Pirate radio in Asia
Encyclopedia
An introduction to the subject of Pirate Radio
can be found under that heading.
station which operated in January 1971 in Saigon during the Vietnam War
.
The station was hosted by a United States Air Force
sergeant (born 1948-08-15) calling himself "Dave Rabbit". The two other members of the crew were known as "Pete Sadler" and "Nguyen". Their real names are unknown.
After three tours in Vietnam, "Dave Rabbit" and his friends launched Radio First Termer from a secret studio in a Saigon brothel
. The station broadcasted for 63 hours over 21 nights (between 1 January 1971 and 21 January 1971).
The station played "hard acid rock" such as Steppenwolf
, Bloodrock
, Three Dog Night
, Led Zeppelin
, Sugarloaf
, the James Gang
, and Iron Butterfly
, bands which were popular among the troops but largely ignored by the American Forces Vietnam Network. The music was mixed with antiwar commentary, skits poking fun at the U.S. Air Force and Lyndon B. Johnson
, and raunchy sex
and drug
oriented jokes.
During the mid 1990's, sound clips from a Radio First Termer broadcast posted on the internet renewed interest in the station. In February 2006, "Dave Rabbit" came forward and told his story. He also did an interview for a bonus feature on the DVD release of Sir! No Sir!
, a film about G.I. counterculture during the Vietnam era.
Although the frequency was always announced as FM69, in reality the show was broadcast over numerous frequencies, in addition to 69 MHz as selected by the Radio Relay troops across Vietnam. It was also broadcast over AM frequencies, including 690 AM.
In February of 2008 audio clips of this underground radio show made their way into the hands Opie & Anthony and 3rd mic Jim Norton
. They played some of the audio of these shows over the air at both their terrestrial radio show and their XM Satellite radio show and were impressed with the skills of Dave Rabbit back in "the 'Nam" which led to renewed interest on such sites as Google.
, mainly for political purposes and these include Voice of the People's Liberation Army; Radio Flash; The October Storm; Redifussion Central; Popular of Peking. In 1990-1991, two other offshore radio stations intended for a Chinese audience made news in the world's press.
One of them was Radio Tiananmen, a station that was to be based aboard the MV Sarah (Lichfield I) to be renamed Liberty that had been the former home of Radio Newyork International that broadcast briefly during two consecutive years in late 1980s from an anchorage off Jones Beach
, New York
. The idea was to anchor the ship in international waters off the Northeast coastline of the USA and to broadcast on behalf of the thousands of Chinese students studying in the USA in support of their fellow students who had demonstrated in Tiananmen Square
. The idea faltered when the backers were told that the United States government would oppose an independent political station of this type.
The other station was created in France and sponsored by Actuel, a French magazine and The Face, a British magazine together with support from contributors in Hong Kong
. The group called themselves "Federation for Democracy in China" and they purchased a ship which they painted with prominent signs under its new name: Goddess of Democracy, which appeared to be both the new name of the ship and the working name of the proposed station. When the vessel sailed from La Rochelle
, France
it was intended for the ship to dock and that is where studios, transmitters and radio antenna would be installed. However, the project ran into one political problem after another and after several ports of call the would-be radio ship ended up as a financial liability headed for the scrap yards.
and legislator Leung Kwok-hung
, also known as "Long Hair". It broadcast on weeknights from Wan Chai on 102.8 MHz FM.
On 30 November 2009, FM101, a station based in Kwun Tong
commenced broadcasting, according to the South China Morning Post
(1 December 2009). It was heard in the east of Kowloon
and the east of Hong Kong Island
. The station's founders include Leung King-wai, Tsang Chun-ying and Kwok Yiu-cheong. The latter two were formerly presenters for Citizen's Radio, but Citizen's Radio was not involved in its foundation, according to founder Tsang Kin-shing.
reportedly studied the possibility of broadcasting from the Philippines
, but no concrete action materialised.
The underground radio movement began in the liberalising political milieu following the lifting of the decades-long martial law
. Historically most of the stations have opposed, in some manner, the political establishment represented by the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang
) and the Republic of China
(ROC) framework, in favour of the then opposition movement broadly consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP) and allied social movement
s. These so called pan-green radio stations are mostly based in central and southern Taiwan with most listeners being hard-core pan-green supporters who despise Kuomintang rule and the potential for reunification with China. A few stations positioned themselves on the opposing end of the political spectrum, generally favouring the ROC status quo advocated by the New Party
and "non-mainstream factions" within the Nationalist Party. With the DPP formerly in power, and ultimate Taiwan independence and sovereignty being the stance taken by most underground radio stations, Taiwan was one of the rare examples in the world of underground radio stations being pro-government.
