homeric Greek as 'stranger', Xenon, a colourless noble gas derived its name from trace elements found of it in Earth's atmosphere. Now, I am not sure of the particular motivation to rename the former Radio Mutiny as the Xenon Transmitting Company(XTC) although an indirect homage to the 1970's Swindon-based rock and new wave group XTC can neither be ruled out or confirmed by your correspondent.
To define the word stranger would infer someone otherwise unknown, or even a person or entity to be avoided either through ignorance, or any number of cliched characteristics that generate feelings of fear. Over the years XTC(the shortwave station) has at times been a stranger to the bands, often because of local and household circumstances familiar to many hobby pirates. There is though little doubt that the station's renaissance since the herald of novel coronavirus has been especially welcome; as well as dispelling any comparison the definition of the linguistic stem might allude to the station, its periodic table counterpart also lacks the colourful and stimulating distinctness that characterizes XTC's commitment to speech-based programming laced with a broad musical taste.
My first recollection was not of XTC or Feedback Attack but the station's medial identity, Radio Mutiny. This would be at some point in the mid to latter part of 1991, which was perhaps the finest year of the decade for listening on shortwave to UK-based free radio stations. When it is considered that the likes of Weekend Music Radio(WMR), Radio Confusion, Live Wire, Radio Orion, Station Sierra Sierra, Britain Radio International and so on were conspicuous by their prolificacy, it is now easy to forget just how good the scene was at that time. It must though be said that 1991 was a fantastic twelve months of football, music, and girlfriends for your commentator, with the free radio dimension of my life only adding a further jigsaw piece to what was a briefly perfect but ultimately evanescent interlude to otherwise turbulent teenage years.
In many ways XTC continued in the same way from the station's nominal rebirth in 1993 until relatively recent times with what would be termed as occasional broadcasts, which as time passed and circumstances changed became less regular still before the operator, who himself would eventually change identity from Tommy Teabags to the comparatively prosaic Matt Roberts, would be restricted to bank holiday transmissions. The various lockdowns of the last eleven months did though give XTC a renewed impetus to come on air, at a time when listeners and operators would find themselves with more time on their hands and in some cases, as with mine, the need for positive distractions whilst convalescing from the virus.
Admitted as much by Matt Roberts, XTC is a low power station that uses basic equipment. Therein though lies the dichotomous existence of free radio; it is rare that stations whose reason for being is anything other a pursuit of technical excellence, often using high power, seek interaction with listeners other than a cursory nod to an email contact address, all the while rattling through 'back-to-back' music without anything except a canned identification to assure listeners that there is indeed a human element attached to their operation. It is not beyond the realms of imagination to suggest that these stations will use more modern and probably expensive hardware, but with it seems a sole purpose to achieve technical perfection at the expense of taking the trouble to produce a programme that is actually entertaining. This approach will be grist to the mill for some listeners, but I sense not for as many as some station operators would like to believe.
There is little doubt that the attraction of hearing stations like XTC derives from fusing together intelligent, speech-based content with a dedication to spinning what are by my definition quality tracks, not simply to play devil's advocate to hackneyed output found elsewhere on shortwave and FM but as an expression of the operator's taste - something that would usually be discouraged in legal radio. I would though say this attraction has a third dimension, that such engaging output is broadcast using modest equipment, and has on occasions but unbeknown to listeners in real time had to run the gauntlet of various familial and neighbourhood interruptions during the course of transmissions. All part of the fun for hobby pirates, perhaps, but in reality few free radio stations welcome unforeseen events!
It is testament to the XTC record library, much of which is in vinyl format, contains several tracks that I have requested. Playing listener requests is possibly a tad too conformist for free radio stations when their very being is meant to represent the antithesis of legal broadcasters who have little to say and rely upon 'shouts out' and mind-numbing verbiage, but from the KLF to Primal Scream, Matt has graciously always played what I have asked for. I do not from this suggest that my taste in music is particularly exquisite, but we do at least share some common ground which otherwise for me veers towards dance, while Matt is very much an adherent of indie rock.
It is easy to dismiss the credentials of stations that have 'been around' for what by any definition is a long time, especially when their broadcasts are so infrequent. What though should be remembered that as life inevitably changes from the relatively carefree days of youth into the humdrum years of responsibilities correlative of adulthood, it is easy for free radio operators and listener alike to drift away from free radio as other demands and attractions inevitably compete for attention. The fact that Matt has not forsaken free radio even as his personal circumstances changed over the years, something which has at times clipped his broadcasting wings, is testament to the pulling power that the 1990's scene had on those involved directly or otherwise, and the enduring appeal it engendered for a hobby which as is common with most things in life, isn't what it used to be.
Despite a picture I have painted about the contrasting free radio scene of today when compared against that of thirty years ago, the 48-metre band can still be classed as busy, admittedly mainly with Dutch stations, utility interference, and what at times seems to be targeted jamming. It is therefore becoming, despite the sharp drop in UK-based broadcasters, more of a challenge than ever to find a clear channel and one that isn't splattered by adjacent stations 5-10, and sometimes 20 kHz either side. When personal circumstances and band conditions permit the best frequency to receive XTC is usually 6321 kHz, although the station can theoretically be heard anywhere from approximately 6255 kHz to the aforementioned channel.
I doubt there are any future plans for XTC other than to 'carry on broadcasting' in the same time-honoured vein that has enabled the station to be held in such high regard by those listeners not simply 'in it' to garner QSL cards. Much will inevitably depend on the station operator's continued enthusiasm, something that will ebb and flow for those who whilst not completely relying upon thoughtful contact from listeners, would rather receive well-written correspondence than grovelling pleas for verification cards even though in XTC's case they are rather good, and are still available in hard copy and 'e-QSL' formats.
I conclude this latest blog post with a twofold plea for more broadcasts from XTC(if only to keep alive my now flagging interest in the current free radio scene) and that those who receive the station regale Mr. Roberts with missives worthy of what they are hearing.
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