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
Swinging Radio England operate alongside Britain Radio. The move was to avoid the British Government's impending "Marine Broadcast Offences" law that would outlaw pirate operations in the United Kingdom. Vick and Curtiss headed to Amsterdam to locate offices and hire Dutch-speaking deejays to staff the station which was called Radio Dolfijn (Radio Dolphin) after the initial notion of a "Swinging Radio Holland" The new station went on the air in mid-November 1966 and Radio England passed into history after a turbulent six months. Middle-of-the-road station Britain Radio, which had begun at the same time as Radio England, continued broadcasting until 22 February 1967.