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 | Platinum | RnB, UK Garage | (scrolling + RT) |
| 87.5 | Mystery FM (East Anglia) | ||
| 87.5 | UK’s Finest (Buckinghamshire & surroundings) | DnB, House, UK Garage | |
| 87.5 | Maakora Radio | Religious | |
| 87.7 | Hightz Live | DnB, House, UK Garage | (scrolling + RT) |
| 87.9 | Shine 87.9 | DnB, House, UK Garage | (scrolling + RT) |
| 88.2 | Rude FM | DnB | |
| 88.4 | Vision FM | House, UK Garage | |
| 88.6 | House FM | House | |
| 89.4 | Unknown FM | House | (scrolling + RT) |
| 89.6 | UK Obsession | UK Garage | (scrolling + RT) |
| 89.8 | Station FM | Hip‑Hop, Reggae | |
| 90.0 | Hot 90 | ||
| 90.1 | Rude Base FM (Essex & Kent) | ||
| 90.2 (stereo) | Point Blank FM | Acid Jazz, Breakbeat, House, Liquid Funk | (scrolling + RT) |
| 90.4 | Whoa FM | Hip‑Hop, House, RnB, Soul | WHOA FM |
| 90.6 | Unknown FM | House | (scrolling + RT) |
| 90.8 | Lightning | Hip‑Hop, Reggae, RnB, Soul | LIGHTNIN |
| 90.8 | Charge FM | DnB, UK Garage | |
| 91.6 (stereo) | Genesis | DnB, House, Reggae, RnB | (scrolling) |
| 91.6 | Innocence FM (Essex & Kent) | ||
| 91.8 | Passion FM | House | PASSION |
| 92.0 | Pulse FM | House, UK Garage | (scrolling) |
| 92.2 | MetroLoveRadio | Hip‑Hop, Reggae, RnB, Soul | *MLR* |
| 92.4 | Deja 92.4 | Hip‑Hop, House, UK Garage | |
| 92.4 | Rolling | Hip‑Hop, House | ROLLING |
| 92.7 | Energy | Gospel, Hip‑Hop, House | |
| 92.7 | Freeze FM | Hip‑Hop, House, RnB, UK Garage | (scrolling + RT) |
| 92.8 | Klash FM (Essex & Kent) | Breakbeat, House, UK Garage | (scrolling) |
| 92.9 | Klimaxx | Jungle, Reggae | |
| 93.0 | (unidentified) | Hip‑Hop, Reggae, RnB | |
| 93.8 | Vibes FM | Reggae | VIBES FM (+ RT) |
| 94.0 | Touch FM | House, UK Garage | TOUCH'94 |
| 94.4 | Tempo FM | Soca | TEMPO FM |
| 94.6 | Kool FM | DnB | (scrolling + RT) |
| 94.7 | Rude Base FM (Essex & Kent) | ||
| 95.1 | Origin | Breakbeat Hardcore, DnB, House, Jungle | (scrolling + RT) |
| 95.3 (stereo) | Storm FM (previously logged on 88.4, 96.5, 96.6 and 96.7) | Electro, Electro‑House, House, Reggae, RnB, Soul, UK Garage | STORM (+ RT) |
| 95.4 | Roots FM | Reggae, Soul | ROOTS FM (+ RT) |
| 95.5 | On Top | Grime, RnB, UK Garage | (scrolling) |
| 96.1 | Supreme Dance | House, UK Garage | S-DANCE |
| 96.3 | Hot 96 | Reggae, RnB | |
| 96.5 | Love FM | House, UK Garage | LOVE FM |
| 97.6 | Bounce FM | Hip‑Hop, Reggae | |
| 97.7 | SLR | Reggae, RnB, Soul | |
| 97.8 | (unidentified) | RnB, Soul | |
| 97.9 | Passion FM | House | PASSION |
| 98.1 | Mystic | Hip‑Hop, Reggae, RnB | |
| 98.3 | RJR | Reggae, Soul | |
| 98.3 | One Love (formerly Rise One) | UK Garage | |
| 99.1 | Hav It 99.1 | Bashment, Reggae, RnB, UK Garage | H.I.LIVE |
| 99.3 | Select UK (switches to 99.4 during the week) | House | SELECTUK |
| 99.5 (stereo) | Galaxy | Hip‑Hop, Reggae | (scrolling + RT) |
| 99.7 | Soul Train | Soul | |
| 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 | RINSE FM |
| 101.1 | Naija FM | RnB | |
| 101.2 | Unique FM | Hip‑Hop, Reggae, RnB | UNIQUE (+ RT) |
| 101.3 | Eruption | DnB, Happy Hardcore | |
| 101.5 | Live FM UK | UK Garage | LIVEFMUK |
| 101.7 | Frontline FM | DnB, Hardcore, House, UK Garage | |
| 101.8 | Bizim FM | BIZIM FM | |
| 101.9 | The Beat | Reggae | |
| 102.0 | Chillin’ | House, Soul, UK Garage | (scrolling) |
