Radio Luxembourg (English)
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Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earliest commercial radio stations broadcasting to the UK and Ireland. The station provided a way to circumvent British legislation which until 1973 gave the BBC a monopoly of radio broadcasting on UK territory and prohibited all forms of advertising over the domestic
radio spectrum The radio spectrum is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum with frequencies from 0  Hz to 3,000  GHz (3  THz). Electromagnetic waves in this frequency range, called radio waves, are widely used in modern technology, particul ...
. It boasted the most powerful privately owned transmitter in Europe (200 kW, broadcasting on
medium wave Medium wave (MW) is the part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. During the dayti ...
). In the late 1930s, and again in the 1950s and 1960s, it had large audiences in Britain and Ireland with its programmes of popular entertainment, and was an important forerunner of
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 ...
and modern commercial radio in the United Kingdom. Radio Luxembourg's parent company,
RTL Group RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France ...
, continued its involvement in broadcasts to a UK audience with the British TV channel then known as
Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
until it was sold in July 2010.


Background and origins

In 1922, the British government awarded a monopoly broadcasting licence to the
British Broadcasting Company The British Broadcasting Company Ltd. (BBC) was a short-lived British commercial broadcasting company formed on 18 October 1922 by British and American electrical companies doing business in the United Kingdom. Licensed by the British General ...
, whose shares were owned by British and American electrical companies. Although in theory the BBC could have sold sponsored airtime, instead its income came from selling its own brand of licensed radio receivers manufactured by its owners. This arrangement lasted until 1927, when the broadcasting licence of the original BBC was allowed to expire. The assets of the former commercial company were then sold to a new non-commercial
British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, which operated under a UK charter from
the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...
. With no possibility of commercial broadcasting available from inside the UK, Leonard F. Plugge – a former British
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
captain and entrepreneur (and from 1935
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
) – set up his own
International Broadcasting Company Captain Leonard Frank Plugge (21 September 1889 – 19 February 1981) was a British radio entrepreneur and Conservative Party politician. Early years and political life Plugge was born at Walworth, only son of Frank Plugge (1864–1946), a co ...
, which leased time on transmitters in continental Europe and resold it as sponsored English-language programming aimed at audiences in Britain and Ireland. Because Plugge successfully demonstrated that state monopolies such as that of the BBC could be broken, other parties became attracted to the idea of creating a new commercial radio station specifically for this purpose.


Formation of Radio Luxembourg

In 1924, radio technician François Anen built a 100-watt transmitter in his home in the
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
. Within two years, the government of Luxembourg had reached an agreement to subsidize the station to broadcast
military music A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
concerts and plays performed in the
Luxembourgish language Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...
. With its central location in western Europe, the Grand Duchy was an ideal site for broadcasts to many nations, including the United Kingdom. Anen became inspired by the activities of Captain Plugge, who was using transmitters licensed in other countries to broadcast English-language radio programmes to Britain and Ireland, whose governments had not licensed commercial broadcasting. On 11 May 1929, he brought together a group of mainly French entrepreneurs to form the Luxembourg Society for Radio Studies (''La Société Luxembourgeoise d'Études Radiophoniques'') as a
pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the develop ...
to force the Luxembourg government to issue them a commercial broadcasting licence. On 19 December 1929, the government of Luxembourg passed a law awarding a monopoly licence to operate a commercial radio broadcasting franchise from the Grand Duchy. On 29 December, this licence was awarded to the Society, which in turn created the Luxembourg Broadcasting Company (
Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France and ...
) to be identified on the air as Radio Luxembourg. In May 1932, Radio Luxembourg began high-powered test transmissions aimed directly at Britain and Ireland (which proved, inadvertently, to be the first radio modification of the
ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...
). The reaction of the British government was hostile, as the long-wave band used for these tests carried a signal far superior to anything previously received from outside the country. The British government accused Radio Luxembourg of "pirating" the various wavelengths it was testing. The station had planned to start regular broadcasts on 4 June 1933, but the complaints caused Radio Luxembourg to keep shifting its wavelength. On 1 January 1934, a new international agreement, the Lucerne Convention or European
Wavelength Plan A frequency plan, bandplan, band plan or wavelength plan is a plan for using a particular band of radio frequencies, that are a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Each frequency plan defines the frequency range to be included, how channels ...
(which the Luxembourg government refused to sign) came into effect, and shortly afterwards Radio Luxembourg started a regular schedule of English-language transmissions from 8:15 am to midnight on Sundays, and at various times during the rest of the week. Radio Luxembourg began broadcasting in both French and English on a new 200 kW transmitter on 230 kHz (1304 metres) in the long-wave band. The English service was leased to
Radio Publicity (London) Ltd Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...
in the United Kingdom. In December 1933, Radio Publicity (London) transferred 23-year-old Stephen Williams from directing its English-language programmes transmitted over
Radio Paris Radio Paris was a French radio broadcasting company best known for its Axis propaganda broadcasts in Vichy France during World War II. Radio Paris evolved from the first private radio station in France, called Radiola, founded by pioneering Fren ...
to become the first manager of the English-language service of Radio Luxembourg. From 1932, German journalist
Eva Siewert Eva Siewert (11 February 1907 – 3 December 1994) was a German journalist, writer, radio announcer and opera singer, who lived and worked mainly in Berlin. Childhood Eva Siewert was born in Breslau (today Wrocław, Poland), the daughter of ...
worked as editor-in-chief and trilingual head spokeswoman for the station in German, English and French.


