A-Z of 1990s UK-based free radio on shortwave

For no reason other than because, below is an alphabetical list, which doesn't pretend to be exhaustive, of the UK-based stations heard on shortwave during the 1990s:

Radio Ability

Angel

Radio Armadillo - the middle A.

Atlanta Radio

Radio Atlantis - West Midlands-based.

Belgian International Relay Service - not Belgian at all.

Radio Blackbeard - Dave Norris.

Bogus Jobseeker/Bogusman - when Radio Orion became the Mike Wilson project.

Britain's Better Music Station (BBMS) - a subjective moniker.

Britain Radio International - Roger Davis; Jayne; Steve West.

Citadel Radio

Radio Confusion - the forerunner to Subterranean Sounds. Steve Midnight.

Radio East Coast Commercial - the late Norman Nelson.

Radio Experimental/EXP

Free Radio Service London (FRSL)

Freesound Radio

Radio Galaxy - forerunner to Radio Merlin.

Galaxy International - collaborative project of Dave Norris, Paul Stuart, and Mark Perry. 

Radio Geronimo - the late Chris Watson.

Radio Gloria - Alan Hayes.

Good Music Radio (GMR) - a sweeping statement. Suffolk-based.

Lightning International - Manchester address. An elusive, low power operation.

Radio Lion - logged once (not by me). No further information.

Live Wire Radio - Bill Lewis.

Radio London - Andy Winter.

Radio Merlin - Paul Watt. P O Box 293.

Radio Mi Amigo - Terry Phillips.

Midlands Music Radio - what it says on the tin.

Radio Mirage

Radio Mutiny - forerunner to the Xenon Transmitting Company. Tommy Teabags.

Northern Ireland (Shortwave) Relay Service

The Nitrozone - successor to Total Control Radio. I never heard either.

Optimod

Radio Orion - Mike Wilson; Rod Lucas; Paul Johnson (see UK Radio), et al. 

Radio Pamela - continues to this day. Steve Most.

Radio Pandora - as above. Steve St. John.

Rocket 48

Sierra Foxtrot 0 3 - QSO station. Brian.

Station Sierra Sierra - Paul Stuart.

Subterranean Sounds

Total Control Radio - Des Francis.

UK Radio International - the late Paul Johnson. 6266.

Weekend Music Radio - Jack Russel. Fancy Pants.

Wizard's Magic Spell (WMS) - Sniff 'n' the Tears.

West and North Kent Radio (WNKR) - Andy Walker; Dave Martin. 

Wonderful Free Radio London (WFRL)

World's Greatest Anorak Station (WGAS) - other jackets are available. Nostalgia.

Wrekin Radio - 12 MHz.

Xenon Transmitting Company (XTC) - the evergreen Matt Roberts.

Radio Zodiac

Radio 48 - the first free radio station I ever heard. 

There will be others I have forgotten, perhaps even those written about in previous blog posts or mentioned in dispatches. 

It would be interesting if someone 'who was there' could compare the amount of UK-based stations heard on shortwave during the 1980s. I suspect it would be a far larger number.

Honourable mentions must go to several stations who I simply did not hear but were active at the end of the decade and into the early noughties, some of who continued to broadcast several years hence. These include the Grolschman, Focus International, Radio Underground, the Groovy Granny, a short-lived station (Radio City??) operated by Mark Perry, Uranium - which later became the contemporary Valley Wave Radio, and Oscar the Engineer, the person I think who was behind Radio Skeleton and Radio Antares. 

Two anomalies were Radio Fax and Radio Stella International. For all intents and purposes from the UK, but who actually broadcast from the Republic of Ireland (Eire). 

Those were the days, my friend. 

Free Radio on UK Bank Holidays

As much as I lament the passing of my own golden era of UK-based free radio on shortwave, I often found bank holidays to be, much like today's weather, something of a damp squib.

The public holidays in April (Easter), May, and August would frequently coincide with poor listening (and broadcasting) conditions, which at times made 6 MHz, predominantly the band of choice in the 1990s, out of bounds.

I would also somehow miss broadcasts made by some UK operators - despite actually conducting continuous bandscans whilst they were apparently on. The most obvious 'ghost' station was Total Control Radio, later known as The Nitrozone, who I never ever heard despite often listening when it was on the air. These of course were days before real-time message boards and fora which now keep those interested up to date as it happens, but my Venturer 2959 analogue set up never managed to pull in the low power Nitrozone, or its predecessor. 

The real broadcasting action, at least what I managed to hear, would take place in the evenings and overnight initially on 6 MHz, but increasingly so on 76 metres. These were the days of there usually/always being something worthy to listen to after 11 pm, and thereon in as the pubs emptied! Subterranean Sounds would frequently be received before the likes of Live Wire, Radio Armadillo, and the Wizard (WMS) took the controls. Weekend Music Radio might also pop up, either with a late night impromptu broadcast or that of a pre-recorded nature. 

