Political pirate
radio: Radio
Enoch in Real Audio -
The Voice of People Against Marxism.
Rough
draft not complete...
This
is the story of the famous British experiment in
political pirate radio.
Two
Spires Radio made its first broadcast in June
1978. The first transmission to the West Midlands
and Warwickshire was on medium wave. This was the
start of a two year series of transmissions. The
radio station became known as "Radio
Enoch" from Christmas 1978 onwards.
A taste for pirate political broadcasting has
surprisingly never developed in the United
Kingdom and there have been few other examples of
such enterprises. The offshore radio station,
Radio Nordsee International supported the
Conservative Party during a general election in
the early seventies principally in support of its
own campaign to remain on the air.
The only Radio Enoch broadcast to be attended by
the authorities was the first transmission. The
medium wave transmitter of Two Spires Radio had
been installed in a council flat in Tile Hill in
Coventry and a long wire aerial was taken from
the flat to a high tree some distance away. A
neighbour telephoned the police to complain about
a suspicious character climbing trees, and the
police arrived during the first transmission and
removed the aerial from the tree-end and started
to tug it, thereby pulling the transmitter along
the floor of the flat. The police then entered
the flat and asked the operators what they were
doing; "We're have been trying to receive
Radio Caroline". The police were then given
a demonstration and in boomed Radio Caroline. The
transmission continued later that day from
another location.
In subsequent weeks, one hour broadcasts were
made at 11 o'clock on Sunday mornings. Long-wire
aerials were installed at various locations in
the Midlands usually between two trees in country
lanes using thin and "invisible" wire.
Typically, the aerials were not used until
several weeks after installation in case
suspicion had been aroused.
The medium wave broadcasts did not attract an
audience in view of the short transmission hours
and lack of any form of publicity, and in
November 1978, the operators had to have a
rethink.
During Christmas 1978, Radio Enoch was launched
on short wave in the 49 metre band in parallel
with the medium wave transmission. This brought
instantaneous response and interest from all over
Europe. Many contacts were developed within the
next few weeks and the station ended up with a
core support of around 200 people who were
"in the know" including the support of
a group of pirate radio enthusiasts who were
happy to turn their hobbies to political radio.
A number of new transmitters were transmitters
were built and acquired including:
* KW Vanguard with 1,200 watt Yaesu Musen RF
amplifier;
* Force air-cooled 4CX250B transmitter;
* Heathkit HW101 - 2 x 6146 amplitude modulated;
* other homebrew mediumwave, VHF and shortwave
transmitters.
Radio Enoch evaded the authorities by moving
transmitter site. The most powerful transmission
came from a farm near Shewsbury. A doctor's
clinic was used in Portsmouth, a sub post office
in inner London, a country residence in Kent, and
several farms in the Midlands amongst a dozen or
so other locations. The tranmitters were put into
hiding between broadcasts.
By
March 1979, a report appeared on the front page
of the Observer and a report on the world at One
on Radio 4 amongst several other incidental
reports.
Radio
Enoch battled on for nine months before it became
impossible to continued owing to increase
workload. The station had never been raided
because of careful planning. In any case,
Thatcherism was now taking hold and the old
traitors in the Conservative Party were being
displaced.
Thatcher
was Powell's natural successor for representing
right-wing opinion, and she brought about a halt
to uncontrolled immigation, a virtual demolision
of the trade unions, an end to the loony left,
and a major towards the dismantling of
international socialism.
The
Observer - Sunday 18 March 1979 - front page
article
"Radio
Enoch Hits At Aliens, an illegal radio station
broadcasting extreme right - wing views has begun
operating in Britain, the first political radio
station to broadcast in this country. Calling
itself Radio Enoch the station appears to be
based in the West Midlands and goes on the air
about once a month, it is planning a one hour
broadcast this morning on the Shortwave band. The
group running the organisation describes itself
as People Against Marxism and says 'its aim is to
sweep public opinion towards the right. It denies
any links with the National Front or the South
African Government - saying it comprises
professional engineers and right - wing
politicians. Mr Enoch Powell who used to be the
MP for Wolverhampton South - West said yesterday
he knew nothing about the station nor its
operation. When we left a message for Radio Enoch
we were later contacted by a man who described
himself as the station manager, but declined to
be identified. He told us he was basically a
Conservative and had once stood unsuccessfully as
a City Councillor. "I am over 45
years, an engineering designer by profession, and
have travelled widely abroad including Eastern
Europe."
"Radio
Enoch first began transmissions at the end of the
year (1978) and since then there have been five
or six further transmissions - they all begin
with the words "You are tuned to Radio Enoch
broadcasting in the fight against Socialist
Government and Trade Union interference". In
one recent broadcast a man with slight Midlands
accent spoke at some length about the immigrant
and non - white immigration and said, "as we
come over the years to know the immigrant and to
stand aghast at his numbers we come to know that
on balance he is not doing anything for this
country". The tone of the broadcast was
informal with announcers reading their views
above a background of music ranging from
Tschaikovsky's Swan Lake to against the National
Front which it describes as far Elgar's Land Of
Hope And Glory. Radio Enoch is vigorously
anti-communist and anti - Union but it speaks out
too naive and far too inflexible. (The Observer).
Go
to Enoch Powell at SterlingTimes
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