In this Year and On This day…
PART 1, 1970-1979
The Year lists are of stations where no distinct start [or end] dates are known, Can you help please?
1970
* GBR. Romford, Essex. The Associated British Contemporary Radio [ABC Radio] starts broadcasting, with low power on MW this year. It is later raided, and disappears for some years.
* NED. In this year Radio Bandonica starts broadcasts on Medium Wave
* GBR. London. In this year broadcasts by the following stations are noted: –
Radio Telstar on 272m 1103kHz
Radio Sheila on 259m 1158kHz
Radio King on 255m 1176kHz,
Radio Jackie on 227m 1321kHz,
Radio Invicta also starts VHF broadcasts in this year
* GBR. Ealing. 1507 kHz MW. Radio Nelson starts Sunday broadcasts in this year on 199m, 227m or 259m, possibly between September and December
* GBR. Dover. 1492 kHz MW. Channel Radio is on 201m this year. Eddie Austin and Andy Archer are among the presenters.
01 Jan. 1970
no details yet – can you help?
1971
* GBR. Edinburgh. “Around 1320 kHz” Saturday nights and Sundays 11:00-17:00 Radio free Caroline is on air
* GBR. Putney. 227m [1321 kHz] MW Radio Stra International starts broadcasts on Saturdays this year 10:00-16:00
* GBR. Edgbaston. 222m [1357 to 1363 kHz] MW. Radio Jolly Roger starts broadcasts this year, it is run by Jacko Diamond, and usually broadcasts Saturdays and some Sundays
* GBR. Colchester. 220m 1363 kHz MW. In this year, Sovereign Radio starts broadcasts with Duke Edmonds and two other DJs. It runs, on and off, until 1977
01 Jan. 1971
+ GBR. Edinburgh.1322 kHz MW. Radio Free City is on air tonight 01:00-02:30
1972
* GBR. Dover. 1240 kHz MW, 242 m. This year Channel Radio appears, using the disused Aycliffe Battery site as a temporary aerial location
* GBR. Edgbaston. 222m [1357 to 1363 kHz] MW. Radio Jolly Roger is raided this year, but soon returns. Jacko was fined £75. The station then teams up with other West Midlands stations, to form the Birmingham Free Radio Network. Similar to the Helen Network in London, the stations ran for 30 minutes and turned on and off in sequence, these were Radio Dolphin [Halesowen], Radio Midlands Mobile [Smethwick] and Radio Jolly Roger. These are then to be joined by Radio Javelin [Rubery], Radio Seagull [Rubery], Radio Pegasus [Warley], and Radio Signal North [Northfield]. These broadcasts nonetheless do result in some raids, and on one occasion at a court hearing, eggs were fed into the diesel tank of the GPO vehicle, which was to be fined for parking on a double yellow line when it broke down.
* GBR. London. 94.4 FM. LTIR continues, Radio London Underground [RLU] claims to be the first to use Dolby B in its broadcasts! LTIR is in a few years’ time, (the exact date in not confirmed) to bribe a security guard at the Crystal Palace transmitter mast, and Brian Anthony went in, climbed to the first level of the mast, and installed a 10-watt rig run from a car battery!
* GBR. London. 94.8 FM. Radio Tracy appears; one of its DJs is Kenny Myers, who later turns up on Radio Samantha.
* GBR. SW London. Radio Jackie is to be raided almost every weekend this year
* GBR. Edinburgh. In this year some staff from Radio Caroline South join Radio Scotland and Radio Caroline Scotland is formed. Radio Caroline South… continues.
01 Jan. 1972
+ GBR. Putney. 1321 kHz MW. 10:00-16:00 Radio Star International is on air today
+ GBR. Fife. 1354 kHz MW. Radio Free Scotland is on air with a New Year party, claiming to be from offshore.
+ GBR. Edinburgh. Radio Caroline South is on air 23:00-01:00
* NED. In this year Dick Offringa starts Radio Bloody Mary
* GBR. Chingford. 229m [1310 kHz] MW. Radio Julie is believed to have broadcast to the Chingford area this year, with several Radio Nelson DJs, Mike Stewart, Steve Rogers, Brian Burnett, Peter West, Mark King, Henry Morgan, and Libby Caroline. 10:00-18:00 Sundays.
01 Jan. 1973
+ NED. Ijmuiden. The Mi Amigo arrives here on her way back to the sea. She is stopped by Customs, and prevented from leaving until a hole by her stern is patched. Somehow a welder is found on New Year’s Day, and the Mi Amigo leaves just minutes ahead of the former captain, who has a writ to stop her! By midday, she is back at her anchorage off Schevingen, and back on the air.
1974
* GBR. Tottenham. 1127 kHz MW. The first attempts at broadcasting MW from Tower blocks starts this year when Wonderful Free Radio London [WFRL] sites a rig on the top of a 5-storey block on the Broadwater Farm estate, and runs an aerial upwards to the top of a nearby 16 storey tower block, instead of downwards from the top as later stations were to do.