Heading back to bank holiday daytimes on 6 MHz, the band could be strangely quiet for a day when their was obvious potential for attracting a reasonable audience. Radio Mutiny, now the famous Xenon Transmitting Company, Radio Orion, Britain Radio International, Radio Pamela, West and North Kent Radio, and Radio Merlin (formerly Galaxy) could be heard, but this was by no means certain. Whether they were broadcasting is another matter, but my basic listening station and conditions which perhaps skipped signals out to the continent meant I often only found out about transmissions after the event, usually from reading logs in magazines such as the one produced by the British DX Club, and the weekly Free DX news sheet. 

As my interest in the scene ebbed and flowed to a point where it eventually hit terminal decline, Galaxy International (not to be confused with Radio Merlin's forerunner Radio Galaxy) was a collective of well-known free radio operators that went back to the old school in not just their music policy but by broadcasting out in the field, from sites only accessible by vehicles from which they often took calls from listeners. The two main protagonists were Dave Norris of a certain Radio Blackbeard that can still to this day be heard on 1512 KHz, and Paul Stuart from the mysterious Station Sierra Sierra that made Kim Appleby famous! Paul can nowadays be heard on a legal station in the English Midlands region. 

Otherwise, daytime listening on a bank holiday could often be disappointing. Perhaps many operators had several too many the night before, had better things to do (shock horror!), or were simply not heard by yours truly. It is therefore at odds with many of my memories of the 1990s UK shortwave scene that in general, very little was gained from listening to 6 MHz during daylight hours on a bank holiday. Perhaps I should have got myself more of a life, something I am still struggling to achieve!

April Fools' Day and true free radio spirit

The first of April could often be relied upon to provide some alternative listening on the shortwave bands favoured by free radio stations, who of course were already bracketed as 'alternative' as in not the mainstream or if in the UK, the BBC World Service. All the better if the beginning of the month happened to be on a Sunday.

I cannot fully remember all that occurred that was free radio-related on 01/04 but perhaps the most famous miscreant was Weekend Music Radio, who aided and abetted the mysterious(!) Wee Guy Radio and Radio West Coast Commercial, the latter being a spoof of the late Norman Nelson's Radio East Coast Commercial, to provide some April Fools' merriment. To cut a long story short - the longer version can be found on WMR's excellent website - Wee Guy appeared on the erstwhile Radio Fax's frequencies that operated in parallel on 3, 6, and 12 MHz. Radio Fax wasn't your ordinary free radio station, often broadcasting a technology-related programme called 'Sparks' and being an almost all week ever-present on its triumvirate of channels. Although it transmitted from the Republic of Ireland, it was without success that owner Trevor Brook attempted to secure a UK broadcasting license. Despite having significantly curtailed its operations, to this day the BBC continues to enjoy a hegemonic dominance of legal UK-based broadcasting.

Radio Stella International, a station regarded as Scottish due to its inimitable operator Jock Wilson, actually broadcast from the same Eire-based site as Radio Fax. It was therefore possible for accidents to occur, such as Fax suddenly being heard on frequencies favoured by Stella, and guerrilla broadcasting by the likes of Wee Guy temporarily taking over 3910, 6205, and 12255 KHz! I suspect it was great amusement for those engaged in such tomfoolery, but perhaps not so for those on the receiving end!

It is perhaps now too long ago for me to differentiate between those who just popped up on the first of April, and the stations that broadcast at other times but who did so with silliness as their respective reasons for being. I recall a hilarious take off of many operators of the day, including Norman Nelson who became Norman Nesquik, and merciless ribbing of those behind West and North Kent Radio. Also, stations such as Radio Ridiculous, the Groovy Granny, and the presumably Welsh-based Voice of the Leek added to an alternative radio scene a frisson of not taking themselves too seriously. I have no doubt there were others, both those I have forgotten and indeed never knew of, but the pranks associated with WMR/Wee Guy/Radio Fax are the most indelible in my fading memory. There must of course be an honourable mention of The Ghoul, a spin off broadcaster from Radio Orion and Bogus Jobseeker transmissions. 

With the passing of the early 1990s the UK-based free radio scene on shortwave mirrored how the stellar music scene of the same era deteriorated almost overnight. I would suggest that 1990-92 was a golden period for free radio and music, with a very noticeable decline setting in before something of a temporary revival of both between 1994-96. From thereon in free radio and UK-based musical output went into overall terminal decline, with inevitably a few exceptions. Be it hobby pirates, music, literature, moral standards, and political parties, much in life remains subjective so therefore the aforementioned isn't a list of universal facts, but rather my own truisms as I see them. 

It cannot though be brought into question that the personalities that made free radio so interesting are not attendant with whatever scene remains. Canned, off the shelf jingles and computer-generated voices robotically espousing email addresses are though unfortunately the perfect accompaniment to operators who say little other than 'that was so and so...the next track is...' which seems more of an attempt to entertain themselves than anyone listening.

It is therefore to those pioneers of mirth from the late 1980s and early 1990s whom I salute, operators who added a dash of personality and imagination to proceedings. It was the risk takers out in the field and those that switched on their rigs after a heavy session in the pub who embodied true free radio spirit, the like of which are now just another relic of yesteryear.