First commercial era


1933–1939

In the years from 1933 to 1939, the English language service of Radio Luxembourg gained a large audience in the UK and other European countries, with sponsored programming aired from noon until midnight on Sundays and at various times during the rest of the week. Around 11% of Britons listened to it during the week, preferring Luxembourg's light music and variety programmes to the BBC. Up to half of Britons did so before 10:15 am on weekdays when the BBC did not broadcast, and at weekends when it followed the Reith Sunday schedule of only serious and religious programmes. The BBC and successive British governments continued to oppose the competition, citing Radio Luxembourg's use of an unauthorized frequency. As the station could not use
General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...
telephone lines to broadcast from London, many English-language programmes were recorded there and flown to Luxembourg. Despite the opposition, by 1938 many British companies advertised on Radio Luxembourg and fellow European broadcaster
Radio Normandy Captain Leonard Frank Plugge (21 September 1889 – 19 February 1981) was a British radio entrepreneur and Conservative Party politician. Early years and political life Plugge was born at Walworth, only son of Frank Plugge (1864–1946), a co ...
. The stations thus exposed millions of Britons and British companies to commercial broadcasting, which contributed to the creation of the commercial ITV during the 1950s.


Programmes

These were some of the shows heard in 1935 as listed in the 3 May edition of '' Radio Pictorial'': *Sundays: 12:00 Noon – Musical Voyage – ''with
Bobbie Comber Edmund Comber (8 January 1886 – 1 March 1942),5 March 1942, "Chit Chat", ''The Stage'', p.4, accessed viThe Stage Archive2 February 2014 known professionally as Bobbie Comber, was a British comedian, singer and actor. He was born in Bury St Ed ...
and Reginald Purdell and sponsored by Halls Wine.'' **12:15 pm – Do-Do Broadcasts – ''sponsored medication programme "for asthma suffers".'' **12:30 pm – Golden Hour of Music – ''the Irish Concert recorded programme'' **1:00 pm – Zam-Buk Broadcast – ''the latest dance music sponsored by a medication "for cuts, burns and bruises."'' **1:30 pm – Littlewoods Broadcast – ''sponsored by a football pools coupon company in
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
.'' **2:00 pm – English service ends until 2:30 pm. **2:30 pm – Vernon's All-Star Variety Concert – ''gramophone records presented by a football pools company.'' **5:30 pm – League of Ovaltineys – ''presented by the makers of
Ovaltine Ovaltine (also known by its original name Ovomaltine) is a brand of milk flavoring product made with malt extract (except in the blue packaging in the United States), sugar (except in Switzerland), and whey. Some flavors also have cocoa. Ovalt ...
.'' (The anthem of this children's show was still being celebrated by fan sites in 2007. Another version of the Ovaltineys programming began again after World War II on Radio Luxembourg over its ''208'' wavelength.)


