Pirate radio in the United Kingdom A number of DJs of the newly created pop music service BBC Radio 1 came from pirate stations. The UK Government also closed the international waters loophole via the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act of 1967, although Radio Caroline continued to broadcast (with some sizeable off-air periods between 1968 and 1972 and 1980–83) until 1990. The 1967 Marine Broadcasting Offences Act officially outlawed offshore stations, but unlicensed radio continued, moving from ships and sea-based platforms to urban areas in the latter part of the 1960s (they were already illegal under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949). During this period, home-made medium wave
Pirate radio in the United Kingdom a new generation of pirate radio stations emerge. In London, stations such as Kool FM were joined by Rude, Dream FM, Flex FM, Deja Vu, London Underground, Freek, and most notably Rinse FM. There are currently an estimated 150 pirate radio stations in the UK. A large proportion of these pirate radio stations operate in London, with significant clusters in Harlesden, Crystal Palace, Stoke Newington, Southwark and Lambeth. Set-up costs for pirate radio stations are minimal with a transmitter generally built by the engineer of the station. In days gone by these were powered by car batteries, but when the