UK Pirate Radio Risks Extinction
Author: Skrufff
Saturday, June 23, 2001
Britain's thriving network of 'pirate' unlicensed radio stations could disappear, following the conclusion of a precedent-setting court case last week, which established that pirates are causing a 'Public Nuisance'. Britain's High Court granted a permanent injunction against Paul Hutchings of Midlands station Melody FM after he'd ignored two previous convictions and carried on broadcasting. If authorities link him with any pirate radio stations in the future, he'll be in contempt of court and could be sent straight to prison."The decision establishes, for the first time, that pirate radio broadcasting can constitute an act of public nuisance," Phil Sherrell, a commercial radio station lawyer involved in the case told the Sunday Times. "The threat of being imprisoned for contempt, if he breaches the order is likely to prove a much stronger deterrent to Mr Hutchings, and those like him, than the small fines handed out by the criminal courts."
The new laws could devastate Britain's thriving pirate radio scene that's been hugely influential in breaking and developing underground genres including UK garage and drum & bass. "Anyone who is a disenfranchised music lover is represented through pirate radio," leading independent garage executive Shabbs told Muzik in 1995. "Everybody respects pirates because they're on the edge, but the greatest aspect is that anybody can do it. It's open and the start-up costs are not particularly high. Everybody wants to be a DJ and doing pirate radio is one of the first steps on the ladder to becoming a club DJ, or like me, working in another area of the music business."
Shabbs went on to discover the Artful Dodger and Nitin Sawhney and nowadays runs his own label backed by the Ministry of Sound. The future for Brtiain's pirate stations, many of whom have already been raided on scores of occasions, now looks decidedly bleak.
http://www.buylsd.org (Large Salad Dressing Ko, includes 'Public Nuisance' and 'Never Trust a DJ' T Shirts)
Jonty Adderley
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