Presenters

* Stephen Williams – the first station manager, who resumed his duties with the English service when the station resumed commercial English-language transmissions after World War II * Gerald Carnes * Charles Maxwell (1936) * John Bewley''Radio Pictorial'', July 1938. * S.P. Ogden-Smith (Chief Announcer in 1938)


World War II


1940–1945

On 21 September 1939, the
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
government closed the radio station to protect the neutrality of the country during World War II. The station and its transmitters were taken over by the invading German forces in 1940, and were used for English-language propaganda broadcasts by
William Joyce William Brooke Joyce (24 April 1906 – 3 January 1946), nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an American-born fascist and Nazi propaganda broadcaster during the Second World War. After moving from New York to Ireland and subsequently to England, ...
(known as
Lord Haw-Haw Lord Haw-Haw was a nickname applied to William Joyce, who broadcast Nazi propaganda to the UK from Germany during the Second World War. The broadcasts opened with "Germany calling, Germany calling", spoken in an affected upper-class English acc ...
) and others. When Allied forces took over Luxembourg in September 1944, the station was transferred to
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
control and used for
black propaganda Black propaganda is a form of propaganda intended to create the impression that it was created by those it is supposed to discredit. Black propaganda contrasts with gray propaganda, which does not identify its source, as well as white propagand ...
purposes for the remainder of the war (see
Radio 1212 Radio 1212 or Sender 11212 or Nachtsender 1212 was a black propaganda radio station operated from 1944 to 1945 by the Psychological Warfare Branch of the US Office of War Information (OWI) under the direction of CBS radio chief William S. Paley, ...
).


Second commercial era


1946–1956

When the Allied armed forces vacated the Radio Luxembourg premises at the close of World War II, the English-language service attempted to restart transmissions to the United Kingdom as a full-time commercial radio station using the European long-wave band, once more under the management of Stephen Williams. During the war, Geoffrey Everitt served his last few months in Luxembourg, and this led to his employment by Stephen Williams on 21 June 1946. Williams soon left the station and Everitt found himself in charge of a small on-air staff of three women and one man. Because of the dearth of advertising available in English, the early morning shows on long wave quickly disappeared and made way for French-language programmes. More contractions followed and this led to cuts in more of the morning, afternoon and evening programming in English. By the start of the 1950s, sponsorship of the English service had begun to grow once more, and while initially some of the English-language programmes continued via ''Radio Luxembourg I'' on long wave, a second but less powerful wavelength was opened up as ''Radio Luxembourg II'' on medium wave. The English programmes of Radio Luxembourg moved on 2 July 1951, from long wave to the medium wave frequency of 208 metres (1439 kHz). The controversy over the station's broadcasting frequencies had been resolved with the 1948 Copenhagen plan (which this time the Luxembourg government did sign), which allocated the country two high-power frequencies, one on long wave and the other on medium wave. Eventually all English programming moved to medium wave, with long wave being dedicated to French programmes, while German, Dutch and other languages used medium wave during the daytime. In 1955, Hal Lewis who was better known at Hawaiian radio station KPOA as ''J. Akuhead Pupule'' (and later became the morning DJ at
KGMB KGMB (channel 5) is a television station in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, serving the Hawaiian Islands as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside NBC affiliate KHNL (channel 13) and Kailua-Kona–licensed Telemundo ...
in
Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
during 1965), offered to buy the morning time from 6 am to 9 am for his own show on ''208'', but his offer was rejected. The ''208'' signal could be received satisfactorily in the United Kingdom only after dark, when it was able to strike the
ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...
and bounce back to the British Isles. It was this second wavelength that eventually became dedicated to English-language programming after 6 pm under the slogan of "''208 – Your station of the stars''", referring to the entertainers heard on the station.


