How DTI Find Pirates #drumandbass #pirateradio #oldskool

A documentary about pirate radio, including some footage of Rude FM in London.

Over the years, Rude FM has been host to some of the most renowned names from the scene. Dylan and Facs are two notable DJs, signed to Danny Breaks' label Droppin' Science, who came up through the Rude FM ranks.

Dylan ended up forming his own label Freak Recordings, pushing the harder, darker side of Drum & Bass with releases from another Rude regular B Key.

There was also Fracture and Neptune, who started as a DJ duo and ended up signed to Droppin' Science, but then went on to form their own label, Astrophonica.

Other Rude FM alumni include Break, Mantra, Psylence, Sabre, Alex Perez, Mark System, 2 Shy, Evil B, Wiley, Riko Dan, Eksman and many more. The station has also seen guest shows from the likes of Loxy, Klute, dBridge, Skeptical, Anile, Genotype and Source Direct, to name a few.

During the '90s stations such as Kiss would increasingly discover that advertising revenue and market share became as important as the music it played, new pirate stations once again sprung up to cater for underground music scenes that were developing. The biggest of these would be the rising rave music scene, with stations moving to a "rave on the air" format with back to back mixing and listener participation through 'shouts' - enabled by the growth of pagers and mobile phones. In London, such stations included the likes of Rush, Kool FM, Pulse FM, Innocence, Don FM, and Defection.

The authorities and media increasingly alleged an organized crime and drugs link with the rave stations, culminating in a high-profile raid in Hackney in the summer of 1993 on Rush. The Evening Standard headline exclaimed, "Drug gangs set up fortresses." Toughened laws also sought to incur heavier fines on DJs and businesses that advertised on stations. The Rush raid was featured in the seminal BBC Two documentary Pirates, shown as part of the Arena series in December 1993.

Across the UK, the picture was similar, with notable pirate radio stations including PCRL, Frontline, and Sting in Birmingham; The Superstation, Buzz FM and Soul Nation in Manchester; Dance FM, Fantasy FM, and SCR in Sheffield; Passion Radio, Ragga FM, For the People in Bristol; Fresh FM in Leicester; Z100 in Liverpool, and Dream FM in Leeds.

By the mid to late 1990s, genres such as happy hardcore, jungle/drum'n'bass and speed/UK garage saw a new generation of pirate radio stations emerge. In London, Kool FM was joined by Rinse FM, Rude, Flex FM, Eruption FM, and Dream FM in championing jungle music/drum'n'bass, and the latter also happy hardcore. Speed/UK garage was being pushed by stations such as London Underground (notably the Dreem Teem), Freek FM (notably DJ EZ), Shine FM, and Girls FM.

According to the research, both pirate radio listeners and those running pirate radio stations thought that licensed broadcasters failed to cater sufficiently for the needs of the public at large.

An operation by Ofcom to take unlicensed operators off-air in late 2005 would reveal that London's airwaves were still very active, including long established stations such as Kool FM, Point Blank, Bassline, Lightning FM, Y2K FM, Deja Vu, and Rinse FM.

Ofcom responded to a Freedom of Information request in July 2015, that revealed they had raided and seized almost 400 pirate radio set-ups in London in just a two year period.

Out to all the London FM pirates of the past. Their contribution to the British music industry and to the London music scene has been immense.
Flava FM 87.6 / Shine FM 87.9 / Rude FM 88.2 / Impact FM 88.2 / Centreforce FM 88.3 / Unity FM 88.4 / Conflict FM 88.4 / Ice FM 88.4 / London Underground FM 89.4 / Defection FM 89.4 / Raw FM 90.0 / Raw Mission 90.0 / Raw Blaze FM 90.0 / Chillin' 90.0 / Pure Magic FM 90.2 / Pulse FM 90.6 / Chicago FM 90.6 / Mission FM 90.6 / Y2K FM 90.6 / Rinse FM 91.8 / Passion FM 91.8 / Weekend Rush FM 92.3 / Kik FM 92.3 / Deja Vu FM 92.3 / Weekend Rush FM 92.5 / Taste FM 92.5 / Mac FM 92.7 / Freeze FM 92.7 / Format FM 93.2 / Touchdown FM 94.1 / Stompin’ FM 94.2 / Kool FM 94.5 / Origin FM 95.2 / Entice FM 95.5 / Heat FM 96.6 / Rinse FM 97.6 / Flashback FM 97.6 / Shake FM 98.0 / Fantasy FM 98.1 / Fantasy FM 98.6 / Future FM 99.1 / Upfront FM 99.3 / Rinse FM 100.3 / Cyndicut 100.4 / Pressure FM 100.4 / Don FM 100.5 / Eruption FM 101.3 / Erotic FM 101.3 / Industry FM 101.3 / Freek FM 101.8 / Temptation FM 102.4 / Chillin’ FM 102.9 / Delight FM 103.0 / Flex FM 103.6 / Smoove FM 104.0 / Rude FM 104.3 / Ruud Awakening FM 104.3 / Don FM 105.7 / Shadow FM 106.5 / Force FM 106.5 / Girls FM 106.8 / Dream FM 107.0 / Risk FM 107.1 / Freedom FM 107.3 / Dream FM 107.6 / Don FM 107.9 and Boomerang 100 Edinburgh
#pirateradio #documentary #junglemusic

[RenegadeRaveArchives]

Clip from Making Waves: 1999 Pirate Radio Documentary

DJ Facs: Rude FM 1998

Majistrate & MC Evil B: Rude FM 1997

Smokey Joe: Rude FM 1996