Despite the poster's opinion, actually a radio station, loved by the community it serves and the headquarters of its parent company which has just been ranked #1 (again) in the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to work for. By any measure, a radio station at the top of its game for 22 years. Very proud to have been associated with it and delighted to see it continue to go from strength to strength.
+Mike Powell Absolutely. UKRD and their stations such as Pirate FM are just about the only "ILR" stations that actually seem to care about real local radio. A case of using the technology to support the presenter and make services viable and better for the listener, rather than just as a jukebox.
Seems odd to me that the system used SUICIDAL and DEATH as ways (headings of categories) of choosing some tracks. If selected, wouldn't they just have sounded dreary? Then to appear on TV with those headings seems a PR O.G, but there's no doubt Pirate was innovative and successful in Cornwall, as you say. I tend to agree with some other posters, TRUE - you need a playlist structure to save time/uniformity/stn sound but also good scope for DJs to pick their own music. Most presenters may enjoy the £ but I really do doubt many enjoyed the playlisted sounds - unless speaking on a TV camera. I suspect "your" counterpoint would be the listeners did, which is all that matters, hence stating, "at the top of their game for 22 years" - you of course (likely) mean based on audience figures and subsequent advertising revenues. Playing good music, and a variety of, though is something completely different and in the ears of free-form presenters not in the gift of rigid, number crunchers, or over reliance on computers.
I remember Somerset’s Orchard FM using a multi-play CD player to automate the music in the night - loaded it with compilation albums and hit shuffle - you got gaps between the tracks, resulting in periods of what’s called “dead air” - on one occasion, a CD which hadn’t been cleaned properly, got stuck and was juddering for nearly an hour before someone who was able to access it came in and stopped it - they later took a feed from DevonAir - then some gold station broadcasting from Gloucester - they are now Heart!
I remember when this was on TV. I no longer live in Cornwall so don't hear their programming any more. I'm aware of other stations in the area now playing the mass produced drivvel that's current.
Thanks for posting this footage. I recall the day when Roger got booted out from Radio Kent and decided to take this new post down in Cornwall. Shame the post did not last for long? However nice to have him back week day eves on the BBC. Keep up the good work Twiggy!
Roger is still broadcasting and can be found on BBC Local Radio across the south on a Sunday evening, and everyday on his very own internet radio station Uncool Radio.
Oy! Less of that "Dreadful" please. Pirate FM is beloved of a lot of people in Cornwall and a lot of tourists can't wait to tune into it when they come down - they say its so much better than a lot of the shite stations they have at home!
Automation is just a tool. Since the 60s stations have used paper to achieve exactly the same thing, often with a stack of carts on chain. Automation is just the same thing done more eligantly. At the end of the day, if you setup your playlists to play junk and limit your presenters to a single strapline, you're going to sound bad however you do it. What's cool is that better tech than this is now available to even smaller broadcasters, some of which are using it in really inovative ways.
Wow, haven't things changed. Now you can get 4000 tracks on a card the size of your fingernail! And Roger to listen to live and direct on Uncool Radio (You can find it with Tune-in) streaming around the world to every phone and computer. Great stuff!
OMG is that guy running a radio station off an Acorn Archimedes?!! Note at 2:22 Howard holds up one of the Tomorrow's World Holographic CDs that were competition prizes on the 1000th programme.