Programmes

These were some of the shows heard in March 1952 as reported in the ''208'' programme schedule: *Sundays: 6:15 pm – ''
Ovaltiney's Concert Party Ovaltiney's Concert Party was a weekly British radio show which ran on Radio Luxembourg between December 1934 and September 1939, sponsored by the manufacturer of ''Ovaltine''. A new version of the show was aired in 1952. Concept ''Ovaltiney's Con ...
'' – a version of the popular show that was originally broadcast before World War II over the original Radio Luxembourg long-wave station. **9:15 pm – Leslie Welch – "the famous Memory Man". **10:45 pm – ''The Answer Man'' – "anything you want to know" (Sundays, Wednesdays, Fridays). **11.00 PM – Top Twenty – introduced by Pete Murray. *Mondays: 7:15 pm – ''The Adventures of Dan Dare'', "Pilot of the future" – fifteen minutes serial heard Monday to Friday and featuring the voice of Noel Johnson who also played the part of
Dick Barton ''Dick Barton – Special Agent'' is a radio thriller serial that was broadcast in the BBC Light Programme between 7 October 1946 and 30 March 1951. Produced and directed by Raymond Raikes, Neil Tuson, and Charles Lefaux, it was aired in 15-m ...
on BBC radio. This serial began on 2 July 1951 and ran for five years. **9:30 pm – ''
Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...
'', serial heard from Monday to Friday. *Tuesdays: 10:55 pm – ''Soccer of Leicester'' – odds announcement. *Wednesdays: 8:30 pm – ''The Story of Dr. Kildare'' – every Wednesday starring
Lew Ayres Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film ''All Quiet on the Western Fro ...
, produced in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...
by MGM. **11:00 pm – '' Back to the Bible'' – religious broadcast. *Thursdays: 8:00 pm – ''Music From the Ballet''. **8:30 pm – ''Movie Magazine'' with Wilfrid Thomas''. **11:00 pm – ''Old Fashioned Revival Hour'' – religion (
Charles E. Fuller Charles Fuller (1939–2022) was an American playwright and writer. Charles Fuller may also refer to: * Charles Fuller (footballer) (1919–2004), English footballer * Charles E. Fuller (Baptist minister) (1887–1968), American Christian clergyma ...
) *Fridays: 8:00 pm – ''Scottish Requests'' with Peter Madren. **11:00 pm ''The
Voice of Prophecy The ''Voice of Prophecy'', founded in 1929 by H.M.S. Richards, Sr., is a Seventh-day Adventist religious radio ministry headquartered in Loveland, Colorado. Initially airing in 1929 on a single radio station in Los Angeles the ''Voice of Proph ...
'' – Adventists' Union religious programme. *Saturdays: 7:00 pm – ''Chance of a Lifetime'' – quiz programme with
Dick Emery Richard Gilbert Emery (19 February 19152 January 1983) was an English comedian and actor. His broadcasting career began on radio in the 1950s, and his self-titled television series ran from 1963 to 1981. Life and career Richard Gilbert Emery was ...
. **10:00 pm – ''At Two-O-Eight'' – dance music with Russ Morgan Orchestra compered by Pete Murray. **11:00 pm – ''Bringing Christ to the Nations –
The Lutheran Hour ''The Lutheran Hour'' is a U.S.-based Christian radio program produced by Lutheran Hour Ministries. The weekly broadcast began on October 2, 1930, as an outreach ministry of the Lutheran Laymen's League, part of the Lutheran Church–Missouri S ...
''. Radio Luxembourg also served as a refuge for stars and shows previously heard on the BBC but with whom the BBC had fallen out for one reason or another. Thus, when in 1951 the BBC wanted
Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...
, one of its biggest singing stars, to perform more upbeat material than her traditional repertoire, she refused, and signed up to record 42 shows for Luxembourg instead – which, she said, also paid better. Likewise, the comedy series ''
Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh'' was a comedy show broadcast from 1944 to 1950 and 1951 to 1954 by BBC radio and in 1950–51 by Radio Luxembourg. It was written by and starred Richard Murdoch and Kenneth Horne as officers in a fictional RAF sta ...
'', terminated by the BBC after six years, transferred to Radio Luxembourg for a period in 1950–51 before the BBC relented and revived the show. On 7 April 1956, ''Billboard'' magazine reported that " WINS Radio made a deal with
Harry Alan Towers Harry Alan Towers (19 October 1920 – 31 July 2009) was a British radio and independent film producer and screenwriter. He wrote numerous screenplays for the films he produced, often under the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over 80 f ...
of the Towers of London, for
deejay A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...
Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...
to do a special taped 1/2 hour
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...
record show on Saturday nights over Radio Luxembourg, which is beamed to most of the countries of Free Europe."


