Answer: Pirate Ships

In the 1960s, the radio music scene in the United Kingdom was a tame one. The state-run BBC radio services played primarily classical music and entirely ignored listeners’ desire for pop and rock music.

In response to this vacuum, industrious (and daring, even) music fans took to the ocean and began operating pirate ships just outside the international maritime boundaries. What started as a single ship in 1964 (known as Radio Caroline), became an armada of dozens of ships (and abandoned deep sea platforms that had been commandeered for the purpose) broadcasting to tens of millions of listeners.

Reacting to the loss of listeners, the BBC Radio service introduced other stations catering to pop and rock music fans. Despite the restructuring in the late 1960s and a change to UK laws to ban broadcasting into the region from international waters, the pirate radio ships remained popular and broadcasts continued well into the 1980s.