# Thameside Radio

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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
'''Thameside Radio''' was an [unlicensed radio](/source/Pirate_radio) station based in London. It launched in the winter of 1977,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Thameside Radio Story: Early Days |url=http://www.thamesideradio.net/earlydays.htm}}</ref> offering "very slick pop rock with competitions", according to ''[Time Out](/source/Time_Out_(magazine))''.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Free as the Air |journal=Time Out |issue=449 |date=23 March 1979}}</ref> According to the ''[Richmond and Twickenham Times](/source/Richmond_and_Twickenham_Times)'', it broadcast from "a certain [Notting Hill](/source/Notting_Hill) [tower block](/source/tower_block)" –<ref name="rtt">{{cite news |last=Welch |first=Frances |title=Secret superbeam – Pirate radio defies Post Office |work=[Richmond and Twickenham Times](/source/Richmond_and_Twickenham_Times) |date=28 November 1981}}</ref> a reference to [Trellick Tower](/source/Trellick_Tower).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Thameside Radio Story: Technology |url=http://www.thamesideradio.net/technology.htm}}</ref>

The station received 30-40 letters each week<ref>''[Sounds](/source/Sounds_(magazine))'', "Touch That Dial", 15 January 1983</ref> and had an estimated [listenership](/source/listenership) of around 20,000.<ref name="rtt"/> It pioneered new music, and is noted by the ''[New Musical Express](/source/New_Musical_Express)'' for giving airplay to "Win a Night Out with a Well-Known Paranoiac" by [Barry Andrews](/source/Barry_Andrews_(musician)), which was subsequently picked up by [BBC Radio 1](/source/BBC_Radio_1).<ref>{{cite web |title=NME: Barry Andrews |website=[NME](/source/NME) |url=https://www.nme.com/artists/barry-andrews}}</ref>

Increasing numbers of raids resulted in the station losing five [transmitter](/source/transmitter)s in six months<ref name="to2">{{cite journal |title=Static Crackle and Pop |journal=[Time Out](/source/Time_Out_(magazine)) |issue=606 |date=2 April 1982}}</ref> and the station ceased live transmission, instead taping its shows shortly before broadcast.<ref name="to2"/>

Recordings of a number of Thameside Radio shows are held by the [British Library](/source/British_Library).<ref>{{citation |title=Thameside Radio |url=http://cadensa.bl.uk/cgi-bin/webcat |work=Sound and Moving Image Catalogue |publisher=[British Library](/source/British_Library) |access-date=17 July 2012}}</ref> Many shows are available for download from [http://fmthen.com fmthen.com] and [http://thamesideradio.org thamesideradio.org]

In late 1984, Thameside set up the first London [unlicensed TV station](/source/Pirate_television)<ref name="story">{{cite web |title=The Thameside Radio Story: Endings |url=http://www.thamesideradio.net/endings.htm |access-date=1 February 2021}}</ref> {{endash}} [Thameside TV](/source/Thameside_TV) {{endash}} for a small number of broadcasts.<ref name="story"/>

== References ==
<references/>

== See also ==
* [http://fmthen.com Thameside Radio Revisited] a downloadable archive of over 200 recordings of Thameside Radio shows
* [http://thamesideradio.org Thameside Radio Home] an archive of studio recordings
* [http://www.thamesideradio.net The Thameside Radio Story] for more information about the station
* [http://clockworkradio.yourfreehosting.net/index.swf  The Intrepid Birdman's archives] which include a section on Thameside Radio 90.2 
* [http://www.surrey-sounds.co.uk/pirates.htm Surrey-sounds] for more info on Thameside Radio and a clip from New Year 1979/1980 
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5spFxbB1QaM Sample of the station's output]
*The Intrepid Birdman on Mixcloud https://www.mixcloud.com/intrepidbirdman/

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Category:Pirate radio stations in the United Kingdom
Category:Radio stations in London
Category:Radio stations established in 1977
Category:Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Thameside Radio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thameside_Radio) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thameside_Radio?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.