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A
welcome message from Webmasters Chris and Mary We'd
love to hear from you!
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About
the Radio London website...|
If you are seeking the one-and-only Big L – Radio London, and reminiscences of the happy days when the original station broadcast, you'll certainly find them here. This is not, however, exclusively a 'Big L' site, although Radio London will naturally always be our all-time favourite. Over the years, we have forged contacts and friendships with personnel from all the offshore stations, culminating in the 35th Anniversary Offshore Reunion, which we organised in August 2002. The First North American Offshore Reunion subsequently took place in Vancouver in 2004 and Radio London had a belated 40th Anniversary reunion in February 2005. (See our reunions index here) We are also very proud to count amongst our friends, the surviving crew members of the USS Density and their families. They have been fascinated to learn about how the Density became the Galaxy and to meet people from Radio London. The site continues to expand and embraces the entire offshore family. We are very grateful for contributions received, even though it may take us a while to publish them on the site. There is always a backlog of material awaiting our attention! The
Webmasters will continue to report on whatever is going on in the world
of radio and music that they feel to be of interest, and will endeavour
to update the Radio London site as often as possible.
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In
November 2002, we launched our company, Radio
London Ltd. The website expanded yet again, in time for its fourth
birthday in March 2003, to include everything that potential customers
need to know about our business, Radio London
Ltd. The music and radio side of the Radio London site continues
as before. 
| Q | Is this site affiliated to the BBC or to any other company? |
A |
No. The Radio London website is privately run by Webmasters Chris and Mary Payne, Directors of Radio London, a Limited company registered in England and Wales. Radio London Ltd has no affiliation to any other companies. |
| Q | You mean, you AREN'T BBC London? | A |
No. We are Radio London. The name comes from Radio London (aka Big L), originally a station which broadcast from a ship anchored three miles off the coast of Essex from 1964 to 1967 – long before any land-based local radio stations existed in the UK. We repeat: Radio London Ltd has no affiliation to any other companies. |
| Q | Does this mean the station no longer broadcasts at all? | A | There is no permanent Radio London broadcast. In the past, there have from time-to-time been 28-day RSLs – Restricted Service Licences reproducing the original sound of Big L. (RSL explanation here) Radio London is a trademark of Radio london Ltd and may not be used without written permission. |
| Q | What is the history of offshore radio in the UK? | A | A condensed history of offshore radio and Radio London can be found here. |
| Q | Have you a complete list of original Radio London DJs? | A |
Original Big L DJs were: Chuck Blair, Tony Blackburn, Pete Brady, Tony Brandon, Dave Cash, Ian Damon, Chris Denning, Dave Dennis, Pete Drummond, John Edward, Kenny Everett, Graeme (Graham) Gill, Bill Hearne, Duncan Johnson, Paul Kaye, Lorne King, Mike Lennox, John Peel, Earl Richmond, Mark Roman, John Sedd, Keith Skues, Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, Norman St. John, Tommy Vance, Richard Warner, Willy Walker, Alan West, Tony Windsor and John York (or Yorke). Those known to be deceased are: Chuck Blair, Dave Dennis, Kenny Everett, Paul Kaye, John Peel, Earl Richmond, Tommy Vance and Tony Windsor. |
| Q |
The Radio London ship mv Galaxy: What was the ship's exact position when Big L was broadcasting? What is the ship's history and where can I see photographs? |
A |
The ship's exact offshore position when Radio London was broadcasting is here. The ship's history is here The story of the link between the USS Density and the m v Galaxy with photos of the ship both as a wartime mine-sweeper and as a radio station, is here |
| Q | You have frequent references to the Knees Club. What is that about? | A | The history of the Knees Club is here |
| Q |
Why are no Radio London jingles included on the site? Where can I hear the close-down music, the Sonowaltz aka 'Big Lil'? |
A | There is no point in our duplicating the work of specialist sites which are dedicated exclusively to the subject of jingles. Find these (including the Sonowaltz, which is a PAMS jingle) from our links page. |
| Q | Are there any audio clips of Radio London on the site? | A | Again, other sites specialise in audio clips. We specialise in Fab Forty charts (the complete Big L Fab Forties are exclusive to this site) features, photographs and memorabilia. Audio clips are not frequently included on the Radio London site. They use a tremendous amount of space and the site already contains in excess of 1000 pages. However, part of the Tony Blackburn/Kenny Everett Climber Review is here; Kenny and Ed Stewpot sing the weather here; |
| Q | I've found a reel-to-reel copy of 'Their Final Hour' from August 14th. Is it worth my getting it dubbed to another medium? | A | Only if your recording is of exceptionally good quality. As the closedown of Radio London was such a momentous occasion, there are many copies of it in existence. Other Big L recordings, however, are likely to be of great interest to collectors. |
| Q | Why is the site not always updated weekly? | A | The Radio London site requires a great deal of maintenance. There are over 1000 pages and only two people (more often, only one) to do the work, in their spare time. The Webmasters do the best they can! |
| Q | Are there any remaining copies of Brian Long's book, The London Sound | A |
Brian Long has completely sold out of The London Sound, a 4-volume private publication. Keith Skues's book Pop Went the Pirates is available here. |
The
Webmasters rarely refuse requests to reproduce items and photographs from
the Radio London website for which we hold the copyright. However, NOT all
items are our own copyright, but have been used with permission. If
you wish to use something from our website, it is essential that you contact
us first.
Of
necessity, we have reproduced pictures from long out-of-print 60s radio books
and magazines. We have attempted to contact several publishers without success.
If we have inadvertantly used a photograph for which you hold the copyright,
please get in touch.
Any
opinions expressed on this site are those of the originators.
Radio London
Ltd is not responsible for the content of external sites which are linked
from the Radio London website.
Click here to read why this site has no connection with the BBC