Radio Syd ("Radio South") was a Swedish pirate radio station. It began life as ''Skånes Radio Mercur'',
the first "
pirate radio
Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license.
In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...
" in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, and started to broadcast in December 1958.
History
The station was started by a young Swede, Nils-Eric Svensson,
who had studied radio and television in USA and had worked for a short period at the Swedish state run broadcasting company. "Skånes Radio Mercur" leased air time from the Danish pirate radio station
Radio Mercur
Radio Mercur was a Danish offshore broadcasting commercial radio station. It started regular transmission on 2 August 1958 and ceased officially on 31 July 1962, followed by 3 days of transmissions from 13 to 15 August 1962. Later broadcasting t ...
, that had started broadcasting a few months earlier from a
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
registered ship "Cheeta", anchored in
international waters
The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regiona ...
between
Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, and
Malmö, Sweden. The broadcasts were on the
FM band
The FM broadcast band is a range of radio frequencies used for FM broadcasting by radio stations. The range of frequencies used differs between different parts of the world. In Europe and Africa (defined as International Telecommunication Union ( ...
, and covered only the densely populated southwestern part of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
Skåne
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne C ...
, with the cities
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
,
Landskrona
Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...
and
Helsingborg
Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...
.
In 1958, recorded music was limited to 60 minutes per day by
Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...
, and pop music was represented by two or three recordings. The new radio station played only music, accenting pop music, and was an instant success, capturing 70 - 80% of the listeners during its limited broadcasting hours.
Skånes Radio Mercur was built on enthusiasm, without financial backing, and the start-up was difficult. To Nils-Eric's surprise, both the newspapers and the record companies boycotted the young station. The ad agencies were also slow to catch on, mostly because they were not equipped to handle this new media. Subsequently, the support came from small advertisers and small maverick record labels, which cashed in handsomely.
Nils-Eric Svensson stayed with his station for three years, until the Swedish
Riksdag
The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
had introduced laws that made it impossible to continue the station as he saw it. He sold the station in 1961 to continue a career in the US, where he now lives in California.
Britt Wadner,
who was working in marketing on the station, took over. In 1962 Skaanes Radio Mercur bought the transmission vessel Cheeta Mercur from Radio Mercur, and the name was changed to Radio Syd
[ to differentiate it from the other Swedish radio pirate, ]Radio Nord
Radio Nord was a Swedish offshore commercial station that operated briefly from 8 March 1961 to 30 June 1962 from a ship anchored in international waters of the Baltic Sea off Stockholm, Sweden. While the station was dubbed as a pirate radio sta ...
, close to Stockholm.
Radio Syd continued to broadcast after the Riksdag had passed a bill against pirate radios in June 1962. In 1964, the station bought the larger vessel, Cheeta II from the former Radio Mercur, that ceased transmissions to Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
in August 1962, because of a similar bill by the Danish Folketing. Radio Syd ceased transmissions to Sweden in 1966.
The second ship the mv Cheeta 2 broadcast the British station Caroline South for a few weeks after the mv Mi Amigo ran aground at Frinton. After this service ceased, the ship was sold and moved to the Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
, where she eventually sank. Mrs. Wadner was jailed at least once for breaching Swedish broadcasting law.
Radio Syd was eventually set up in The Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
just outside the capital . During the 1981 Gambian coup d'état attempt a Senegalese military helicopter was shot down trying to recapture the station from Gambian rebels, killing all 18 onboard. Broadcasting to The Gambia and Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤠(Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤠ðž ...
on medium wave, the station ceased transmitting in September 2002 when the antennae collapsed. This site was subsequently used by a number of visiting Amateur Radio operators from the USA and Europe for so-called DX-pedition
A DX-pedition is an expedition to what is considered an exotic place by amateur radio operators and DX listeners, typically because of its remoteness, access restrictions, or simply because there are very few radio amateurs active from that pl ...
. At the end of January 2020, the building and all original equipment dating back to the 1960s were totally destroyed in a violent fire, which marks the end of Radio Syd.
In 1984 a short comeback - now on shortwave - was a grand success. Its MW programme was rebroadcast by GamTel, (formerly Cable & Wireless at facilities in Abuko), on shortwave reaching more than 1500 listeners around the world, from an idea by a Swedish Radio Club.
Gallery
Image:Radio_syd_2000.jpg
Image:Radio_syd_2002.jpg
Image:Radio_syd_2000_transmitter.jpg
Image:Radio_syd_2000_studio.jpg
Image:Radio_syd1.jpg
Image:C5Z_dx-pedition.jpg
References
{{coord missing, Sweden
Offshore radio
Pirate radio stations
Radio stations in Sweden
Mass media in Malmö
Radio in the Gambia
Radio stations established in 1958
Radio_stations_disestablished_in_1966
Defunct mass media in Sweden