Presenters

Resident announcers in Luxembourg at different times: * Stephen Williams – the English service manager before World War II, resumed his duties when commercial broadcasting began again. *Ursula Brennan – Patricia Giles – Beatrice Feltes – John De Denghy – record presenters who all left the station with Stephen Williams around 1948. * Geoffrey Everitt – joined Radio Luxembourg on 21 June 1946 after being demobbed from British Army in Luxembourg. He was hired by Stephen Williams and when Williams returned to the UK, Everitt took over his job. In later years he became the London-based boss of the entire English-language operation. *
Teddy Johnson Pearl Lavinia Carr (2 November 1921 – 16 February 2020) and Edward Victor "Teddy" Johnson (4 September 1919 – 6 June 2018) were English husband-and-wife entertainers who gained their highest profile during the 1950s and early 1960s. Early d ...
– joined in May 1948 and he and Everitt ran the English service in Luxembourg by themselves until 1950 due to the lack of advertising income. Then Johnson returned to England to develop his singing career and later returned to join Pete Murray. * John Drexler – joined after Johnson departed but Drexler left after one month. * Roger Moffat; Richard Beynon;
Warren Mitchell Warren Mitchell (born Warren Misell; 14 January 1926 – 14 November 2015) was a British actor. He was a BAFTA TV Award winner and twice a Laurence Olivier Award winner. In the 1950s, Mitchell appeared on the radio programmes ''Educatin ...
– all joined with Drexler and left shortly after Drexler. * Pete Murray – joined with Drexler, Beynon and Mitchell; remained in Luxembourg until 1956. * Peter Madren – joined Everitt, Johnson and Murray in May 1951.


1954–1963

Following the merger of the English-language service of Radio Luxembourg I with the new English-language service of Radio Luxembourg II on 208 metres medium wave, the station came to be known as Radio Luxembourg. A British company, Radio Luxembourg (London) Ltd, controlled the programme content and sold the advertising time. The station sign-on time at dusk varied between summer and winter to allow maximum benefit to be gained from a skywave propagation at night that covered the British Isles, although reception was strongest in northern England. By restricting the service to night-time, the sales representatives were able to sell most of the available airtime both for spot commercials and for sponsored programmes. One spot commercial that became burned into the minds of every Radio Luxembourg listener was for
Horace Batchelor Horace Cyril Batchelor (22 January 1898 – 8 January 1977) was an English gambling advertiser. He was best known during the 1950s and 1960s as an advertiser on Radio Luxembourg. He advertised a way to win money by predicting the results of ...
's "Infra-Draw Method" of winning money on
football pools In the United Kingdom, the football pools, often referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of association football matches taking place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, and may enco ...
, turning the previously obscure Somerset town of "
Keynsham Keynsham ( ) is a town and civil parish located between Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. It has a population of 16,000. It was listed in the Domesday Book as ''Cainesham'' (as it is pronounced), which is believed to mean the home of ...
, spelt K-E-Y-N-S-H-A-M" into a household name throughout the country. Some programmes were live disc-jockey presentations by the team of "resident announcers" from the studios in
Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Gr ...
, while others were pre-recorded in the company's British studios at 38
Hertford Street Hertford Street is a street in central London's Mayfair district. It runs between a junction with Park Lane and Old Park Lane at its western end, to Curzon Street at its north-east end. In 1771, Anne, Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn marrie ...
, London W1. This was never made clear to listeners, who were allowed to form the incorrect impression that all the presenters were broadcasting from the Grand Duchy or, alternatively, assume that all the programmes were recorded in London. A conspiracy of silence operated throughout this period between sworn enemies Radio Luxembourg and the BBC, each of which never mentioned the existence of the other, although many famous names appeared on both, often almost simultaneously.


