From Radio Blackbeard to Galaxy International and beyond, there is still a buzz around UK-based free radio

It was 1994. Andy Winter's Radio Aires and Radio London had morphed into the Wizard's Magic Spell(WMS), adding a further dash of UK-based intrigue and something listenable to the 48 and 76 metre bands.

From an initial interest in late-1990 the free radio scene of my choosing, i.e. those stations that broadcasted from the UK, there was an ebb and flow before it seemed to hit the buffers during 1993. Listening conditions had markedly deteriorated and some of the operators formerly heard very often had decided to devote more time to extra-curricular activities - if indeed those things and not being behind a free radio 'pirate' station could be classed as extra-curricular. It was though an affront to my somewhat immature brain that several favourite broadcasters who were formerly prolific on 6 MHz were now using their time in ways which to them were akin to 'getting out more' - for example spending more time with the opposite sex, and less in dark makeshift studios whilst perhaps talking to a handful of listeners, or less. 

Dialling back to 1994, the emergence of WMS added a pleasing accompaniment to and perhaps was a consequence of improving conditions, complemented by the subsequent reappearance or return by those who had been relatively conspicuous by their individual and collective absence. The year in question seemed if anything to herald a new era for established and popular broadcasters such as Live Wire, Weekend Music Radio(WMR), Radio Armadillo, and Subterranean Sounds to name just a few. Supplemented by not only WMS but an additional UK-based broadcaster known particularly well by one of the aforementioned operators, the UK free radio scene on shortwave seemed to be galvanised, once more making it interesting, entertaining, and often compelling.

I first heard Radio Blackbeard one Saturday morning on 6 MHz. Station operator Dave Norris had always remained true to his dance music preferences - something he does to this day. Feeding listeners on a rich diet of commercial and lesser-known dance and trance classics Blackbeard had the beat and edge of an FM pirate station, but which lent a different dynamic to what was normally heard on the shortwave frequencies favoured by free radio operators. Two tracks that immediately spring to mind that I heard on Blackbeard were Tinman - 18 Strings and Nush - neither were especially ground breaking but very much of their time but despite this, were not heard a great deal on mainstream radio when compared to contemporaries such as The Prodigy, Tony di Bart, Snap! and Maxx. 

That was though often the point of free radio which resonated the most with me - hearing music that wasn't just another rehash of what could be heard on local(legal) FM stations or on Top of the Pops. The freedom to play what an operator wanted and not be hamstrung by playlists or demands by advertisers gave listeners to free radio a much wider choice, but what excuses did those broadcasting the same music that could be heard anywhere actually have? The argument does though remain that free radio operators had the license(pun intended) to play what they pleased; it wasn't their mandate to pander to demographics or 'safe' tastes, or even actually please their listeners. 

As the 1990s wore on I increasingly drifted in and out of free radio as guess what, I too started to get a life outside of the house and away from the Saturday night and Sunday morning listening routine. I would though periodically hear Blackbeard - a station I always regarded as a welcome antidote to an increasingly Dutchification of the free radio frequencies. 

A rebooted version of both Radio Blackbeard and Station Sierra Sierra, another giant of the UK-based free radio scene during the 1990s, coalesced into a joint venture known as Galaxy International; not to be confused with Radio Galaxy which eventually gave birth to the Radio Merlin we all know today. Galaxy International was no ordinary venture for Dave, and Sierra Sierra operator Paul Stuart, who took their fondness of shortwave broadcasting to great lengths by transmitting quite literally out in the field from remote locations, where local interference was minimal to non-existent and issues with neighbours hearing free radio operators coming through on their televisions and landlines was thankfully conspicuous by its absence. One track I remember being an obvious favourite of the station was Needin' U by David Morales and although signals were not always great the sheer effort put in by Dave and Paul, as well as an assortment of guests cannot be underestimated. The early days of mobile phone and email communication were utilised to connect listeners in real time with Galaxy International.

The years passed, and I assumed that like so many other stations Galaxy International and its operators had moved on, which was more or less correct. However, Paul Stuart can still be heard broadcasting on the Leicestershire-based community station The Eye but Dave has returned to his Buzz FM roots - albeit now on the medium wave band but with still the same passion for broadcasting and dance/trance music as ever.

