Cause and Effect presents:

a cat dressed in a pirate costume

No, we’re not talking about the Pittsburgh pirates or the swashbuckling sort, today’s Cause & Effect episode takes a look at the Pirate Radio movement.

 

In 1964, there was nowhere easy for British youth to listen to rock ‘n’ rollers like The Beatles, The Who and The Rolling Stones. Commercial radio wasn’t yet an option, and the guardians of the publicly-owned British Broadcasting Corporation considered such music immoral, antisocial and unfit for public broadcast. Yet just three years later, on Sept. 30, 1967 — the BBC switched on the transmitters of Radio 1, the country’s first dedicated popular music station. What happened to change their minds? The answer to that question — and the story of how pop music came to the FM dial in the U.K. — involves illegal offshore broadcasters AKA PIRATE RADIO.

Drive around some parts of London today and you’re still liable to hear mainstream radio broadcasts drowned out by fleeting bursts of unfamiliar music. Pirate radio stations have been illegally hijacking the FM dial since the 1990s, but while the pirate scene is far smaller than it was in its heyday, the influence of pirate radio has endured and the movement is still thriving on a local scale, and a vibrant array of online-only stations are inspired by the energy and spirit of the pirates.

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Playlist:

    Time: April 29 - 9:01:51 am
  • We Want Billy! Live

    Billy Fury & The Tornados, “Halfway to Paradise Live”

    from We Want Billy! Live

    Ling Music Group - 2014

  • Time: April 29 - 9:02:25 am
  • Space Age Pop - 1962

    The Tornados, “Telstar”

    from Space Age Pop - 1962

    Vintage Music - 2013

  • Time: April 29 - 9:04:44 am
  • Acker Bilk

    Acker Bilk, “Stranger On the Shore”

    from Acker Bilk

    RP-DSP - 2010

  • Time: April 29 - 9:07:56 am
  • Dreamland

    Madeleine Peyroux, “(Getting Some) Fun Out of Life”

    from Dreamland

    Atlantic Records - 1996

  • Time: April 29 - 9:10:53 am
  • Tunes

    André Brasseur, “The Kid”

    from Tunes

    SDBAN - 2016

  • Time: April 29 - 9:14:52 am
  • Charlie Feathers, “get with it”

    from Best of Charlie Feathers

    indie

  • Time: April 29 - 9:16:35 am
  • Rock Island Line - Single

    Lonnie Donegan & His Skiffle Group, “Rock Island Line”

    from Rock Island Line - Single

    Fantasy Day / União Lisboa - 2013

  • Time: April 29 - 9:18:10 am
  • Picks On the Beatles

    Chet Atkins, “Can't Buy Me Love”

    from Picks On the Beatles

    RCA Records Label Nashville - 1996

  • Time: April 29 - 9:26:01 am
  • Dansk Pigtråd: Vol. 2, Pt. 1 (1963-1968)

    The Hitmakers, “Stop the Music”

    from Dansk Pigtråd: Vol. 2, Pt. 1 (1963-1968)

    Universal Music A/S - 2007

  • Time: April 29 - 9:28:45 am
  • The Best Part Of

    The Symbols, “The Best Part of Breaking Up”

    from The Best Part Of

    President Records - 2015

  • Time: April 29 - 9:31:30 am
  • Take a Heart

    The Sorrows, “Take a Heart”

    from Take a Heart

    Castle Communications - 2000

  • Time: April 29 - 9:34:20 am
  • My Friend Jack Eats Sugar Lumps an Anthology

    The Smoke, “Wake Up Cherylina”

    from My Friend Jack Eats Sugar Lumps an Anthology

    Morgan Blue Town - 2015

  • Time: April 29 - 9:36:47 am
  • Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, “Yeah Yeah”

    from 20 Beat Classics

    Polygram

  • Time: April 29 - 9:39:13 am
  • New Bottles, Old Medicine

    Medicine Head, “(And the) Pictures In the Sky”

    from New Bottles, Old Medicine

    Cherry Red Records - 1970

  • Time: April 29 - 9:41:47 am
  • Sixties Japanese Garage Psych Sampler - Digitally Remastered

    The Spiders, “Anything You Want”

    from Sixties Japanese Garage Psych Sampler - Digitally Remastered

    TTW - 2013

  • Time: April 29 - 9:44:22 am
  • Looking On (2008 Remaster)

    The Move, “Feel Too Good”

    from Looking On (2008 Remaster)

    Fly Records - 2018

  • Time: April 29 - 10:01:43 am
  • Greatest Hits

    The Selecter, “On My Radio”

    from Greatest Hits

    Chrysalis Records - 1996

  • Time: April 29 - 10:04:49 am
  • Millie Small, “we'll meet”

    from Ska's the Limit 1959-1964, Vol. 1

    independent

  • Time: April 29 - 10:06:54 am
  • The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1

    The Tenors, “Weather Report”

    from The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1

    Treasure Isle Records - 2010

  • Time: April 29 - 10:09:30 am
  • Heart and Soul

    Lorraine Ellison, “Stay With Me”

    from Heart and Soul

    Warner Music Group - X5 Music Group - 1966

  • Time: April 29 - 10:12:52 am
  • No, No, No

    Dawn Penn, “You Don't Love Me (No No No)”

    from No, No, No

    Rhino Atlantic - 2005

  • Time: April 29 - 10:17:43 am
  • Original Nuttah 25 - Single

    UK Apache, “Original Nuttah 25”

    from Original Nuttah 25 - Single

    Cult.ure - 2019

  • Time: April 29 - 10:20:52 am
  • Bam Bam [single]

    Sister Nancy, “Bam Bam”

    from Bam Bam [single]

    Techniques/Dub Store Records - 2016

  • Time: April 29 - 10:24:32 am
  • RCA 100 Años de Música

    Los Dug Dug's, “I Don't Care”

    from RCA 100 Años de Música

    RCA Records Label - 2017

  • Time: April 29 - 10:27:33 am
  • The Frenz Experiment

    The Fall, “Hit the North, Pt. 1”

    from The Frenz Experiment

    Beggars Banquet - 1988

  • Time: April 29 - 10:35:05 am
  • The Best of the Undertones

    The Undertones, “You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It!)”

    from The Best of the Undertones

    Union Square Music - 2010

  • Time: April 29 - 10:37:14 am
  • Sound System

    The Clash, “Radio One”

    from Sound System

    Sony Music UK - 2013

  • Time: April 29 - 10:42:42 am
  • Generation Jungle 4 (10 Year Edition)

    Ray Keith, “the dubplate”

    from Generation Jungle 4 (10 Year Edition)

    Asbo Records - 2021

  • Time: April 29 - 10:46:51 am
  • Let Them Eat Bingo

    Beats International, “Dub Be Good to Me”

    from Let Them Eat Bingo

    Rhino/Elektra - 2004

  • Time: April 29 - 10:50:33 am
  • The ExPerience

    Lila Iké, “Where I'm Coming From”

    from The ExPerience

    In.Digg.Nation Collective/Six Course Music/RCA Records - 2020

  • Time: April 29 - 10:58:12 am
  • Boy In da Corner

    Dizzee Rascal, “Hold Ya Mouf (Feat. God’s Gift)”

    from Boy In da Corner

    XL Recordings - 2003

  • Time: April 29 - 10:58:40 am
  • Landing - EP

    Mike From Mars, “Dial Up”

    from Landing - EP

    Mike From Mars - 2022

    Cause and Effect    April 29th, 2023

Posted In: Fund Drive, Music, Music Shows

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