Introduction
If you tune around the FM band in London, particularly at the weekend or during the evening, you are likely to reveal a large number of pirate radio stations. These are instantly recognisable, because they have a very distinctive sound—often playing musical styles such as House, UK Garage, Grime, Drum ’n’ Bass, Reggae, and numerous “Old Skool” genres. They are also very personal, with large amounts of listener interaction, and are sometimes aimed towards a specific community.
This page contains details of the pirate radio stations which can be heard in London, and includes (where appropriate) frequencies, program format, and RDS (PS and RT) information. I also invite you to help me keep the list accurate and up to date—details of how to do this can be found towards the end of the article.
Active Pirate Radio Stations
The radio stations in this table have recently been logged, and are therefore considered to be active.
| Frequency | Name | Format | RDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 87.5 | Lynx FM | Soca | |
| 87.5 | Mystery FM (East Anglia) | ||
| 87.5 | UK’s Finest (Buckinghamshire and surroundings) | ||
| 87.7 | Dimension FM | DnB, Old Skool, UK Garage | |
| 87.9 | Shine 87.9 | House, UK Garage | (scrolling + RT) |
| 88.2 | Rude FM | DnB | |
| 88.4 | Centerforce | ||
| 88.6 | House FM | House | HOUSE886 |
| 89.4 | Sweet FM | Hip‑Hop, House, RnB | |
| 89.6 | Select UK | House, Garage, DnB | (scrolling) |
| 89.8 | Station FM | Reggae | |
| 90.0 | Hot 90 | ||
| 90.1 & 94.7 | Rude Base FM (Essex & Kent) | ||
| 90.2 | Point Blank FM | House, Acid Jazz, Breakbeat, Liquid Funk | |
| 90.4 | Whoa FM | Hip‑Hop, RnB, Soul | (scrolling) |
| 90.6 | Y2K | Bashment, House, UK Garage | |
| 90.8 | Charge FM | DnB, UK Garage | |
| 90.8 | Lightning | Hip‑Hop, Reggae, RnB, Soul | LIGHTNIN |
| 91.6 | Genesis | Reggae, RnB | |
| 91.8 | Passion FM | House | (scrolling) |
| 92.0 | Power Jam | Reggae | |
| 92.2 | MetroLoveRadio | Hip‑Hop, RnB, Reggae, Soul | (scrolling) |
| 92.4 | Deja 92.4 | Hip‑Hop, House, UK Garage | (scrolling + RT) |
| 92.7 | Freeze FM | Hip‑Hop, RnB, UK Garage | (scrolling + RT) |
| 92.8 | Klash FM (Essex & Kent) | Breakbeat, House, UK Garage | (scrolling) |
| 92.9 | Klimaxx | Reggae | |
| 93.0 | Fresh 93 | UK Garage | FRESH_93 (animated) |
| 93.8 | Vibes FM | Reggae | VIBES FM (+ RT) |
| 94.0 | Touch FM | House, UK Garage | TOUCH FM |
| 94.4 | Tempo FM | Soca | |
| 94.6 | Kool FM | DnB | (scrolling + RT) |
| 95.1 | Origin | Breakbeat Hardcore, DnB, House, Jungle | |
| 95.4 | Roots FM | Reggae, Soul | ROOTS FM (+ RT) |
| 95.5 | On Top | Grime, UK Garage | |
| 96.1 | Supreme Dance | House, UK Garage | |
| 96.4 | Surprise FM | ||
| 96.5 (stereo) | Blues FM | Reggae | |
| 96.6 | Heat FM | ||
| 96.6 | Fusion FM | DnB, RnB | |
| 97.1 | Energy FM | Hip‑Hop, RnB | |
| 97.6 | Bounce FM | Hip‑Hop, Reggae | |
| 97.7 | SLR | Reggae, Soul, RnB | |
| 97.9 | Bassline | Hip‑Hop, Reggae, RnB | |
| 98.1 | Mystic | Hip‑Hop, Reggae, RnB | |
| 98.2 | (unidentified) | ||
| 98.3 | Rise One (Essex & Kent) | UK Garage | RISE ONE |
| 98.3 | RJR | Soul | * RJR * |
| 99.1 | Hav It 99.1 | Bashment, Reggae, RnB | HAVIT991 |
| 99.3 | Live FM | Hip‑Hop, RnB, UK Garage | (scrolling + RT) |
| 99.5 | MintVybe FM | House | |
| 99.5 | Galaxy | Hip‑Hop, Reggae | |
| 99.6 | (unidentified) | ||
| 99.7 | Edge FM | DnB, Hip‑Hop, House, RnB, Trance | |
| 99.8 | Millennium Supreme | Hip‑Hop, Reggae, RnB, Soca, Soul | SUPREME |
| 100.2 | True FM | House, UK Garage | |
| 100.4 | Rinse FM | Grime, House, UK Garage | |
| 101.1 | Naija FM | Religious | |
| 101.2 | Unique FM | Hip‑Hop, Reggae, RnB | |
| 101.3 | Eruption | DnB, Happy Hardcore | |
| 101.5 | Temptation | DnB, House, UK Garage | |
| 101.7 | X‑Treme FM | UK Garage | |
| 101.9 | The Beat | Reggae | |
| 102.0 | Chillin’ | House, Soul | (scrolling) |
| 102.4 | Wax FM | DnB | |
| 102.5 | Juice | Hip‑Hop, Reggae, RnB | JUICE-UK |
