Offshore radio acquired the yacht Ceto and installed radio equipment. Unfortunately, the apparatus could not operate properly overboard, the signal being heavily affected by the climate conditions. The transmitter was then replaced by Siemens loudspeakers and the Ceto toured England "broadcasting" gramophone records interspersed by advertising. Unauthorized offshore broadcasting stations operating from ships or fixed platforms in the coastal waters of the Northern Sea first appeared in 1958. There were as many as eleven such stations in the mid-1960s. One of the most popular offshore radio broadcasts in Europe came from Radio Caroline, which developed out both of the strict broadcasting regulations
Pirate radio in the United Kingdom radio stations were broadcasting to an estimated daily audience of 10 to 15 million. Influential pirate radio DJs included John Peel, Tony Blackburn, Kenny Everett, Johnnie Walker, Tony Prince, Emperor Rosko and Spangles Muldoon. The format of this wave of pirate radio was influenced by Radio Luxembourg and American radio stations. Many followed a top 40 format with casual DJs, making UK pirate radio the antithesis of BBC radio at the time. Spurred on by the offshore stations, landbased pirate stations took to the air on medium wave at weekends, such as Radio Free London in 1968. By 1965 pirate