A peace of history returns

It is a very welcome return of the Voice Of Peace, in many ways. The ex-offshore pirate has now returned online, also with an announced frequency of 1540 (presumably MW, transmitting from the Holy Land).

I remember the VOP was a legend even while still on-air back in the 80's, and - as a pacifist - I always had a lot of respect for the station even though I was unable to hear it myself (except via airchecks). Now I am able to hear and fully appreciate the station.

Format is mostly music interspersed with peace propaganda - hardly surprising, since the VOP was set up to end war and bring peace between Jews and Arabs in the Holy Land. The 'across the board' music policy is reminiscent of Laser 558, yet Caroline's influence is equally obvious - not least with the station promoting Lovin' Awareness.

Abie Nathan, the VOP's founder, was an equally legendary figure. An Iranian Jew who was living in (the current state of) Israel, his commitment to peace went well beyond the radio station. He was jailed for meeting Yasser Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, and I remember news reports of 'toy exchange' programmes (promoted by the VOP) where kids could exchange war-glorifying toys (eg tanks and fighter aircraft) for peace-promoting toys.

Sadly, Abie is no longer with us. But the VOP's current operators seem to have created a station Abie would doubtless be proud of :)

But don't just take my word for it - to hear the station, visit their site ...

Voice Of Peace website

RFT Gale meets his Nemesis

Nemesis Revival 87.8 made its final broadcast (at least in 2009) today. Was announced that Nemesis intends to return in 2010.

Due to the shorter days, the broadcast hours were changed slightly; programmes started at 2:30 pm and finished at about 5:45 pm

Perhaps it's just as well the broadcasting hours were brought forward (not least for Mr Gale's underpants!). About 5 minutes after the broadcast ended, as Mr Gale was packing the equipment away, a car pulled up next to the transmitter location (shown by the green arrow on the map). An old man got out of the car and asked Mr Gale what he was doing there; since the broadcast had now ended, Mr Gale replied that he had been "conducting radio experiments".

The old man, preseumably working for the land owner (or maybe the landowner himself) then told Mr Gale that he shouldn't be there, as it was private land. Mr Gale apologised rather than having "Mr Twatt" (anyone who's seen "The Boat That Rocked" will know why I'm calling him that) end up calling the Police, but alo pointed out that there were no signs anywhere saying that this was private land. (It was also apparent that this land was less than well cared for, while at the same time hardly ideal for wildlife).

Having packed his gear away, Mr Gale returned home. 2009's last broadcast of Nemesis Revival had gone smoothly, all equipment remained intact ready for 2010, all Mr Gale needs to do now is find a new transmitter location. All in all, it could have been a googolplex times worse!

Even so, it seems kinda ironic that "Mr Twatt" has picked on a pirate radio station when the place had more important issues. Mainly the fire which is constantly burning there, and has been noted during every broadcast since July. What's more, by the looks of the cartons and packaging being burnt, the fire appears to have been of commercial waste.

Then again, I guess this is just a microcosm of the fact that the authorities continue to clamp down on pirate radio, while at the same time, you're likely to get threatened or even beaten up while going out to a local pub or nightclub. Small wonder, I guess, that Nemesis Revival also announced today that they had taken on board Radio Caroline's concept of Lovin' Awareness !

Peace in the valley

On the way back from Blackpool, at Manchester Oxford Road train station, I heard Peace FM 90.1 testing.

RDS = Peace FM

Good signal, was atill audible on the train, some way to the east of Stockport.

Back to Manchester Oxford Road, other stations heard include:

87.7 Mahay Ramzan (Oldham)
96.0 BBC Radio Shropshire - mono signal
96.2 The Revolution, RDS = THE REV
96.9 All FM (Manchester), RDS = ALL FM
106.1 Rock Radio (Manchester), RDS = ROCK RAD

Ramadan Oldham and Preston

En route to Blackpool by train, I heard 2 Radio Ramadan RSLs while west of the Pennines.

The first was Mahay Ramzan 87.7 from Oldham, which was heard at manchester Picadilly train station and some way north.

Then, near Preston, I heard Radio Ramadan Preston on 87.9

No RDS noted in either case.

Diabolical Advertising Bull****

Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against DAB digital radio. But I do think the latest advert for DAB - which includes 'interference' from what sounds like a cliched London pirate - is rather 'below the belt' by reinforcing the myth that pirate radio causes interference.

Besides, it is also a myth to suggest that DAB has no interference, and is either perfect sound or impossible to receive. Anybody listening to a distant multiplex on DAB (ie all of them, in many areas!) will notice times when the station sounds like you're listening underwater! (appropriate for Radio Mi Amigo, perhaps :P )

Still, it's interesting that pirate radio is obviously still popular enough to be a thorn in the side of the radio Establishment, so they want to discredit it. Could this have something to do with the increasingly poor quality of independent radio in the UK, where even the 'music' stations seem to have 20 minutes of verbal diarrhea for every record played? And the fact that the promotions are increasingly getting 'preachy', encouraging us to take up exercise when all we want is to listen to the music? No wonder, then, people are deserting ILR for the pirates. And without a root-and-branch change in format of British legal radio, DAB isn't going to help.

After all, perfect-sounding crap is still crap!

Radio Ramadan Sheffield

The Muslim festival of Ramadan is with us again, and so is the network of Radio Ramadan RSL's.

One of the more significant (at least in terms of coverage) seems to be Radio Ramadan Sheffield, who are on 87.7 FM.

Audible easily in Clowne, listenable signal in Chesterfield.

RDS = RAMADAN

More info on the Radio Ramadan Sheffield website

and Goodbye Radio Ability

Radio Ability has announced it is closing down. The reason given was that the original dream of Radio Ability - namely, a community radio station for people with disabilities - has now been realised full-time, in the form of Able Radio. The person behind Radio Ability gives his full backing to Able Radio.

Old programmes will continue to be available on Radio Ability's website - which is to be re-designed as a historical site dedicated to Radio Ability. With this in mind, it is planned to add a few extra old programmes - some dated back to 1993 - to the site.

Au Revoir Nemesis Revival

Nemesis Revival 87.8, a pirate from somewhere in North Derbyshire, announced today it was closing down until the autumn.

From 3pm to just after 6pm, Nemesis Revival was on-air today and also on Sunday 2nd August.
Nemesis Revival was heavily based on the pirate Radio Nemesis, which used to broadcast to the North Derbyshire area back in 1987 - the DJ even called himself Richard 'Force Twelve' Gale (could it be the same one as operated the original Nemesis?), and the old Nemesis 'You will not ...' promo was aired.

Format was mostly dance music with minimal chat; although Radio Ability - aired from 4pm to 5pm - was 'across the board' music by recording artists with disabilities and disability info.

It was announced that Nemesis Revival hopes to return, possibly in October. In the meantime, plans are afoot to sort out web streaming, hopefully (it was announced) within the next fortnight. Watch this space ...