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
Capital Radio (pirate) winds, so the entire loop had to be reinforced and the guy wires strengthened. Once the station went on air the loop antenna did produce an efficient signal, covering large parts of the Netherlands, Belgium and eastern England although the transmitter was only operated at 1 kilowatt. However, if the ship listed too far in heavy seas one side of the loop could make contact with the water, causing the transmitter to momentarily short out. Capital Radio (pirate) Capital Radio (not to be confused with the later British radio station of the same name) was a pirate radio station which