| 102.4 | Wax FM | DnB | (scrolling) |
| 102.5 | Juice | Hip‑Hop, Reggae, RnB | |
| 102.6 | WBLS | Ghanian | |
| 102.8 | Urban Love Radio | Bashment, Hip‑Hop, Reggae, RnB | |
| 103.0 | Ice Cold | DnB, House, UK Garage | (scrolling + RT) |
| 103.6 | Dost FM | Turkish | |
| 103.8 (stereo) | Blues FM | Reggae | BLUES FM |
| 104.0 | Pure FM | DnB | |
| 104.0 | Kasaba FM | Reggae | |
| 104.2 | (unidentified) | Turkish | |
| 104.7 | Sub Jam | UK Garage | |
| 105.1 | (unidentified) | ||
| 106.5 (stereo) | Force FM (London, Essex, & Kent) | DnB, House, UK Garage | FORCE (+ RT) |
| 106.7 | Bless FM | Gospel | |
| 106.8 | Lay Low | DnB, Grime, House, UK Garage | 'LAYLOW' (+ RT) |
| 106.9 | (unidentified) | ||
| 106.9 | Conscious FM | Soul | |
| 107.3 | (unidentified) | Reggae | |
| 107.3 | London Soundz | DnB | |
| 107.7 | Pure Magic | RnB | PURE MGC |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 87.7 | Dimension FM | DnB, Old Skool, UK Garage | |
| 92.0 | Power Jam | Reggae | |
| 96.4 | Surprise FM | ||
| 96.6 | Heat FM | ||
| 96.6 | Fusion FM | DnB, RnB | |
| 102.7 | R&B Radio | RnB | |
| 102.8 | Flames Radio | Reggae | |
| 104.2 | Real FM | Grime, House, UK Garage | |
| 107.5 | Edge FM | UK Garage | |
| 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 |
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 | Bashment, Hip‑Hop, RnB, Soul | |
| 87.5 | Lynx FM | Soca | |
| 87.6 | Flava | Hip‑Hop, UK Garage | (scrolling) |
| 87.9 | Energy FM | Gabba, Hardcore, Industrial, Speedcore, Techno | |
| 88.4 | Centerforce | ||
| 88.4 | Ice FM | House, UK Garage | |
| 88.6 | D‑Vine FM | UK Garage | (scrolling) |
| 88.6 | Premier FM | Hard House | (scrolling) |
| 89.4 | Sweet FM | Hip‑Hop, House, RnB | |
| 89.4 | London Underground | UK Garage | LONDON-U |
| 89.6 | UK Sexy | Electro, House | (scrolling) |
| 89.6 | Touchdown FM | UK Garage | (scrolling) |
| 90.6 | Y2K | Bashment, House, UK Garage | |
| 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 | Fresh 93 | UK Garage | FRESH_93 (animated) |
| 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 | Supreme FM | UK Garage | |
| 96.1 | Upfront FM | House, UK Garage | |
| 96.1 | Dance UK | UK Garage | DANCE UK |
| 97.9 | Bassline | Hip‑Hop, Reggae, RnB | |
| 98.1 | Fantasy FM | Acid, Hardcore, Rave | |
| 98.2 (stereo) | R House FM | House | |
| 99.1 | Touch FM | House | TOUCH FM |
| 99.3 | 9nine3 | UK Garage | |
| 99.3 | Taste FM | UK Garage | |
| 99.3 | Upfront FM (relaunched on 96.1) | House, UK Garage | |
| 99.3 | Flashback FM | UK Garage | (scrolling) |
| 99.5 | Vybe FM (merged into MintVybe) | DnB, House | (scrolling) |
| 99.5 | MintVybe FM | House | |
| 101.3 | Industry FM | DnB | (scrolling) |
| 101.3 | Erotic FM | House, UK Garage | EROTIC |
| 101.5 | Flight FM | DnB, Hardcore, UK Garage | |
| 101.5 | Temptation | DnB, House, UK Garage | |
| 101.7 | X‑Treme FM | UK Garage | |
| 101.8 | Freek FM | UK Garage | |
| 102.0 | Smoove FM | House, UK Garage | SMOOVE |
| 103.0 | Delight FM | UK Garage | DELIGHT |
| 103.6 | RawFlex (formerly Flex FM) | Hip‑Hop, House, RnB, UK Garage | |
| 103.8 | N Power | N-POWER | |
| 104.2 | Don FM | DON FM | |
| 104.3 | Ruud Awakening FM | DnB | |
| 104.6 | Time FM | UK Garage | |
| 105.15 | Itch FM | Hip‑Hop | |
| 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.