1Lspé : The Boat That Rocked Official Trailer [HD]/ protest songs & counterculture

THE REAL STORY BEHIND BRITAIN’S ROCK ‘N’ ROLL 

            At the dawn of the 1960s, (…) with the exception of one commercial TV network, the airwaves were owned by the British Broadcasting Corp. — known semi-affectionately as "Auntie."          

            The BBC favored a bland if nourishing diet of news, information, light entertainments and children's programs. In other words, the rock 'n' roll revolution that was spreading like wildfire in the United States had been banished from the British airwaves.

            But for a group of rebellious, rock-loving disc jockeys, such restrictions were no more than a hurdle. Many of them took to the seas, hunkering down on old fishing ships anchored off the Eastern coast of England; from there, they broadcast programs built around the illicit tunes of bands like The Hollies and The Rolling Stones. (…)

            The pirates were anchored in international waters — and thus out of British authorities' legal reach. When they began broadcasting in the mid-'60s, their signals reached as many as 20 million Brits. And the pirates' playlists were largely lifted from American Top 40 stations, which during the '60s were dominated by the era's British bands. Radio Caroline, which broadcast from the ship Mi Amigo, became one of the most popular stations. (…) Some of the biggest bands of the period, including the Stones and The Dave Clark Five, got their first exposure on pirate stations. The pirates also played commercials, which was unheard of in the United Kingdom at the time. (…)

            In 1967 the British government made it a crime to supply music, commentary, fuel, food and water — and, most significantly, advertising — to any unlicensed offshore broadcaster. The law sounded the official death knell for most of the pirate stations.

Yet the music had made its mark. One month after the law took effect, the BBC launched its first pop station. And in a strange turn of events, many of the shipwrecked DJs went to work for their former nemeses at the BBC. After all, it would be six more years before Britain allowed any commercial radio stations in the country.

NPR November 13, 2009