Pirate radio in the United Kingdom Caroline and Radio London started to broadcast on medium wave to the UK from offshore ships or disused sea forts. At the time, these stations were not illegal because they were broadcasting from international waters. The stations were set up by entrepreneurs and music enthusiasts to meet the growing demand for pop and rock music, which was not catered for by the legal BBC Radio services. The first British pirate radio station was Radio Caroline, which was launched by Irish music entrepreneur Ronan O'Rahilly, and started broadcasting from a ship off the Essex coast in 1964. By 1967 ten pirate
Hot 92 (pirate radio station) Hot 92 (pirate radio station) Hot 92 is a pirate radio station in Birmingham, England, which in October 2005, along with another local pirate station and a black interest website, reported rumours that a black girl was raped by a group of Asian men. This allegedly caused riots in the Lozells area of Birmingham, leaving at least one person dead and 35 people injured. In November 2005, Leon Williams, then 26, pleaded guilty to charges related to helping to run an illegal broadcasting station. In January 2008, one of the people associated with the station, Ernest Uriah Griffiths, was convicted