Programming generally is of a vertical blocking format, with live call-ins taking up a good portion of air time. On some stations slots are allocated to local community and activist groups. The most prominent segment of the audience comes from rural working class
, males usually middle aged and beyond. Taiwanese Hokkien is by far the most commonly used language on the air, although Mandarin
and, much less frequently, Hakka are also used. Underground radio stations cover their expenses by selling unorthodox drugs or medicine in a humorous and entertaining manner to keep the listeners hooked between actual programming.
Most if not all underground stations favour a mechanism to gain legal status but many balk at the costly requirements, which they believe to favour corporate and Nationalist-owned broadcasters. Government policy has always treated underground radio as an illegal enterprise, even after the DPP came to power. Official responses have been more varied, alternating between levying fines and confiscating equipment to tolerating their presence. Most stations are able to set up backup broadcast points within days of government raids. Commercial stations are known to file official complaints against pirate stations, whose signals are said to interfere with legal broadcasts.
In April 2007 they temporarily ceased transmission so it could obtain all the necessary broadcast permits from the National Telecommunications Commission to legitimize the station.
On June 2007 the station was back on air with a stronger signal and with a new name "107.9 U-Radio" They moved their transmitter facilities to Tagaytay City and the studio is now located in Pasig. It is now owned and operated by Brainstone Broadcasting Inc, formed by a group of young entrepreneurs who helped bring the station back on air. The station is now broadcasting with an Effective Radiated Power (ERP) of 2500W. Its reach comprises the whole of Metro Manila, as well as some areas in the north (Bulacan, Pampanga) and south (Cavite, Batangas, Tagaytay). In addition, it also started doing live broadcast feeds from different bars and clubs (Embassy SuperClub, Embassy Cuisine, Warehouse 135, Alchemy, Opus Bar, and others) in the metro.
On September 7, 2008, the station increased its power from 500 watts to 1,000 watts because of another station that reached Southern Luzon. However, around late September, it temporarily ceased broadcasting because its broadcasting facilities were raided by police due to a complaint from the National Telecommunications Commission that the station was operating with an expired permit. After almost two weeks, on October 12, it resumed broadcasting after renewed its radio permit license, albeit reverting to its original power of 500 watts.
In 2009, DZUR picked up new competition from DWKX, whose approach tends to favor more commercialized Dance fare as opposed to DZUR's pure underground formula. However, with DWKX exiting the Dance format in August 2010, DZUR will once again be the only FM Dance outlet in Metro Manila.
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
can be found under that heading.
Vietnam
Radio First Termer was a pirate radioPirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
station which operated in January 1971 in Saigon during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
The station was hosted by a United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
sergeant (born 1948-08-15) calling himself "Dave Rabbit". The two other members of the crew were known as "Pete Sadler" and "Nguyen". Their real names are unknown.
After three tours in Vietnam, "Dave Rabbit" and his friends launched Radio First Termer from a secret studio in a Saigon brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
. The station broadcasted for 63 hours over 21 nights (between 1 January 1971 and 21 January 1971).
The station played "hard acid rock" such as Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf (band)
Steppenwolf are a Canadian-American rock group that was prominent in the late 1960s. The group was formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by vocalist John Kay, guitarist Michael Monarch, bassist Rushton Moreve, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton after the dissolution of Toronto group The...
, Bloodrock
Bloodrock
Bloodrock was an American hard rock band, based in Fort Worth, Texas, that had considerable success in the 1970s, and was one of the earliest of a number of significant bands to emerge from the Fort Worth club and music scene during the early to mid 1970s and on into the new century.-Early...
, Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Sugarloaf
Sugarloaf (band)
Sugarloaf was an American, Denver, Colorado based, rock and roll band in the 1970s, featuring Jerry Corbetta.Jerry Corbetta founded the band with guitarist Bob Webber of the Moonrakers; the other initial bandmembers were drummer Bob MacVittie on drums and rhythm guitarist Veeder Van Dorn III, also...
, the James Gang
James Gang
The James Gang was a rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. Though the band was not a huge commercial success, except in the Northeast Ohio area, the fame garnered by guitarist Joe Walsh has since made the group more notable.- History :...
, and Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The...
, bands which were popular among the troops but largely ignored by the American Forces Vietnam Network. The music was mixed with antiwar commentary, skits poking fun at the U.S. Air Force and Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, and raunchy sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
and drug
Drug subculture
Drug subcultures are examples of countercultures, which are primarily defined by recreational drug use.Drug subcultures are groups of people united by a common understanding of the meaning and value of the incorporation into one's life of the drug in question...
oriented jokes.
