Thameside Radio

Thameside Radio was a pirate radio station launched in the winter of 1977 which offered "very slick pop rock with competitions", according to Time Out magazine. According to the Richmond and Twickenham Times, they broadcast from "a certain Notting Hill tower block" – a reference to Trellick Tower.

The station received "30-40 letters each week" and the Richmond and Twickenham Times estimated listenership at "some 20,000 listeners". It pioneered new music and is noted by the New Musical Express for giving airplay to "Win a Night Out with a Well-Known Paranoiac" by Barry Andrews which was subsequently picked up by BBC Radio 1.

Increasing numbers of raids resulted in the station "losing 5 transmitters in 6 months" and Thameside "ceased live transmissions, taping its shows shortly before broadcast".

Recordings of a number of Thameside Radio shows are held by the British Library. Many shows are available for download from fmthen.com

In late 1984, Thameside set up the first London pirate TV station for a one-off event, which received coverage in the national press

See also

• Thameside Radio Revisited which podcasts weekly from an archive of recordings of Thameside Radio shows
• The Thameside Radio Story for more information about the station
• The Intrepid Birdman's archives which include a section on Thameside Radio 90.2
• Surrey-sounds for more info on Thameside and a clip from New year 79/80
• Sample of the station's output

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