* GBR. Hendon.1276 kHz MW. Dynamite 235 is on air this year
* GBR. East London. 1321 kHz MW. Radio Free Enterprise is on air this year
* NED. On 1323 kHz MW, Radio Valentino starts broadcasts.
* FIN. Helsinki. On 6280 kHz SW, Radio Carillo starts broadcasts. It also broadcasts [to Helsinki] on 101.0 FM. Late in the year, it closes down due to Finnish GPO activity, but soon returns as Radio Back Woods.
* FIN. 6225 kHz SW. Late this year, another new station starts broadcasting. Radio Station Voices in The Sky, programmes are generally on-air Saturday mornings. After a few weeks they move to 6265 and 6268 kHz.
* GBR. London. 92.4 FM. Radio Invicta decides to only broadcast during Bank Holidays from this year, something which continues until 1977
* GBR. Isle of Wight. 190m 1575 kHz Radio Kathy is noted this year, it has been broadcasting for some years.
01 Jan 1974
+ GBR. London. 92.4 FM Radio Invicta is on air today
1975
* GBR. East London. 1321 kHz MW. Radio Free Enterprise is on air this year
* GBR. London. 1333 kHz MW. On air this year. Radio Concorde is noted, midnight to midday Saturday mornings..
* GBR. London. 1351 kHz 222m MW. Yet another new station starts broadcasts this year, London Music Radio [LMR]
* FIN. 6203 kHz SW. on air this year is Radio Weekend, initially with 15 watts, but soon using a 200-watt transmitter.
* FIN. 6225 kHz SW. Early this year, UFO Radio starts broadcasts with 30 watts. The station has been planning to start broadcasts for the past year, but has only just made it on the air.
* FIN. 6235 kHz SW Also starting broadcasts this year: Radio Bee with 15 watts, Radio Saturnus, ‘the voice of the stars’, also on 6235 with 15 watts, Radio Piratinga, also with 15 watts.
* GBR. Cambridgeshire. 6270 kHz SW. ABC England starts broadcasts; its power is usually 40 watts, but occasionally a 200-watt rig was used, 2 hours on Sundays initially
* GBR. London. Bank Holidays. Trans London Radio broadcasts, comprising of various members of various London stations. The frequency and band vary, according to who is contributing the transmitter but is usually 1476 or 1503 kHz MW.
* GBR. London. 94.2 FM. Also, on Bank Holidays only this year is soul station Radio Invicta, broadcasting in stereo.
* GBR. London. Radio Jackie is re-grouping and stays off the air for much of 1975.
* GBR. London. Radio Telstar South is first heard this year
* NED. Radio Titanic International starts broadcasting this year.
01 Jan. 1975
+ GBR. London. 92.4 FM. Radio Invicta is on air this Bank Holiday
1976
* GBR. East London. 1321 kHz MW. Radio Free Enterprise is on air this year
* FIN. Radio Gambina closes down. It does not reappear until 1978.
* FIN. UFO Radio closes down. Although it is rumoured to be returning in 1978, it does not do so, and has remained off the air ever since.
* FIN. On FM, Radio Night Gallery [RNG] starts broadcasts. They also put out some SW broadcasts in spring and autumn. RNG also attracts a few other stations and forms the Night Gallery Network.
* IRL. Radio Dublin, which has been on air on AM for a while is joined by Prince Terry. The SW service of this station is called Westside Radio.
* In this year, Independent Radio London South is believed to have started broadcasts. This station is renamed Radio Telstar South in the first half of the year. It is formed of a lot of Radio Free London [RFL] staff.
01 Jan.1976
+ GBR. 1412 kHz MW. Radio Fen is on air today. This is their last broadcast after earlier raids in May 1975
+ GBR. London. 92.4 FM. Radio Invicta is on air this Bank Holiday
1977
* GBR. Leicester. Radio Free Leicester is believed to have broadcast this year
* GBR. East London. 1321 kHz MW. Radio Free Enterprise is on air this year
* GBR. Essex. 220m 1363 kHz MW. Sovereign Radio closes this year, it had operated periodically since 1971
* GBR. Liverpool. 217m 1382 kHz MW. Radio Free Liverpool is noted this year, with rock programmes. It receives several raids and court cases. Late in the year, one operator is fined £60 on each offence, plus £15 prosecution costs and £25 for his own legal aid. These were repeated later on the same year with one operator having five such cases and another, one case.
* GBR. London. on MW, Celebration Radio, now with 6 staff, is on air on Sundays
* IRL. 6210 kHz SW. Prince Terry takes over the operation of Westside Radio, and the station returns to the air on Short-Wave, with 80 watts. Radio Dublin, with Dr. Don in charge continues on MW.
* NED. In this year Radio Torenvalk starts broadcasts.
* FIN. Radio Bee closes down in this year. It has only made irregular broadcasts since starting in 1975.
* FIN. Radio Saturnus disappears this year, and Radio Weekend is raided.
* FIN. Radio Bambino makes several test broadcasts this year, but faults with the rig mean little is heard of them this year. The same problems affect another station, Fox Radio.
