Radio Jackie: A Very English Struggle

by Colin^^^King

This is the story of the most famous land based pirate station, Radio Jackie, and it’s 34 year struggle to win a licence to broadcast. This book is full of high comedy, daring ‘catch-us-if-you-can’ escapes, vivid and eccentric characters.   A determination to succeed and with both breathtaking highs and abject lows on the way. It is a true story that included senior politicians of the Margaret Thatcher, Norman Tebbit Dame Angela Rumbold.    Radio Jackie finally won their licence to broadcast in 2003. It is the story of a few youngsters who wanted to start a commercial radio station in their local area.      This was at a time when it was either illegal or very heavily controlled and limited. It contains the inventive and the sometimes totally impractical ideas that were employed in order to stay one step ahead of the authorities. There is a “boo hiss” baddy, Eric Gotts ( who gets his comeuppance).   There is Jim Crow, the leader of the Home Office team, directed to catch us and put us off the air, who is extremely sympathetic and helpful. The story includes characters like Harry Secombe, Ken Dodd, Janet Street Porter, Michael Aspel, Frank Ifield.   It also shows the solid backing of all the local councils. There is a comic character, Brian Horne, who is a cross between the Artful Dodger and Arthur Daly and who is always willing to challenge authority. There is an engineer, Maurice Ogden, who was wild eyed and reminiscent of Christopher Lloyd from ‘Back to the Future’ - only chain smoking and ash grey!!! Radio Jackie exists today because of the steely determination of the central character, Tony Collis.   He too was always willing to ‘take on’ the authorities. We blazed a trail in the early 1970 and showed the legal broadcasters what could be achieved with non-stop music radio.    Every pop music station now plays formats that we developed and broadcast.   We took music radio to a new level and everyone else, in the end, has copied us. 

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 26, 2007

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who was involved in land based broadcasting at a similar period, this book made very good reading. Many of the names I knew of & the story I had heard in part from others & in small bits & pieces.
This is a book for anyone who loves free radio, broadcasting history or Radio Jackie it's self.
This is one of the better books about broadcasting that I have read & I am glad I finally got round to reading it properly, rather than just dipping into it.
FFFR (Fight For Free Radio.)