INTRODUCTIONShare in the excitement of the offshore "pirate" stations of the 60s and 70s. Follow the progression of offshore radio into the 80s and 90s. Hear the superb professional sounds of a totally illegal and unauthorised commercial broadcasting industry which developed in Ireland in the 80s taking advantage of a loophole in the Irish law. Sample wordwide commercial radio including the masters - the Americans.
Read about the offshore stations and hear the jingles. |
HOW IT ALL BEGAN |
WHY OFFSHORE RADIO? If the government of your country had an iron grip on the airwaves and independent commercial radio was illegal, how would you start a station? The only way in the UK in the sixties was to broadcast from another country, or from a ship or offshore structure outside the country's territorial limit and jurisdiction. Although affectionately called "pirates", the offshore stations were largely legal as they escaped the laws of the country they were broadcasting to, until . . . . . the affected European countries introduced Marine Offences Broadcasting Laws which made it impossible to operate the stations profitably by making it illegal to work for them, supply them and advertise on them.
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OUR HISTORY |
Formed in the Spring of 1988 from recordings of offshore stations made by myself, the museum has gone from strength to strength and is still growing thanks to the material continually being received from contributors and by our own recordings which mark any unusual or specific broadcast which has occurred.
The museum is now a collection of over 1,000 archive radio recordings. It is a personal collection and NONE of the items are for sale. We adhere strictly to this rule, although we are sometimes prepared to swap certain items in exchange for recordings we would like, or give away recordings to anyone with a specific interest or connection with a station. It is an attempt to record a unique period in the broadcasting history of the British Isles, and a cross-section of commercial broadcasting throughout the world for future reference by interested parties. This website exists both as a service to the members of The Museum of Commercial Radio and as a tribute to the pioneers of commercial radio in Europe, and we welcome any e-mail from individuals/organisations either interested in or connected with commercial radio in the past, present or future. |