During the mid 1990's, sound clips from a Radio First Termer broadcast posted on the internet renewed interest in the station. In February 2006, "Dave Rabbit" came forward and told his story. He also did an interview for a bonus feature on the DVD release of Sir! No Sir!
Sir! No Sir!
Sir! No Sir! is a 2005 Displaced Films and BBC documentary film about the anti-war movement within the ranks of the United States Military during the Vietnam War....
, a film about G.I. counterculture during the Vietnam era.
Although the frequency was always announced as FM69, in reality the show was broadcast over numerous frequencies, in addition to 69 MHz as selected by the Radio Relay troops across Vietnam. It was also broadcast over AM frequencies, including 690 AM.
In February of 2008 audio clips of this underground radio show made their way into the hands Opie & Anthony and 3rd mic Jim Norton
Jim Norton
James Norton may refer to:* James Norton , solicitor, company director, farmer, pamphleteer and protectionist politician in colonial New South Wales* James A. Norton , U.S. Representative from Ohio...
. They played some of the audio of these shows over the air at both their terrestrial radio show and their XM Satellite radio show and were impressed with the skills of Dave Rabbit back in "the 'Nam" which led to renewed interest on such sites as Google.
China (From International Waters)
A number of offshore radio stations have reportedly operated from the South China SeaSouth China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
, mainly for political purposes and these include Voice of the People's Liberation Army; Radio Flash; The October Storm; Redifussion Central; Popular of Peking. In 1990-1991, two other offshore radio stations intended for a Chinese audience made news in the world's press.
One of them was Radio Tiananmen, a station that was to be based aboard the MV Sarah (Lichfield I) to be renamed Liberty that had been the former home of Radio Newyork International that broadcast briefly during two consecutive years in late 1980s from an anchorage off Jones Beach
Jones Beach
Jones Beach may refer to:* A barrier island off the coast of Long Island, New York:**Jones Beach State Park in Nassau County, New York in the United States**Jones Beach Island**Nikon at Jones Beach Theater...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The idea was to anchor the ship in international waters off the Northeast coastline of the USA and to broadcast on behalf of the thousands of Chinese students studying in the USA in support of their fellow students who had demonstrated in Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world...
. The idea faltered when the backers were told that the United States government would oppose an independent political station of this type.
The other station was created in France and sponsored by Actuel, a French magazine and The Face, a British magazine together with support from contributors in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. The group called themselves "Federation for Democracy in China" and they purchased a ship which they painted with prominent signs under its new name: Goddess of Democracy, which appeared to be both the new name of the ship and the working name of the proposed station. When the vessel sailed from La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
it was intended for the ship to dock and that is where studios, transmitters and radio antenna would be installed. However, the project ran into one political problem after another and after several ports of call the would-be radio ship ended up as a financial liability headed for the scrap yards.
Hong Kong
In 2006, Citizen's Radio was founded by a group of pro-democracy activists, including Tsang Kin-shingTsang Kin-shing
Tsang Kin-shing nicknamed The Bull was born 1957 in Hong Kong. He was formerly a member of the Legislative Council and the current member of Eastern District Council. He is mostly known as the founder of the highly controversial Citizens' Radio...
and legislator Leung Kwok-hung
Leung Kwok-hung
Leung Kwok-hung , also known as Long Hair , is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong , a founding member of the League of Social Democrats and a democratic political activist.-Biography:Leung is a self-proclaimed Trotskyist and a member of April Fifth Action, a radical socialist...
, also known as "Long Hair". It broadcast on weeknights from Wan Chai on 102.8 MHz FM.
On 30 November 2009, FM101, a station based in Kwun Tong
Kwun Tong
Kwun Tong is an area in Kwun Tong District, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon Peak in the east to the north coast of the former Kai Tak Airport runway in...
commenced broadcasting, according to the South China Morning Post
South China Morning Post
The South China Morning Post , together with its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, published by the SCMP Group with a circulation of 104,000....
(1 December 2009). It was heard in the east of Kowloon
Kowloon
Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...
and the east of Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...
. The station's founders include Leung King-wai, Tsang Chun-ying and Kwok Yiu-cheong. The latter two were formerly presenters for Citizen's Radio, but Citizen's Radio was not involved in its foundation, according to founder Tsang Kin-shing.
Taiwan
In reference to unlicensed land-based stations, the term underground radio is in common usage in Taiwan. The World United Formosans for IndependenceWorld United Formosans for Independence
The World United Formosans for Independence , also known as WUFI, is an organization promoting Taiwan independence. It was established in 1970 by like-minded organizations in Canada, the U.S., Japan, Europe, and Taiwan...
reportedly studied the possibility of broadcasting from the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, but no concrete action materialised.
