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
Pirate radio in the United Kingdom south west London. In London pirate stations emerged that, for the first time in UK radio broadcasting, focused on particular music genres such as Radio Invicta (92.4 FM) Europe's first soul station, started in 1970. Horizon Radio (94.5 and 102.5 FM) broadcast from 1981 until September 1985 and was also known for soul music. During the 1960s and 70s Birmingham was the home of a music scene comparable to that of Liverpool, and a number of pirate stations arose there, including Mix FM, Real Radio and the Peoples Community Radio Link (PCRL), which began broadcasting in 1985 on 103.7 FM