Pirate Memories
Free radio recordings from the 1980s, with clips of shortwave, medium wave and FM stations from that era
Sunday, 13 March 2022
Welcome to the Pirate Memories blog
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 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!
Monday, 8 March 2021
Remembering the shortwave pirates of 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/
Saturday, 12 September 2020
Sounds of 1980s London medium wave pirates

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/
Tuesday, 23 June 2020
Sounds of London's FM pirates from 1980s

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/
Tuesday, 7 April 2020
More sounds of 1980s British shortwave pirates

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/
Saturday, 8 February 2020
Sounds of 1980s British shortwave pirates
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
Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Vintage pirate radio magazines online


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

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?
The link is
http://radiocommunicationsmagazines.ml
Saturday, 30 March 2019
Sounds of the 1980s Irish shortwave pirates
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
Sunday, 8 March 2015
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.
There's also a link to Phoenix Radio's Facebook page on the site.
The address is: http://phoenixfm902.moonfruit.com/login