Thameside Radio was an unlicensed radio station based in London. It launched in the winter of 1977, [1] offering "very slick pop rock with competitions", according to Time Out. [2] According to the Richmond and Twickenham Times, it 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 and thamesideradio.org
In late 1984, Thameside set up the first London unlicensed TV station for a one-off event. [9]
Thameside Radio was an unlicensed radio station based in London. It launched in the winter of 1977, [1] offering "very slick pop rock with competitions", according to Time Out. [2] According to the Richmond and Twickenham Times, it 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 and thamesideradio.org
In late 1984, Thameside set up the first London unlicensed TV station for a one-off event. [9]