Welcome to the Pirate Memories blog

This blog turns the clock back to the 1980s with recordings of shortwave pirate radio stations from Britain, Ireland and across Europe. There are also some clips from medium wave and FM stations from the London area, plus QSLs from many of the stations featured.

I have given it an update with a new template and embedded audio files in the posts to make it easier to click on and listen to the stations.

There's also several compilations featuring UK shortwave, medium wave and FM pirates and Irish shortwave pirates from the 80s,

There's just over 100 stations featured with oldest recordings from the early 1980s at the beginning of this blog, working through to the late 80s.

Go to the 'Index of Stations' to see which stations are featured and when they were uploaded. The blog archive is near the bottom of the right hand column.

Alternatively, you can use the 'Labels' section. For instance, if you want to hear Irish stations from the 1980s, click on the Ireland label and it will bring up all the Irish stations featured on the blog.

Finally, you can simply scroll through to explore the pirate stations featured.

Happy listening!

Sounds of 1980s British shortwave pirates

Tune around on a Sunday morning 40 years ago and you'll be struck by how many free radio stations
from the UK were around.

Unlike today, the 1980s saw many stations take to the airwaves on 48 and 41 metres. Some broadcast once a months, others more regularly. Many were slicky produced fast-moving shows which had an army of fans, often recorded in advance on to a cassette tape then broadcast from a remote location, to evade the GPO.

Here are some of the British stations I heard in the early 80s. Some of these audio clips have already featured in my Pirate Memories blog. The number in brackets is the time each station appears on the recording. The link at the end of the index will take you to the Mixcloud page where this recording is hosted.

Radio Apollo (0.0)
Atlanta Radio (0.48)
Radio Caroline Shortwave (3.10)
Radio Corsair (4.40)
Radio East Coast Commercial (7.45)
Empire Radio (11.42)
European Music Radio (13.17)
Radio Gemini (18.24)
Radio Impact (21.56)
Radio Krypton (29.51)
Skyport Radio (31.10)
Weekend Music Radio (32.57)
Radio Zodiac (34.53)

Total running time: 36.34 minutes

More sounds of 1980s British shortwave pirates

I've put together another collection of audio clips from some of the British shortwave pirates you could expect to hear on 48 or 41 metres during the early part of the 1980s. Enjoy the memories!

The number in brackets is the time each station appears on the recording. The link at the end of the index will take you to the Mixcloud page where this recording is hosted.

Radio Atlantis Shortwave (0.0)
Britain Radio Int (3.14)
Radio Cavendish (5.27)
Radio Falcon (8.32)
Radio Lynda (9.31)
Radio Orion (11.37)
Radio Pamela (15.14)
Spectrum World Broadcasting (16.13)
Starboard Sound (20.10)
Radio Stella (21.37)
UKR (22.19)
West European Free Radio (27.53)
Radio Woodstock (28.55)

Total run time: 33.09 minutes



This is the link to my Mixcloud page: https://www.mixcloud.com/shortwave_listener/

Sounds of 1980s London medium wave pirates

During the 1980s some pirate stations could be heard on medium wave. The most famous was Radio Jackie which was campaigning to receive a licence, although it took them until 2003 to receive that licence. Others were hobby pirates who popped up at the weekends. I've pulled together a collection of audio clips of some of them I heard from my location just outside London.

Some of these audio clips have already featured in my Pirate Memories blog, plus a few new ones I found on my tapes. The number in brackets is the time each station appears on the recording. The link at the end of the index will take you to the Mixcloud page where this recording is hosted.

Radio Jackie (0)
County Radio (2.11)
Radio Mi Amigo (2.55)
Radio Floss (5.13)
Radio Sovereign (8.27)
Southern Radio (9.46)
South East Sounds (10.07)
Three Boroughs Radio (16.20)

Total running time 17.36 mins



This is the link to my Mixcloud page: https://www.mixcloud.com/shortwave_listener/

Sounds of London's FM pirates from 1980s

Back in the 1980s I was living about 30 miles from London and would be tuning around to hear the
FM pirates from the capital. Maybe not a front row seat - more like two rows back. Some stations came in better than others. I've put together a compilation of audio clips from some of the stations I managed to hear.

If you want to discover or hear more about these stations there's quite a few websites looking back at that era. Two excellent ones are AMFM and The Pirate Archive

Some of these audio clips have already featured in my Pirate Memories blog, plus a few new ones I found on my tapes. The number in brackets is the time each station appears on the recording. The link at the end of the index will take you to the Mixcloud page where this recording is hosted.

