Free radio pirates on medium and short wave messageboard of alfa lima

THE GHOUL

The Ghoul’s latest programme (which was broadcast on 76m a couple of weeks back) was repeated on the stream on Saturday night. (Thanks, Mr. stream operator!)

The Ghoul’s thoughts are very interesting (and a bit crazy; Ghoul admits that he’s ‘not quite right’), and the music he plays is excellent. He’s a bit like the Bogusman, but his ramblings contain fewer digressions and less ‘self-commenting’ (if that’s the right word), and the music he plays is perhaps a bit more mainstream (I had actually heard some of the songs before! ), so I guess he should be easier for foreigners to understand on a noisy short wave (give him a try!).

The programme lasted one hour, and I enjoyed every moment of it! Just to my taste!


FREE RADIO SERVICE HOLLAND

I tried to hear the last part of FRSH’s 30th anniversary celebration on SW (both last weekend and this weekend). But the signals didn’t quite make it through the local QRM here (perhaps I should just give up listening from home), so I had to rely on the stream (I didn’t check 6260, though. It’s possible that that frequency would have worked).

I listened to a German presenter (Jan van Dijk, I suppose – a new voice for me!) for a good half hour or so, and then to most of Dave Scott’s two-hour programme (I think I must have heard Dave before, because his voice did sound familiar), and to half an hour or so of Peter Verbruggen’s programme at the end of the broadcast (I’ve listened to Peter many times in the past and feel I know his style of programming quite well). Entertaining shows from all three presenters! Thanks, guys!

Dave Scotts’s programme, which was the one I listed to the most attentively, was very well produced and contained the FRSH history from 2004 to 2010, audio clips (interesting material - some of the DJs were new to me) and music from the respective years. Dave has a laid-back and ‘smooth’ style of DJing and is pleasant to listen to. And I agree with Andy when he says that Dave has a superb taste in music.

FRSH is always pleasant to listen to (good music and jingles, professional-sounding and friendly DJs, lots of nostalgia, information for the radio enthusiast...), and they’re doing a lot to reach their audience (experimenting with different relay facilities, using a stream...). It’s a good station to have on SW! Keep up the great work, guys!

I wouldn’t be totally honest, though, if I didn’t say that I’m in fact not all that much into the kind of pirate radio that FRSH represent. They’re very good at what they’re doing (and ‘anorak radio’ is a genre well worth preserving!), but I’m more interesting in other things. 'Slick' DJing is OK to listen to - for a while. In the long run I probably prefer the mad ramblings of the Ghoul and similar stations over the pleasant sounds of FRSH. But that's just me!

As a radio enthusiast I find the ‘information’ on FRSH interesting (FRSH say they stand for a ‘balance between music and information’), although I sometimes find the amount of data a bit overwhelming. For example, I feel that the sections about FRSH’s history this time could have contained a bit less information (dates, times, frequencies, programme schedules...) and a few more anecdotes and reflections. But again: That's just me!

All in all: a good listening experience!

Thank you Kai. That was a superb posting and you make some very good points.

Hopefully listeners will understand that the three 30th anniversary broadcasts of FRSH are intended to chronicle the extensive history of the station and are not representative of the normal output of the station, but I appreciate your point, and we should revert to normal programming next time. I understand what you mean however, the "unusual" or exotic" will always be of more fascination but hopefully many listeners did find the trilogy of FRSH anniversary broadcasts interesting and entertaining. The amount of letters, emails and stats of people listening to the webstream certainly reflect that.

I think the answer is one of "balance". There is room for stations like FRSH, BRI, EMR etc on SW, and equally space for stations which offer a more alternative form of entertainment. What we need is an equal mix of both.

Also I hope listeners had chance to hear Chris Watson's programme on Geronimo on Sunday, a show which for me really encapsuled the real meaning of what SW free radio is all about.

Thank you again Kai for a brilliant posting. It just proves that SW free radio, despite mixed conditions, is still well and truly alive and kicking!

73's Dave

By the way, if you get chance, listen back to some of Joop ter Zee's early shows on FRSH. To me, SW free radio doesnt get any better than that!

Couldn't have said it better, Kai.

To me the FRSH anniversary programmes seemed to be more of a documentary. Well, after 30 years there was a lot to tell but it probably would have been OK to do it in a more condensed way. On the other hand I particularly enjoyed those parts I could link my own memories to. FRSH is representing a type of free radio that has almost disappeared from the SW bands, the "professional anorak station".

Bogusman and Ghoul are a class of their own, I would call them the "alternative avantgarde". I wish there were more "intellectual" stations like them, pirates who make you think or laugh.

Even though they sound completely different, both FRSH and Bogusman/Ghoul have one thing in common, they have a clear idea of what they are doing.

I have to say that I agree with most of the comments above.

But it is far too easy to be critical of broadcasters output.Remember,most of these people have gone to a lot of trouble to make these transmissions.
Yes,I know they do it because they love it!But even so,some praise should be reserved for effort as well as quality.

Having said that I'm sure many stations plan programmes in advance and in the cases of FRSH and Bogusman the shows are pretty well scripted.

Even most "Single Operator" stations plan out what they are going to play or say before a broadcast.

No need to stick to a strict script,just have an outline in your head of what songs you want to play and what you want to talk about.
But,if the mood takes you,in mid broadcast,to change it,then "Just go with the flow"!
Try to be as professional as possible,but natural and honest radio is the best.

We really do have some very good and entertaining Pirates on air right now.

I like natural,honest and if possible,well presented radio.Not the other way round.

My opinion only.

Alfalima.net are not responsible for the comments posted by Andy Richards.....


Andy Richards.

I agree with everything everybody has said!

I'll no doubt try to hear FRSH next time as well. It's a unique station!

And I'll drop Peter Verbruggen a line and ask him if he's got any Joop ter Zee shows for sale.

Kai