Radio City (pirate radio station)

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Radio City was a British

Origins

In 1964, following the launch of Radio Caroline, Screaming Lord Sutch said he would start his own station. On 27 May Radio Sutch began broadcasting on 194 metres (announced as 197), 1542 kHz, from the south tower of Shivering Sands. It was a low-powered, low-budget operation.

The transmitter, from a

, the efficiency of the antenna combined with its location over water (a reflector of radio waves) gave it the coverage of a more powerful land-based station, and Radio City claimed a power of 10 kW for the purpose of attracting advertisers.

One of the early DJ's on Radio City was Tom Edwards.

Studio equipment

The studio equipment was standard albeit low-budget, comprising a pair (later three) of

and included the DJs singing new comic lyrics to instrumental versions of popular songs.

Another novelty was The Anti-City Show, which invited listeners to send letters and reel-to-reel tapes of complaint about the station. It became a forum for complaints about anything that annoyed. Occasionally, "You've Got Your Troubles" by The Fortunes was broadcast as a signal to land-based associates of a problem, such as a supply shortage.

The Port of London authority had placed wind and tide gauges on the isolated north tower and complained that City's signal interfered with their radio link to the mainland, potentially placing shipping at risk. Interference with official communications was a commonly cited reason for pirates to be banned but Radio City was to provide a more compelling reason for their closure.

Merger talks and death of Reg Calvert

In September 1965, merger talks began between City and Radio Caroline South. A transmitter was delivered to the fort, intended to be used by Caroline when it left its ship. The transmitter proved to be unsuitable and indeed, unusable.^{[3][page needed]} The merger collapsed, but the transmitter was never collected. Calvert then talked to Radio London about a merger, in a venture called UKGM (United Kingdom Good Music).

In the early morning of 20 June 1966, a business associate of Calvert, retired Major

]

The killing spurred the government to shut offshore stations, passing the Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967. However prior to this legislation, it was established that the fort, within British waters following a reinterpretation of the rules regarding territorial waters, was now covered by existing legislation. On 8 February 1967, at midnight the station closed with the playing of the national anthem.

Film reference

The 1975 rock music film Slade in Flame, starring Slade, includes a scene in which the fictional rock band Flame visit Radio City for an interview, only to be airlifted to safety when shots are fired at the fort from a ship. It is later implied that the attack was staged by the band's unscrupulous manager to drum up publicity. The fictional attack was inspired by the actual 1966 boarding party; some news footage of the actual boarding is seen on a fictional television news report.

Exterior shots of the visit were filmed on and around Shivering Sands, with actor/musicians climbing the ladders used by Radio City DJs. For the airlift a helicopter landed on the roof of one towers. It was not big enough to carry all the actors, so they had to enter on one side of the aircraft and exit out of shot on the other. The film crew hung a Radio City banner on one towers, bigger and more professionally made than the crudely painted sign used by the station.

In one respect the film was not authentic: the fort has no antenna. The original Radio City mast had been dismantled in 1967. It was not possible to build a replica because of its size, and

in the 1960s.

In real life interviews on pirate stations would have been taped on land rather than exposing musicians to hazardous and expensive sea crossings.

An episode of

Red Sands Fort

in early 1966 when "Radio 390" was broadcasting (shut down a year later). The episode was broadcast on 4 July that year.

References

External links

• Shivering Sands on The Offshore Radio Fleet
• Paul Harris (author) Author Paul Harris' book, When Pirates Ruled the Waves
• Life and death of a pirate, Fillongley Publications.[1]