Programmes

During this period, and particularly from about 1960, the station's output came to be more explicitly targeted at the growing teenage market, with increasing emphasis on pop music. Drama productions, comedy, variety and sports programming disappeared altogether. By about 1963, almost all the station's output was based around the playing of music on discs; the mainstream evening audience for middle-aged "family entertainment" had by this time largely migrated from radio to television. These were some of the shows heard in December 1956, as listed in the ''208'' programme schedule for that month: *Sundays: 6:00 pm – ''Butlin's Beaver Club'' – with "Uncle"
Eric Winstone Eric Winstone (born 1 January 1913 in London, died 2 May 1974 in Pagham, Sussex) was an English big band leader, conductor and composer. Biography and career Playing piano in his spare time from a job as Westminster Gas and Coke Company led hi ...
. **8:30 pm – '' Take Your Pick'' – with
Michael Miles Michael John Miles (1 June 1919 – 17 February 1971) was a New Zealand-born television presenter in Great Britain known for the game show ''Take Your Pick'' from 1955 to 1968, produced by Associated Rediffusion and later by Rediffusion London. ...
. **9:30 pm – '' This I Believe'' – the
Edward R. Murrow Edward Roscoe Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broadcasts from Europe f ...
show presented by Sir
Basil Bartlett Sir Basil Hardington Bartlett, 2nd Baronet (15 September 1905 – 2 January 1985IMDb: Basil Bartlett
Retriev ...
. *Mondays: 9:30 pm – '' Candid Microphone'' – starring listeners caught in the act. **11:15 pm – ''Frank and Ernest'' – religion from Dawn Bible Students Association. **11:30 pm – ''The World Tomorrow'' – with
Herbert W. Armstrong Herbert W. Armstrong (July 31, 1892 – January 16, 1986) was an American evangelist who founded the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). An early pioneer of radio and television evangelism, Armstrong preached what he claimed was the comprehensiv ...
, later heard on Tuesdays as well, replacing
Oral Roberts Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christian televangelist, ordained in both the Pentecostal Holiness and United Methodist churches. He is considered one of the forerunners of t ...
. *Tuesdays: 9:00 pm – ''Lucky Number'' – with
Keith Fordyce Keith Fordyce (15 October 1928 – 15 March 2011) was an English disc jockey and presenter on British radio and television. He is most famous as the first presenter of ITV's ''Ready Steady Go!'' in 1963, but was a stalwart of both BBC radio ...
. **10:00 pm – ''The Capitol Show'' – Mel Thompson presenting
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...
' new releases. *Wednesdays: 8:00 pm – ''
Double Your Money ''Double Your Money'' was a British quiz show hosted by Hughie Green. Originally broadcast on Radio Luxembourg since 1950 and based on the American radio quiz '' Take It Or Leave It'' (1940–1947), it transferred to ITV in September 1955, a ...
'' –
Hughie Green Hugh Hughes Green (2 February 1920 – 3 May 1997) was an English radio and television presenter, game show host and actor. Early life Green was born in Marylebone, London, to a Scottish father, Hugh Aitchison Green, a former British Army offic ...
. **10:00 pm – ''Rockin' To Dreamland'' – with Keith Fordyce, playing the latest British and American hit records. **11:30 pm – ''The Hour of Decision'' – religion with
Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
. *Thursdays: 8:30 pm – ''Lucky Couple'' – with David Jacobs, recorded on location in the UK. **9:30 pm – ''Irish Requests''. **10:45 pm – ''Italy Sings'' – presented by the Italian State Tourist Office. *Fridays: 10:30 pm – ''Record Hop'' – Benny Lee presents the latest recordings from EMI's
Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...
and
Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
labels. *Saturdays: 7:00 pm – ''Amateur Football'' – results of the matches played today. **8:00 pm – ''Jamboree'' – "120 minutes of exciting, non-stop, action-packed radio ... ''Teenage Jury'' and at approximately 9:30:
Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...
, the remarkable American disc-jockey whose programmes in the States cause excitement to rise to a fever pitch, presents "Rock 'n' roll"." **10.00 PM – ''Tonight'' – "
Peter Haigh Peter Varley Haigh (28 July 1925 – 18 January 2001) was an English in-vision announcer for BBC Television in the years after the Second World War. Born in North London, the son of an engineer, he was educated at Aldenham School, Aldenham, H ...
presents news, music and personalities recorded at the Embassy Club in London." **10:30 pm – Philips' Fanfare – records from this
label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...
presented by Guy Standeven.


