Flex FM is a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...

station, which originally started life as a

pirate radio Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...

station. Flex broadcasts

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house and jungle production methods, but also incorporates elements from ...

, old skool hardcore,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

to London and surrounding areas on 101.4FM.

History

Flex was first established in 1992 as a breakaway station from Don FM and began broadcasting from Merton, South West London, on the frequency of 103.6FM. During that time, it followed the path of a number of other pirates in the capital of playing

breakbeat hardcore Breakbeat hardcore (also referred to as hardcore rave, oldskool hardcore or simply hardcore) is a music genre that spawned from the UK rave scene during the early 1990s. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from ...

, through

jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

and

, onto

, until it left the airwaves in 2003. During this first period on-air, DJs, MCs and artists to have played on the station have included DJ Deekline (who scored a number 11 UK chart hit with " I Don't Smoke" in the summer of 2000), MC Hyperactive, the Genius Cru (who had a top 20 UK chart hit with " Boom Selection" in early 2001), Billy Whizz,

Lady Sovereign Louise Amanda Harman (born 1985), better known by the stage name Lady Sovereign, is a British rapper, best known for the songs "9 to 5" and " Love Me or Hate Me". She was signed to Def Jam in 2005 by Jay-Z. Early life and family Harman grew ...

Ed Rush Ben Settle, known by the stage name Ed Rush, is a drum and bass producer and DJ. Rush has been releasing records since 1992 primarily with Optical (Matt Quinn), his musical partner since 1997. Along with Optical, he is also the co-founder of ...

, DJ Gunshot, Optical, Funky T, Donna Dee, LS, DJ Wise, and Paul Strobe. After a hiatus, Flex returned in 2009 on 99.7FM, playing

UK funky UK funky (sometimes known as UKF or funky) is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England that is heavily influenced by soca, soulful house, tribal house, funky house, UK garage, broken beat and grime. Typically, UK funky ...

as well as across its staple music genres. DJs, MCs and artists to have appeared on this return have included MC Sparks, Outlaw, DJ Carloss, Tempo, Nicky D, Truez, DJ Sollie, DJ Twiz, Hands Free, Al-B, Heny G, G Double, Jay 5ive (Antisocial), Selecta Primetime, Oliver Little, Smokey Bubblin B, and Andy Mills. In its latter days as a pirate station, Flex would feature in a special report on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' is the BBC's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. It is broadcast weeknights at 10:30 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel; it is also avail ...

'' programme, ''Inside the World of Pirate Radio'', broadcast in August 2015.

Legal license

In October 2016, Flex applied for one of the forthcoming community licenses being advertised in London, which would prove to be successful in its bid in May 2017. In late 2017, it commenced fundraising for the building of new studios. Flex started broadcasting legally as a community station as of 1 July 2018, with a roster of both original and new DJs and presenters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flex FM Radio stations in London Former pirate radio stations Pirate radio stations in the United Kingdom Radio stations established in 1992 House music radio stations UK garage radio stations Electronic dance music radio stations in the United Kingdom