* NED. In this year, Radio Scotland International is raided by the Dutch PTT
* NED. Another free station starts broadcasts, on the FM band. West Coast Radio is born this year.
* GBR. London. In this year London Music Radio closes, two of its staff Bob Edwards and Tony Lloyd decide to put a new station on the air which would broadcast Sundays after 19:00.
* GBR. London. Early this year Radio North Kent starts broadcasts in FM stereo. These last to Summer of 1980.
Jan. 1977
* FIN. Radio Piratinga joins the Night Gallery Network. This gives the station more power.
* GBR. London. 92.4 FM. Radio Invicta is on air today concluding a Christmas and New Year broadcast on FM in stereo
01 Jan. 1977
+ GBR. 6270 or 6275 kHz SW. Radio Zodiac International is on air today with a New Year programme
1978
* GBR. London. 1278 kHz MW [235m] Celebration Radio starts broadcasts in this year
* GBR. Edmonton. 1367 kHz MW. North London Radio is mentioned in a write up in the local press. It broadcasts Sundays 11:00-17:00. Brian Scott and Garry Stevens run it, and Dave Christian is mentioned as one of the DJs. They claim to have letters from afar afield as Scarborough, Brighton, and Chelmsford.
* GBR. West Midlands. 1410 kHz MW, Two Spires Radio appears this year, with short programmes, it is a self-proclaimed politically right-wing radio station, with apparent involvement in a group called People Against Marxism and claims to be running at 180 watts
* GBR. London. Celebration Radio is on air Sundays, some staff are to leave during the year, but the station continues.
* NED. Radio Valentino becomes Radio Casablanca International. Its manager, Hans, is to go on to DJ on the Ross Revenge.
* NED. The Dutch PTT raids Radio Scotland International this year.
* NED. Radio Bluestar is to start broadcasts in this year
* NED. Arnhem. On FM, Radio Gele Eend [Yellow Duck] broadcasts this year, on Sundays, from 10:00 to 12:00. It features Tony Atlanta, who is to go on to become ‘Herbie the Fish’
* GBR. 6750 kHz SW. Radio Enoch, another politically right-wing station, named after Enoch Powell, is noted this year, it has a mailing address in Stockton on Tees.
* GBR. West London. 94.4 FM. In this year Uptown Radio starts broadcasts, playing mainly Punk, Rock, and Alternative music
Jan. 1978
* FIN. One of Radio Sylvania International’s operators is caught while testing a 30-watt rig. The Finnish ‘authorities’ also confiscate [steal] a 250-watt SW rig and an FM rig.
01 Jan. 1978
+ GBR. SW London. 1332 kHz MW. Radio Jackie is on air 09:00-17:00
+ GBR. London. 6260 kHz SW. Skyport Radio is on air today 10:00-13:00 and received in East Germany
+ GBR. London. 92.4 FM. Radio Invicta is on air today, programmes noted are by Roger Tate and Bob Adams
+ GBR. London. 92.8 FM. Radio Telstar South is on air this evening
1979
* GER. Kiel. The abandoned and derelict MV Galaxy, former home to Radio London sinks near the U boat bunker this year.
* GBR. London. 1276 kHz MW. Edge City Radio is on air this year, its aerial running in a sideways L formation, from a ground floor window, to a tree and then back to a chimney. It is raided when the police attended for different reasons and saw the transmitter.
* GBR. London. 1368 kHz MW. Radio Tranquillity is heard this year.
* FIN. Radio Sylvania International changes its hours of broadcasting to avoid the attentions of the Finnish post office. In addition to their Short-Wave service, they are also broadcasting on 1323 kHz MW.
* FIN. Radio Bambino introduces another rig this year, and starts mobile broadcasts. This station along with several others is involved in the then popular pastime of broadcasting on the same 91.6 FM channel as Finnish National Radio.
* FIN. Spring, and the second Radio Urbino has changed its name to Radio Eagle International. It then founds another Finnish free radio association, the Eagle Pirate Club, which has 2 SW and 6 FM stations as adherents. Radio Kohoutek is one of the Short-Wave ones, using the ex-Fox Radio rig.
* GBR. Swanley, Kent. ABC Radio is re-activated by Richard Staines, James Rackay and Steve Ellis. This station broadcasts fortnightly, and becomes popular all over Europe.
* GBR. Newark. Herbie the fish forms his own station, ABC-B [Alternative Broadcasting Corporation Benelux], and relays appear via the transmitters of Voice of Britain. Later on in the year, Radio Orang Utang relays his station
* GBR. London. Radio Duck starts broadcasting this year
* GBR. London. Kent North Radio moves in this year from MW to 96.3 FM
Jan. 1979
* GBR. Wolverhampton. 104.0 FM. UK Radio is on air, with 1 watt, the shows, which have been top 20, punk and disco, are now joined by oldies, presented by Doug Neilson. The MW service appears to have been retired.
01 Jan. 1979
+ GBR. Wolverhampton. 104.0 FM. UK Radio is on air this evening
Bert Bridges
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