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
Irish pirate radio followed by the arrival of South Coast Radio and Radio ERI in Cork. These were pirate radio stations run for the first time on a commercial basis with the critical support of Ireland's advertising industry based in Dublin. Radio Nova in Dublin, launched as a 'clutter free' radio station, was arguably the catalyst for a sea change in radio in Ireland. It was an era of unregulated freedom on air that produced what many view as perhaps the most exciting era for radio in Ireland. Professional market research conducted in the 1980s by reputable market research companies such as Lansdowne