Presenters

Resident announcers in Luxembourg during this period included: * Barry Alldis – joined the team in 1956, becoming Chief Announcer and staying until 1966, when he left to work for BBC radio. He returned to Luxembourg in 1975 and remained on the staff until his death in 1982. *
Chris Denning Christopher David Denning (born 10 May 1941) is an English former radio presenter and convicted sex offender. His career effectively ended when he was convicted of sexual offences in 1974, and Denning has been imprisoned in Great Britain and ove ...
* Colin Hamilton * Ted King * Johnny Moran * Don Moss, 1957–60 * Don Wardell (became Chief Announcer after Alldis left in 1966) The following disc-jockeys recorded shows in the London studios at 38 Hertford Street: Peter Aldersley,
Sam Costa Samuel Gabriel Costa (17 June 1910 – 23 September 1981) was an English singer, entertainer and broadcaster. Initially a popular singer in the dance band era and a comic actor on the show ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh'', he was later a disc j ...
, Alan Dell,
Keith Fordyce Keith Fordyce (15 October 1928 – 15 March 2011) was an English disc jockey and presenter on British radio and television. He is most famous as the first presenter of ITV's ''Ready Steady Go!'' in 1963, but was a stalwart of both BBC radio ...
,
Alan Freeman Alan Leslie Freeman, MBE (6 July 1927 – 27 November 2006), nicknamed "Fluff", was an Australian-born British disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom for 40 years, best known for presenting '' Pick of the Pops'' from 1961 to ...
,
David Gell David Gell (born 23 August 1929) is a Canadian DJ and television presenter. Born in Canada, he worked for radio station CFAC in Calgary before relocating to Europe. He was a DJ on Radio Luxembourg, and later on the BBC Light Programme, Radio ...
, Tony Hall, Jack Jackson, David Jacobs, Brian Matthew, Don Moss, Pete Murray, Ray Orchard,
Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and '' Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well kno ...
, Shaw Taylor, Jimmy Young, and Muriel Young. Many of these programmes were sponsored by record companies, and in order to include as many records as possible, most programmes played little more than half of each record.