City Sound (0.0)
Fresh FM (0.34)
Hits FM (3.49)
Horizon (6.37)
Invicta (7.46)
JFM (11.21)
KJazz (13.38)
London Basin Broadcasting Company (14.51)
London FM (17.50)
London Music Radio (18.22)
London Weekend Radio (19.13)
People's Choice (20.57)
Sina Radio (21.17)
Solar Radio (21.57)
Sunfire (25.17)
Telstar South (28.23)
Thameside Radio (29.13)
Time (32.05)
TKO (35.35)
Uptown Radio (37.45)
Radio Zodiac (40.37)

Running time 43.30 minutes




This is the link to my Mixcloud page: https://www.mixcloud.com/shortwave_listener/

Sounds of the 1980s Irish shortwave pirates

The 1980s was the heydey for pirate radio in Ireland as hundreds of stations took advantage of a loophole in the law and headed to the airwaves across the country. While most of the activity was on FM and medium wave, there was also plenty of activity on shortwave.

I've put together a collection of the Irish shortwave pirate stations I heard from my listening post in the south east of England during the 1980s.

Some of these audio clips have already featured in my Pirate Memories blog, while others are new short clips I came across going through my tapes again.

The number in brackets is the time each station appears on the recording. The link at the end of the index will take you to the Mixcloud page where this recording is hosted.

THE STATIONS

Capital Radio Int (0:0)
Radio Dublin (3:11)
Big D Radio (4:48)
East Coast Radio (5:16)
Boyneside Radio (6:52)
Radio Ireland Int (7:33)
Mi Amigo Radio Int (9:14)
Misty Mountain Radio (10:18)
North Dublin Community Radio (11:05)
Radio Drogheda (13:10)
Radio Rainbow Int (13:18)
Riverside Radio Int (18:50
Shamrock Radio (21:16)
Radio Skywave Int (22:20)
South Dublin Radio (25:17)
Skull & Bones Radio System (27:33)
South Coast Radio (30:32)
Suirside Radio (30:48)
WABC (31:11)
Radio Valleri (31:41)
Westside Radio (32:32)

Running time: 36:10



To hear many more recordings, interviews and other memorabilia from that era visit the Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive at pirate.ie

Also for an A-Z of Irish pirate radio visit the DX Archive

Quick link to Pirate Memories audio files

Some of the station links don't want to open. 

Here is a quick link to the Pirate Memories audio on box.com:

https://app.box.com/s/qjdivk7ovk62sv4vt7qe

Pirates of the Airwaves podcast

Mark Wakely, founder of a land based pirate radio Facebook group, has been talking to some of the
people who were involved in the pirate radio world of the 70s and 80s.

In the episodes they look back on what is was like being involved in pirate radio at this time, remembering clambering on to the roofs of tower blocks to string up antennas and dodging raids from the authorities.

The first episode featured Pyers Easton, better known to listeners in London as Chris Miles. He ran the station London Music Radio (and a lesser known station called London Basin Broadcasting Company - clip HERE) and built many rigs for stations during the 80s.

Others interviewed include Nick Catford who tells the story of Radio Jackie - a trailblazing pirate that now broadcasts to South West London as a legal station; Steve Marshall who was involved in the pioneering London soul station Radio Invicta, worked on the Voice of Peace in the Mediterranean and on the Irish stations during the 80s.

If you're interested in the land based pirate scene then it is definitely worth of a listen to Mark's podcast. He is regularly adding new interviews to the series.

Visit the Pirates of the Airwaves podcast page at https://piratepod7080.transistor.fm 

There you can also find all the different ways to listen to the shows and subscribe so you don't miss future episodes.

His Facebook group is called Land Based Pirate Radio of the 70s and 80s and can be found here https://www.facebook.com/groups/373844343228644

Remembering the shortwave pirates of the 1990s

Over a period of a couple of months, a blogger called The 1990's Free Radio Listener has been looking back at the British shortwave pirates who entertained us during the 1990s.

His wrote about his memories of tuning in to stations like Live Wire Radio, Subterranean Sounds, Weekend Music Radio and many others.

There was also a look at how it compares to the shortwave free radio scene today with stations like Radio Merlin International and Radio Pamela still keeping the flag flying.

His post about WMR even brought a comment from the station operator Jack Russell who wrote: "Hey man, thats a very nice article to write about WMR. Don't discount anything for this year. Last year was an embarassment as far as broadcasting went. Not a single transmission for the 40th anniversary year. No sign of BRI either who also started in 1980, but at least FRSH made it happen with their own excellent broadcasts....It has all been a bit lacking in time over the last few years, with one thing or another, but still here, still listening, still missing being on the air on SW."

