A Study Of The British Pirate Radio Phenomenon In Subcultural Perspective

The 1950s saw the emergence of a number of subcultures in British society,with different subcultural groups rebelling against the dominant culture of their fathers in different ways.In order to maintain social stability,the British authorities monopolised the broadcasting market with the British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC),which had the power to decide on the content and format of its broadcasts,ignoring public preferences.Some disgruntled rockers decided to rebel by broadcasting from private boats on the high seas or from long-abandoned wartime bunkers,spreading the pop and rock music favoured by young people.These private radio stations,which were not licensed by the British authorities,became known as Pirate Radio.Pirate radio meets the requirements of subcultural style formation.The Birmingham school believes that subcultures need to be constructed through two steps:’collage’ and ’isomorphism’,and that the negative cultural symbols of British pirate radio are the result of ’collage’ by the media and government as objects."The negative cultural symbols of British pirate radio are the result of the ’collage’ of the media and the government,and the ’isomorphism’ of the members and listeners of the station,who work together through specific values,to stabilize the style.This article focuses on Radio Caroline,the first pirate radio station in the UK,and collates its history of broadcasting on the high seas between 1964 and 1991,and its legalisation after 1991.The rise of Radio Caroline and other pirate radio stations ate into the BBC’s market share and undermined the interests of record dealers,and in1967 the British authorities introduced the Marine Offences Act,which banned local advertisers from investing in radio stations and offshore broadcasting for British citizens.internet technology to increase its professionalism,and finally became legal in 2017 with a government-issued licence.From the experience of Radio Caroline,it can be concluded that when the pirate radio style is formed,the mainstream culture will eliminate its resistance and integrate it into the mainstream through the legal system,ideology as a form of regulatory incorporation and commercial capital as a form of private incorporation.The development of pirate radio,represented by Radio Caroline,is an important part of British subculture,and the analysis of the development of pirate radio is of positive significance to the study of British social and cultural history.