| 102.7 | R&B Radio | RnB | |
| 102.8 | Flames Radio | Reggae | |
| 102.9 | WBLS | ||
| 103.0 | Ice Cold | DnB, House | ICE COLD |
| 103.6 | RawFlex | Hip‑Hop, House, RnB, UK Garage | |
| 103.8 | N Power | N-POWER | |
| 104.0 | Kasaba FM | ||
| 104.2 | Real FM | Grime, House, UK Garage | |
| 104.2 | Don FM | DON FM | |
| 104.7 | Sub Jam | UK Garage | SUB-JAM |
| 105.15 | Itch FM | Hip‑Hop | |
| 106.0 | Dance FM | UK Garage | |
| 106.5 (Essex) | Force FM | House | FORCE FM (+ RT) |
| 106.7 | Bless FM | Hip‑Hop | |
| 106.9 | Lay Low | DnB, Grime, House, UK Garage | 'LAYLOW' |
| 106.9 | Conscious FM | (scrolling) | |
| 107.6 | Lush FM | Hip‑Hop, Old Skool, Techno, UK Garage | LUSH1076 |
| 107.6 | Jamming FM | DnB, Happy Hardcore | |
| 107.7 | Push FM | House | |
| 107.9 | Raw FM 107.9 | Breakbeat, DnB, House, Jungle, old skool | |
| 108.0 | Unknown FM | House | (scrolling + RT) |
Inactive Pirate Stations
These stations are assumed to be inactive, because they haven’t been logged for many weeks. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the stations no longer exist, so it is still worth having a listen on these frequencies.
| Frequency | Name | Format | RDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88.4 | Vision FM | House, UK Garage |
Former Pirate Stations
The stations in this table are assumed to have closed down, because they haven’t been logged for a very long time.
| Frequency | Name | Format | RDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 87.5 | Bashment FM | ||
| 87.6 | Flava | Hip‑Hop, UK Garage | (scrolling) |
| 87.9 | Energy FM | Gabba, Hardcore, Industrial, Speedcore, Techno | |
| 88.4 | Ice FM | House, UK Garage | |
| 88.6 | D‑Vine FM | UK Garage | (scrolling) |
| 88.6 | Premier FM | Hard House | (scrolling) |
| 89.4 | London Underground | UK Garage | LONDON-U |
| 89.6 | Touchdown FM | UK Garage | (scrolling) |
| 89.6 | UK Sexy | House, Electro | (scrolling) |
| 92.3 | Weekend Rush | Hardcore | |
| 92.5 | Elite FM | UK Garage | |
| 92.7 | Mac FM | UK Garage | MAC FM |
| 92.7 | Garage FM | UK Garage | |
| 92.8 | Atmosphere FM | ||
| 93.0 | Mint FM (merged into MintVybe) | House | |
| 94.0 | Pure FM | UK Garage | |
| 94.0 | Silk Room FM | UK Garage | |
| 94.3 | Soundz FM | DnB, Hardcore, House, UK Garage | SOUNDZ |
| 95.5 | Entice FM | DnB | |
| 95.6 | Climax | Acid House, Garage, House, Techno | |
| 96.1 | Dance UK | UK Garage | DANCE UK |
| 96.1 | Supreme FM | UK Garage | |
| 96.1 | Upfront FM | House, UK Garage | |
| 98.1 | Fantasy FM | Acid, Hardcore, Rave | |
| 98.2 (stereo) | R House FM | House | |
| 99.1 | Touch FM | House | TOUCH FM |
| 99.3 | Upfront FM | House, UK Garage | |
| 99.3 | Taste FM | UK Garage | |
| 99.3 | Flashback FM | UK Garage | (scrolling) |
| 99.3 | 9nine3 | UK Garage | |
| 99.5 | Vybe FM (merged into MintVybe) | DnB, House | (scrolling) |
| 101.3 | Industry FM | DnB | (scrolling) |
| 101.3 | Erotic FM | House, UK Garage | EROTIC |
| 101.5 | Flight FM | DnB, Hardcore, UK Garage | |
| 101.8 | Freek FM | UK Garage | |
| 102.0 | Smoove FM | House, UK Garage | SMOOVE |
| 103.0 | Delight FM | UK Garage | DELIGHT |
| 104.3 | Ruud Awakening FM | DnB | |
| 104.6 | Time FM | UK Garage | |
| 105.6 | (unidentified) | Hip‑Hop, UK Garage | |
| 106.0 | Dance FM | House, UK Garage | |
| 106.5 | Twist FM | DnB | |
| 106.5 | Hyper FM | DnB, Gabba | |
| 107.6 | Dream | Hardcore | |
| 107.7 | Afrique |
How You Can Help
Please bear in mind that the accuracy of the list depends on your feedback, so I would greatly appreciate any information about:
- Stations which haven’t been listed.
- Changes of status, for example stations which have become inactive.
- Extra information—RDS, RT, program format, website addresses…
- Changes of frequency, name, program format, or RDS information.
You can send your updates via the contact page, and I’ll get the information added as soon as possible. Please only send information which you know to be accurate though.