The Art of Hype

Radio Today reporters expose the Government's radio police

'It's ten past eight on a sunny Sunday and you're listening to the big one across London Town, with ssssssssssssssssss'

How many times has that happened to you? There you are, happily listening to your favourite pirate station when it suddenly vanishes from the airwaves. Another victory for the Government's radio police, the DTI. But why are they taking off the air the station you love, and what will be happening behind the scenes?

Well, it all begins a long, long time ago, back in the days before Tony Blackburn discovered sex. In those days, the only way that people living in the UK could get the music they wanted was by DJs sitting in a boat three miles off Frinton (best place for them said some people) and getting seasick. This angered the Government (and the cleaners} and so they brought in the 1967 Marine Offences Etc. Etc. Doing Things With Strange Looking Boats In The North Sea Act.

Then, one day an electronics freak came along and decided that if you could broadcast from a boat, then why couldn't you broadcast from a bedroom. You didn't get seasick, it was much cheaper, and you didn't have to feed your staff, just buy them an occasional pint down the pub.

Subversive

However, the Government in its infinite wisdom had come along some time previously and brought in a law called the 1949 Wireless Telegraphy Act. They'd reckoned that if they weren't careful, everyone and their dog would soon try and start up a station, leading to potential anarchy on the airwaves. Even worse, some subversives might try and use radio to put across their political views and bring about the downfall of the Government and possibly the end of civilisation as we know It!

And so, the 1949 Act was introduced: 'No person shall establish or use any station for wireless telegraphy except by the authority of a license granted by the Secretary of State, and any person who establishes or installs or uses any station for wireless telegraphy, except under and in accordance with such a license, shall be guilty of an offence under this Act'. (Translation: if you haven't got a license, we shall be forced to do horrible things to your bank balance.)

Several decades and two botch jobs on the original act later (including fixing a gaping loophole that prevented it working), we arrive in 1987. Instead of the General Post Office, we have the Department of Trade and Industry's Radio Investigation Service spending a large amount of time and effort trying to silence a growing army of unlicensed broadcasters. With only four main investigators to cover London -Eric Gotts, John Garlic, Brian Holder and David Mason — they're having their work cut out to do so. As fast as they plug one leak, another opens. Against all odds, their work goes on...

You're Busted!

If you're a regular reader of Radio Today, you'll know by now that most stations use remote transmitters at unmanned sites (either rented premises or on top of council tower blocks) with a complex series of hidden links to a secret studio. In most raids the DTl just take the main transmitter: quick, painless and cheap. Finding studios usually requires slower, more complex (and expensive) investigations. All this leads to most raids fitting into standard patterns...

Lightning Raids

Ah, a nice quiet Sunday. Sitting in the garden reading the Sunday paper and listening to some of your favourite music on the radio. Until the station vanishes. You retune. And that vanishes. You retune again. And that vanishes too. Yep, the DTI are out there dashing round London carrying out a series of lightning raids.

While you're relaxing, two teams of three investigators each are attempting to clear as many naughty stations as possible off the band. They'll have been up at Sam (yes, it does exist on Sundays), and one of the teams may have collected Mr Gotts' favourite toy: an eighty-foot crane. This he uses to remove stations aerial masts — which due to their height are tricky to take down manually.

Smashing Up Aerials

When they've got the crane with them, the other team will concentrate on stations broadcasting from council tower blocks. This is a nice easy task for them: they don't even have to get warrants, as they are public property. It's simply a matter of parking outside, going up in the lift (or walking up as it probably isn't working), opening the door to the roof (made easier as all the locks are the same for fire brigade access), picking up the transmitter, smashing up the aerials and departing. 15 minutes at the most. (They're supposed to leave a receipt, but we won't quibble over procedures.)

By late evening the airwaves will seem quite empty — how else could they can get you to listen to Robbie Vincent!!! The only stations left will be those they consider' sensitive' to raid, or are too difficult. For example, if they've got to raid a studio in an inner city trouble spot to get the main rig they won't usually bother.

Interference Raids

Especially if you live nearby, you've probably noticed that a few stations aren't only broadcasting on the frequency they're giving out... you can also pick them up in regular intervals all up the band!!! Or they might be so loud that tuning in to the station next to them you can still hear the rhythm of the music they're playing in the background. They might also be causing problems to transmissions you can't pick up on a normal radio.

