Radio London broadcast from 16th December, 1964 to August 14th, 1967, from the mv Galaxy, anchored outside the three-mile limit of British territorial waters. This was in order to circumvent the country's stringent broadcasting laws; at the time, BBC radio was the only station licensed to broadcast in the UK. The stations were dubbed 'pirates' by the press, but because the stations were broadcasting from International Waters, which are ungoverned by any laws, their operations were never actually illegal.

Radio London's backers were Texan businessmen, headed by the late Don Pierson, who had been impressed when he read a newspaper article concerning the success of Radio Caroline, Britain's first offshore pirate radio station. It was June 1964, and Don, the town mayor of Eastland, Texas, was well aware of the huge success of local radio station KLIF. He felt it was time to introduce American Top 40-style radio to the UK, his aim being to model the station output on that of KLIF, calling it 'KLIF London'. Don's original idea was for the new station to broadcast tapes of the KLIF output, with the local jingles replaced by specially-made 'KLIF London' jingles. However, Don had to modify his ideas somewhat. The British public was totally unfamiliar with upbeat American radio, and had so far never even heard a jingle. It was feared that this style of broadcasting would not attract conservative British advertisers.
(Right: One of Radio London's original DJs, master of innovation, Kenny Everett)

Another Texan, Ben Toney, was brought in as Programme Director. Ben had worked in the radio business for eight years, and was currently both sales manager and DJ at WTAW in Bryan College Station. Radio London's jingles were also recorded in Dallas, by PAMS, (Promotions, Advertising and Merchandising Services) the top US jingle company at the time. Ben spent some weeks in Dallas, overseeing production of a new set of PAMS Radio London jingles, and consulting with KLIF's owner, Gordon McLendon and his staff, to produce a station format for the new pirate station, similar to KLIF's. To stay ahead of the four existing offshore pirates which were currently broadcasting from forts and ships, Radio London would become the first to carry news bulletins.

The backers searched for an appropriate ship to sail in Caroline's wake, eventually purchasing the mv Density, a former US minesweeper. They converted the ship for broadcasting use in Miami, renamed her the Galaxy, and sailed her across the Atlantic Ocean to a new home; an anchorage approximately three miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex. The station's on-air name was agreed upon as Radio London - Big L, just as KLIF Dallas was known as Big K. Ben Toney recruited DJs who had gained on-air experience in Australia, Canada, Kenya and the USA. The exception was 19-year-old Liverpudlian, Kenny Everett. Ben immediately spotted star quality in Kenny's idiosyncratic raw talent, and the nervous youngster evolved into one of the UK's greatest-ever, and much-loved DJs.

Ben gave Kenny Everett and the more-experienced broadcaster, Dave Cash, tapes of KLIF to listen to and emulate. When they heard the Charlie and Harrigan show (at the time, 'Charlie' was Danny McCurdy – a jock who had once worked for Ben – and 'Harrigan' was Ron Chapman), Everett and Cash decided they would like to attempt a similar, zany programme. In April 1965, the Kenny and Cash show was born. Within weeks, this anarchic and hilarious programme achieved cult status, and changed the face of UK radio for ever – copied, but never bettered. The show was only on the air for a matter of months, but it has never been forgotten. Rare recordings of it are treasured by air-check collectors. Dave Cash says he is amazed at how people still talk to him about a show that ran for such a short time, back in 1965! The catchy PAMS jingles also achieved immediate popularity, and the station went on to become the most successful of the British pirates. It was Big L, and the influence of KLIF, that irrevocably changed British broadcasting.
(Left: Keith Skues, pictured in August 2000, was on Caroline, London and Radio One. Oh, and also Luxembourg. Photograph - Pauline Miller)

If a comparison is made, it quickly becomes apparent that the Big L Fab Forties bear little resemblance to the sales-based charts of the time. Radio London always tried to stay ahead of the game and by the time a record had hit the top of the National Charts, it had usually been dumped from the Fab. It's the lesser-known singles from that era that interest people the most. That is why the policy of the 28-day RSL recreations has always been to include as much material as possible that listeners are unlikely to hear on their local 'Gold' station, with its boring, repetitive playlist. (We know from first-hand experience that current US radio is equally bad in that respect.) There were thousands of great records released between the Fifties and the Seventies, so why is it necessary for the audience to be bored rigid by a tedious little playlist? Sadly there is very little radio now that appeals to listeners who enjoyed Big L back in the Sixties - apart from on the Internet.

The Wilson government's 'Marine etc., Offences Bill' forced the closure of all but one of the pirate stations, Radio Caroline. Broadcasting from International waters could not be made illegal, but working on the stations, supplying the ships and advertising on the stations, could. There was a huge public campaign to try and save offshore radio. The independently-governed Isle of Man fought Westminster in an attempt to retain Caroline North, which broadcast from the Fredericia, off the Manx shoreline. Most of the stations ceased transmission on August 14th, 1967, before the Marine Offences Bill became law at midnight.

Radio London closed at 3.00pm on August 14th, 1967. The day continues to be well-remembered and commemorated amongst radio fans, few of whom are able to listen to recordings of the station close-down without their emotions getting the better of them.
(Right: Ed 'Stewpot' Stewart, pictured in 1997, is currently on BBC Radio Two. Ed began his career on Big L)