The 1990s Free Radio Listener is also keen to hear the memories from other listeners from that era who remember tuning in to these  and other stations.

The address is: https://ukshortwavefreeradiomemories.blogspot.com/ 

Vintage pirate radio magazines online

Cool AM has provided a link to pirate radio fanzines from the 70s & 80s which have been digitally scanned and turned into PDFs. 

Among titles featured are the Anoraks UK Weekly Report, Radio Argus News, Free Radio Waves, Pirate Connection, Wavelength and many many more.

Back in the 1970s & 1980s, there was no internet so getting access to information about your favourite pirate radio stations was not easy.

Some pirate stations had DX shows, while there were free radio columns in DX clubs' monthly magazines. But enthusaists also published their own A4 typewritten fanzines with all the latest information that listeners could subscribe to.

These had all the latest news from shortwave, medium wave, Ireland and offshore. So if you want to wallow in some nostalgia why not take a look?

There are two volumes hosted on the Internet Archive website:

https://archive.org/details/Radio-Magazines

https://archive.org/details/Radio-Magazines2

New website for 80s London FM pirate Phoenix Radio

Phoenix Radio, a FM pirate station which ran from 1979-1984 in London has launched a website. The station played indie/alternative music and built up quite a following in London. The website includes a history of the station, some audio recordings, a clip from a 1984 Channel 4 feature. 

EDIT: Updated 4/8/25, the website seems to be offline but I have included the link to their Facebook page should they sort it out or launch a new website.

https://www.facebook.com/phoenixradio90.2londonpirateradio/#

The most popular posts

This trip through the 1980s free radio scene has featured a selection of nearly 130 stations. Most came from shortwave but also featured are some medium wave (from London and the Netherlands) and FM (or VHF as it was called then) from the London/North Surrey area.

I hope you have enjoying listening to them. I've had a look back to see which have been the most popular and here is the top 5:
1. Radio Jackie Raided . A bit of history as the then pirate broadcaster was raided before returning years later as a licensed local radio broadcaster.
2. Radio Ridiculous/Radio Tonair. A couple of Dutch stations who are both still around today.
3. Radio Invicta and Horizon Radio. Early pioneers of the soul music stations in London.
4. Skull & Bones Radio System. The 80s was a golden era for Irish radio and some of those stations feature on this blog. This is currently the most popular.
5. Radio Torenvalk, Woodpecker & Waddenzee. Three  medium wave Dutch stations from the 1980s.

Fresh FM, Time Radio, TKO

Here are three stations heard on FM across London in the late 1980s. All three were part of the new wave of soul/funk/hip hop stations targeting listeners, particularly from the black communities, fed-up with the mainstream offerings from Radio 1 or Capital, setting the scene for the London FM pirate scene seen today.



(4.22 mins)



(3.28 mins)



(2.54 mins)

Hits FM, London

Hits FM was a station operating on FM in London in the mid-80s. In 1993 staff from the station merged with Laser, which had been operating on FM in the London area since 1990, to form Laser Hot Hits. In 1994 LHH began broadcasting on shortwave ... and is still going strong today. You can read more about Laser's history at www.laserhothits.co.uk

Here is a clip from Hits FM, made at Christmas 1987. Apologises for the poor sound quality.

PLAY: HITSFM

 
(2.44 mins)

North Dublin Community Radio

Here is a clip of North Dublin Community Radio, giving out address, talking about WLR and Beatle Radio from late 1987.




(2.05 mins)

Radio Mr Sandman

Here is a clip of a Dutch station called Radio Mr Sandman, made in 1986. He said he was using 500W of power.




(3.35 mins)

Radio Rainbow Germany

Here is a clip from 1986 of Radio Rainbow Germany, broadcasting via Radio Mirage.



(1.34 mins)

Radio Mirage

Here is a clip from Radio Mirage from 1986. The station first went on the air in the mid-80s and was around through most of the 90s.

 

(2.17 mins)

Radio Marabu

Radio Marabu first began broadcasting in 1984, and is still going in 2012, although these days it is via licensed relays. Here is a short clip of Marabu from 1986. You can find out more about the station on their website at: http://radio-marabu.de/



(0.58 min)

Radio Orion, UK

When Radio Orion launched in 1986 it became the first 7-day free radio shortwave station. Among those involved was the late Paul Johnson of UK Radio. Here is a clip of him on Orion in July 1986.



(3.35 mins)

There is much more about Orion and more audio recordings on the Pirate Archive's UK Radio page.