The medium wave band is a tough nut to crack for low-powered operators who have so many legal UK and European powerhouse broadcasters to compete with, and where possible, avoid. Buzz FM has been broadcasting on either 1494 or 1512 Khz in the last year, although I last heard the station on the latter. Due to my location and distance from Buzz's QTH I am best able to hear the station via the Doncaster-based SDR remote receiver but only after 10 pm. If you are able to detect a signal but unable to identify the broadcaster, it is worth comparing what you can hear with Buzz's Radio.Garden stream to ascertain if indeed it is the station.

I have pondered if today's free radio should be more about the dwindling band of individuals who are joining the hobby, those from the past who are still 'doing it' or the now tenuous connections to yesteryear which we cling to in a scene that is a pale imitation of its former self. Free radio will always represent different things to different people, with the past being anathema to many listeners just as the modern day version of it is of little interest to those who were around in the various heydays of the genre. That though in itself opens up another argument of when were the halcyon days of free radio? Again, a straw poll would elicit many different responses.

My best wishes to Dave for renewed good health. I am sure he would welcome contact from anyone who hears Buzz FM. 

Laughter is the key to longevity for Radio Pandora's chuckling Steve St. John

The hook line in the 1991 Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark(OMD) track Pandora's Box posits that its subject, silent movie star Louise Brooks, was 'a long, long way from where she'd want to be'. Now, if there can ever be a tenuous link between this seemingly obscure reason behind one of the early 1990s most memorable pop tracks and shortwave free radio stalwart Radio Pandora, it would be my frustration that the station's signal during the mid nineties was a long way from being listenable, either because of my rather prosaic listening post or the station's extremely low wattage broadcasting capability. Maybe both. 

Yesterday evening I caught a few minutes of Radio Pandora's 28th anniversary broadcast, transmitting on 6935 Khz and heard via the North West Ireland SDR remote receiver. What a different a quarter of century makes! With a signal surpassing S9 and a shade under +10 dB Pandora was sounding more like Live Wire or Weekend Music Radio(WMR) from yesteryear than its previous incarnation where I would often not know the station had been on the air unless it had been logged in free radio publications. 

Pandora is now arguably more of a fixture on 6 MHz than it ever has been - or perhaps it is simply because now it has the capability to be heard by more listeners over a wider area - but the station's almost weekly appearances between 6935-6955 Khz betrays operator Steve St. John's renewed lust for broadcasting - assisted in no little way by the acquisition of a new 100 Watt rig.

In these days of continuous music, almost always canned IDs and when the DJ actually talks it is often only to say 'that was... the next record is...' Radio Pandora lends an almost old-school but very welcome antithesis to modern free radio broadcasting with a personable touch that doesn't take itself too seriously, complemented by a diverse choice of music and trademark chuckling. 

This is, was, and forever shall be my preferred style of free radio, and along with the Xenon Transmitting Company(XTC) represents the last bastion of its kind who broadcast on shortwave from the UK that actually have something of interest to say to the listener, without sounding like a polished but generic ILR station. Indeed, you can almost set your watch to Steve St. John namechecking Mr. XTC during a Pandora broadcast. 

There is currently a minor resurgence of UK-based stations including relatively new additions Radio Jennifer, Radio Clash, and Cruisin Radio to complement the now established Radio Nova and Radio Parade, alongside shortwave's fixtures and fittings Radio Pamela and Radio Merlin. When it is though considered that over the last two decades the likes of Radio Armadillo, Subterranean Sounds, Radio Orion, Station Sierra Sierra, as well as Live Wire and WMR have been lost to the scene, it is little wonder that UK-based broadcasting on shortwave has lost most of its lustre. 

Despite being a mere stripling compared to Steve St. John, XTC's Matt Roberts has though been broadcasting on shortwave as long as, if not for longer than the man at Radio Pandora's controls. There are plenty of broadcasting years ahead of both, but I hope that other would be operators out there in the wings can eventually serve as an adjunct to the more listenable elements of UK-based free radio on shortwave, and in the end take its reins. 

Here's to another 28 years, Steve! 

Next time: Buzz FM, the not so nowadays frequency modulated station currently operated on the medium wave band by a very familiar voice from the past...