Thameside Radio

Thameside Radio was an unlicensed radio station based in London UK. It launched in the winter of 1977 [1] offering [2] "very slick pop rock with competitions", according to Time Out. According to the Richmond and Twickenham Times, they broadcast from "a certain Notting Hill tower block" [3] – a reference to Trellick Tower.[4]

The station received 30-40 letters each week[5] and had an estimated listenership of around 20,000.[3] It pioneered new music and is noted by the New Musical Express for giving airplay to "Win a Night Out with a Well-Known Paranoiac" by Barry Andrews which was subsequently picked up by BBC Radio 1.[6]

Increasing numbers of raids resulted in the station losing five transmitters in six months[7] and the station ceased live transmission, instead taping its shows shortly before broadcast.[7]

Recordings of a number of Thameside Radio shows are held by the British Library.[8] Many shows are available for download from fmthen.com

In late 1984, Thameside set up the first London unlicensed TV station for a one-off event.[9]

References
  1. "The Thameside Radio Story: Early Days".
  2. "Free as the Air". Time Out (449). 23 March 1979.
  3. Frances Welch (28 November 1981). "Secret superbeam – Pirate radio defies Post Office". Richmond and Twickenham Times.
  4. "The Thameside Radio Story: Technology".
  5. "Sounds", "Touch That Dial", 15 January 1983
  6. "NME: Barry Andrews".
  7. "Static Crackle and Pop". Time Out (606). 2 April 1982.
  8. "Thameside Radio", Sound and Moving Image Catalogue, British Library, retrieved 17 July 2012
  9. "The Thameside Radio Story: Endings". Retrieved 1 February 2021.

See also

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