The underground radio movement began in the liberalising political milieu following the lifting of the decades-long martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
. Historically most of the stations have opposed, in some manner, the political establishment represented by the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
) and the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
(ROC) framework, in favour of the then opposition movement broadly consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party is a political party in Taiwan, and the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition. Founded in 1986, DPP is the first meaningful opposition party in Taiwan. It has traditionally been associated with strong advocacy of human rights and a distinct Taiwanese identity,...
(DPP) and allied social movement
Social movement
Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change....
s. These so called pan-green radio stations are mostly based in central and southern Taiwan with most listeners being hard-core pan-green supporters who despise Kuomintang rule and the potential for reunification with China. A few stations positioned themselves on the opposing end of the political spectrum, generally favouring the ROC status quo advocated by the New Party
New Party (Republic of China)
The New Party, formerly the Chinese New Party , is a centre-right conservative political party in the Republic of China , and part of the pan-blue coalition....
and "non-mainstream factions" within the Nationalist Party. With the DPP formerly in power, and ultimate Taiwan independence and sovereignty being the stance taken by most underground radio stations, Taiwan was one of the rare examples in the world of underground radio stations being pro-government.
Programming generally is of a vertical blocking format, with live call-ins taking up a good portion of air time. On some stations slots are allocated to local community and activist groups. The most prominent segment of the audience comes from rural working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
, males usually middle aged and beyond. Taiwanese Hokkien is by far the most commonly used language on the air, although Mandarin
Standard Chinese
Standard Chinese, or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
and, much less frequently, Hakka are also used. Underground radio stations cover their expenses by selling unorthodox drugs or medicine in a humorous and entertaining manner to keep the listeners hooked between actual programming.
Most if not all underground stations favour a mechanism to gain legal status but many balk at the costly requirements, which they believe to favour corporate and Nationalist-owned broadcasters. Government policy has always treated underground radio as an illegal enterprise, even after the DPP came to power. Official responses have been more varied, alternating between levying fines and confiscating equipment to tolerating their presence. Most stations are able to set up backup broadcast points within days of government raids. Commercial stations are known to file official complaints against pirate stations, whose signals are said to interfere with legal broadcasts.
Philippines
The most known pirate radio station is 107.9 U-Radio. It began its broadcast in 2006, when an unknown pirate FM radio station started broadcasting in Metro Manila with the power of 100watts at 107.9MHz. The station played nothing but underground club music, no call sign, no jocks, just a stinger saying "You're tuned to Underground Radio" and a recorded female voiceover mentioning a mobile phone number that served as a request line in between queues. With hundreds of text messages being received daily and the station was a hot topic on dozens of blog sites on the internet. From that moment on they knew that people were tuning-in. And so they finally decided to take things to the next level.In April 2007 they temporarily ceased transmission so it could obtain all the necessary broadcast permits from the National Telecommunications Commission to legitimize the station.
On June 2007 the station was back on air with a stronger signal and with a new name "107.9 U-Radio" They moved their transmitter facilities to Tagaytay City and the studio is now located in Pasig. It is now owned and operated by Brainstone Broadcasting Inc, formed by a group of young entrepreneurs who helped bring the station back on air. The station is now broadcasting with an Effective Radiated Power (ERP) of 2500W. Its reach comprises the whole of Metro Manila, as well as some areas in the north (Bulacan, Pampanga) and south (Cavite, Batangas, Tagaytay). In addition, it also started doing live broadcast feeds from different bars and clubs (Embassy SuperClub, Embassy Cuisine, Warehouse 135, Alchemy, Opus Bar, and others) in the metro.
On September 7, 2008, the station increased its power from 500 watts to 1,000 watts because of another station that reached Southern Luzon. However, around late September, it temporarily ceased broadcasting because its broadcasting facilities were raided by police due to a complaint from the National Telecommunications Commission that the station was operating with an expired permit. After almost two weeks, on October 12, it resumed broadcasting after renewed its radio permit license, albeit reverting to its original power of 500 watts.
In 2009, DZUR picked up new competition from DWKX, whose approach tends to favor more commercialized Dance fare as opposed to DZUR's pure underground formula. However, with DWKX exiting the Dance format in August 2010, DZUR will once again be the only FM Dance outlet in Metro Manila.
External links
- Dave Rabbit's Official Podcast Home Page
- List of songs in the only known copy of an episode
- Radio First Termer home page with audio samples and Dave Rabbit interview
- Vietnam War Pirate DJ Dave Rabbit Has Finally Come Forward