All these result in rather more attention being focussed on a station than is usual, particularly if the interference is being caused to emergency services or aircraft. Most of the one-off raids that take place during the week are because of interference problems.

Studio Raids

The music quickly fades. There is a silence. Then that too is replaced by a hiss. A raid on a pirate station's studio has just silenced it from the airwaves.

The DTI have never been tremendously good at finding stations' hidden studios, relying mostly on sitting around in cars for long periods of time, hoping to recognise a face. The secret links from studios to transmitter sites are usually complex enough to make this the only way they can locate them. Sometimes they'll be lucky and find a station using an easily traceable UHF link, or with the transmitter sitting next to the DJ — but not often.

Records Noted

Having eventually located a station they'll want to make sure they can successfully prosecute the people they'll find. Usually four, but sometimes three, of the investigators will sit in a car near the studio for up to an hour before they make a move. All the records and commercials played on the station will be noted down during that time (they've yet to strike during a rare groove show).

When they do decide to make a move, one of the investigators will remain outside, while the others go in with walkie-talkies on standby so they can radio for help if necessary. At some stations they will take the precaution of always having police with them. They'll usually knock on the door first, but if there isn't a rapid answer the occupant my find the door being smashed down.

Once inside, one of the investigators goes for the mixer and turns down all the channels, and then begins switching off the equipment. Meanwhile, another will caution station staff and show the warrant that entitles them to search the premises. Stations being raided for the first time may find that the DTI have forgotten to bring a warrant with them. Occasionally I it may be for the \wrong address. If so, then they are entitled to turn them away — though in the past it has sometimes taken a complaint to Police officers present to get them to do so.

Entrance over, and realising there is not going to be any trouble, the DTI usually relax slightly. One of them, usually smooth-talking Eric Gotts, then begins asking questions. Although the DJ may not realise it, thinking it's a casual conversation, notes are written up afterwards and used in court as evidence. 'Those the adverts over there? How many of those do you play an hour? What DJ's on after you? That the station's schedule?' Countless ills against whom the evidence would otherwise be slim, have talked themselves into being guilty.

Phones Confiscated

The DTI are entitled to take anything that could possibly be connected with running a radio station, now or in the past. This effectively entitles them to take everything (they especially love non-BT telephones — sometimes it's better to rent). They will make a particular point of finding the records they have heard played in the time up to when they decided to strike.

The equipment will all be labelled and a receipt given to the DJ — though some stations have found that it needs to be checked carefully to make sure it does include everything... One empty room later, and the DTI depart: 'See you in court'.

In Court

Many weeks later, a summons will arrive at the DJ's home — they must press charges in six months or they have to give back all the equipment and drop the charges.

Unlicensed broadcasting is a summary conviction, taking place in a magistrate's court (except in certain circumstances). The DTI have to try and prove that the defendant has installed or used unlicensed transmission equipment, assuming they haven't pleaded guilty. Usually this will be through finding them in the vicinity of a transmitter without a reasonable explanation, but it's not always that simple. The truth may also get a bit distorted along the way in their attempts to try and get a conviction...

If they are successful (and courts usually take their word against the defendant's) then the defendant faces a maximum fine of £2000 and / or a three-month prison sentence. The DTI will also press for costs. Most courts only award legal costs and, despite pressure from the DTI, have refused costs for the time spent in carrying out the investigation. However .in two recent cases they finally succeeded, the defendants fooling pretty hefty bills at the end of the day.

The size of fines varies from court to court. Highgate and Camberwell are probably the toughest in the country, seeing the largest numbers of pirates through their doors. What equipment is confiscated also varies. Records and tapes MUST be returned, studio equipment SHOULD be returned (it may take an appeal) but transmitter equipment will NOT be returned.

And while all this is going on... back at the station, broadcasts are continuing again. New equipment is installed at a new location and everything is happily ticking along.

So, next time your favourite pirate station suddenly goes dead, think about all that could be going on behind the scenes in another part of town. But don't worry... they probably won't be away for long.

Copyright 1987 TX Publications / 2001 amfm.org.uk. All rights reserved.