UK-based Free Radio - We Just Can't Get Enough

It isn't particularly unusual to hear a Depeche Mode track being played by superstar DJ Matt Roberts on the Xenon Transmitting Company's(XTC) wheels of steel (or CD player) but yesterday's airing of 'Everything Counts' took on a particular poignancy, and was intended to, after the recent and untimely passing of keyboardist Andy Fletcher, aged just 61. If there was any solace to be gained from remembering this fallen star, it was how this track set the tone for another eclectic playlist which demonstrated the station operator's vast musical knowledge and catholic taste that makes a refreshing change from other free radio stations who seem to be on commission from Creedence Clearwater Revival or a cabal of schlager pop exponents. 

In a programme that pleasingly lasted longer than normal, or at least seemed to in a good way, a diverse selection of aural amusement included tracks from The Editors, Hole, Brandon Flowers, Lorde, contemporary artists Wet Leg, and a lengthy version from the Spiritualized oeuvre which enabled Matt to make a cup of coffee. Perhaps the only blot on the transmission's copybook was the admittedly curtailed I'm Alive by dance music collective Stretch 'n' Vern but as ever, that is subjective rather than being a definitive guide to what is and isn't classed as acceptable to be played on 48 metre band free radio. There was also another instalment of the XTC Jazz Club, including the refrains of Earl Hines.

For a short while yesterday morning I was taken back in time to the early 1990's, when UK-based free radio ruled the waves and would be dominant both qualitatively and quantitively. Then it would not be unusual to hear Britain Radio International, Radio Confusion, West and North Kent Radio, Live Wire, Weekend Music Radio, Station Sierra Sierra, and XTC's forerunner Radio Mutiny during a morning, not forgetting the genre-defining Radio Orion as well as an honourable mention for Ireland's Ozone International. Yesterday morning the band was almost empty which doesn't exactly sound akin to a like for like comparison with the aforementioned era, but short skip conditions allowed for XTC and the mercurial Valley Wave Radio to put out impressive signals considering their modest wattage output. 

Despite being short on chat and ways in which to communicate with its listenership, Valley Wave is impossible to dislike thanks to a music policy which ticks your correspondent's boxes. With a definite inclination for 70's and 80's electronica, the operator will occasionally throw in a curveball that also exemplifies his deep and varied musical taste and not being afraid to share it. Tracks played included Kraftwerk's The Robots and The Model, Hey Matthew by Karel Fialka, and Five Star's (the group, not Channel Five's linear tv channel) The Slightest Touch which has a very underrated intro. The station does though remain otherwise mysterious and apart from having returned to the airwaves after an absence of two decades when it was originally known as Uranium, little is still known about Valley Wave. This is though lest we forget free radio, where there are no rules (apart from the ones being broken) and station operators do not have to answer to their listeners, however frustrating that may be to some.

After Valley Wave and then XTC had 'left the building' the 48 metre band fell relatively silent, and with it my interest was once more kicked into the long grass. That isn't to say that no other stations turned on their rigs later in the day, but the moment for listening in the present and from a nostalgic perspective had by then passed.

The main difference between now and yesteryear is the more fleeting, ephemeral nature of UK stations on 6 MHz than a sustained scene which could last from Sunday morning through until late-afternoon. There frankly isn't the depth of interest from both the broadcasting and listening sides of the divide to expect a revival of the scenes that came as standard during 1980s and 1990s, and we should not forget that times, technology, and tastes have vastly changed, but whilst there are UK stations still out there willing to 'give it a go' in whatever form they choose, that must surely be preferable to the alternative scenario of the bands falling silent save for the identikit 'testing, testing' broadcasters which carry about as much interest as viewing the drying of paint. There will though be listeners who prefer the latter to the former and that is fine as radio in its legal and otherwise forms must cater for diverse tastes and preferences. If though it was necessary for me to nail my colours to the mast, I know which approach I favour listening to.