1964–1967

Radio Luxembourg enjoyed a monopoly of English-language commercial radio programming heard in the UK until, in March 1964,
Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. ...
began daytime commercial transmissions to southern England from a ship anchored less than four miles off the Essex coast (the station later acquired a second ship, and moved the first to the Irish Sea). Radio Caroline's opening announcement identified it as "Your all-day music station" - a clear reference both to Luxembourg's night-time only broadcasts, and to the BBC's patchy pop music coverage. The first song played was "Not Fade Away" by
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...
, which could be interpreted as a dig at Luxembourg's fluctuating signal strength. In Caroline's primary reception areas, her
ground wave Ground waves are radio waves propagating parallel to and adjacent to the surface of the Earth, following the curvature of the Earth. This radiation is known as Norton surface wave, or more properly Norton ground wave, because ground waves in rad ...
signal was strong and unaffected during daylight hours by fading or interference. Following the success of this first offshore station, others soon followed, mostly broadcasting from off the Essex coast or in the Thames Estuary. These transmissions were later extended around the clock and featured many different broadcasting formats, though pop music on discs predominated. As a result of this competition, Radio Luxembourg gradually abandoned pre-recorded sponsored programmes for a more flexible continuity. Its new format featured mainly spot advertising within record programmes presented live by resident disc jockeys in Luxembourg, some of them recruited from the offshore stations. In August 1967, the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act passed into British law, and forced all but the two Caroline stations off the air by eliminating their means of selling commercial advertising in the UK. As well as closing down offshore "pirate radio", the British government instructed the BBC to create its own non-commercial replacement, named Radio 1, which began transmissions at the end of September 1967. While Luxembourg again almost had the UK commercial airwaves to itself, it was still restricted to evening and night hours.


Presenters

The presenters included the following: * Pete Brady, Radio London Big – L 266 *
Tony Brandon Tony Brandon (born 12 December 1933, in Portland, Dorset) is an English radio presenter and comedian. Early career Brandon first worked on television and abroad as a comedian. Following a brief spell on Radio Luxembourg in 1966 he joined pirat ...
, Radio London Big – L 266 *
Paul Burnett Paul Burnett (born 26 November 1943) is an English radio disc jockey. Early career Burnett began his radio career while in the Royal Air Force in the Persian Gulf in 1964. In 1966 he joined offshore radio station, Radio 270, broadcasting off ...
,
Radio 270 Radio 270 was a pirate radio station serving Yorkshire and the North East of England from 1966 to 1967. It broadcast from a converted Dutch lugger called ''Oceaan 7'' positioned in international waters off Scarborough, North Yorkshire followed ...
* Dave Cash, Radio London Big – L 266 *
Simon Dee Cyril Nicholas Henty-Dodd (28 July 1935 – 29 August 2009), better known by his stage name Simon Dee, was a British television interviewer and radio disc jockey who hosted a twice-weekly BBC TV chat show, ''Dee Time'', in the late 1960s. Af ...
,
Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. ...
, BBC TV *
Noel Edmonds Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English television presenter, radio DJ, writer, producer, and businessman. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presente ...
BBC *
Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the fi ...
, Radio London Big – L 266, BBC *Stuart Grundy * Tommy Vance, Radio London Big – L 266, Radio Caroline South *
Keith Skues Richard Keith Skues MBE, AE (born 4 March 1939) is a British radio personality. His career spans over 60 years. Biography Skues was born in Timperley, Cheshire. His broadcasting career began on the British Forces Network in Cologne, Germany, in ...
,
British Forces Network The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for His Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themselve ...
, Radio Caroline 199, Radio London Big – L 266 *
Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky now owned by Diageo that originated in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. The brand was first established by grocer John Walker. It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Sc ...
,
Swinging Radio England Swinging Radio England ("SRE") was a top 40 offshore commercial station billed as the "''World's Most Powerful''" that operated from 3 May 1966 to 13 November 1966 from a ship in the North Sea, four and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, En ...
, Radio Caroline South All the ex-Radio London DJs worked later for BBC Radio One.


1968–1988

By the middle of 1968, even the two Caroline offshore stations had left the air and, while other attempts were made to restart offshore radio commercial broadcasts aimed at the UK in the early 1970s, Luxembourg did not face commercial competition, only a growing increase in audience share by more BBC services. For a time in the late 1960s Luxembourg advertised itself as "The O.I.S. – the Only Independent Station on the Air". In 1973, the BBC radio monopoly within the UK was finally ended by new legislation allowing
Independent Local Radio Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As a result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990, and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2003, ...
, funded by the sale of advertising time. In 1983, Radio Luxembourg marked its fiftieth anniversary as a station, but the British commercial radio stations kept whittling away the ''208'' audience and advertising, while a brief replay of competition for audiences began to emerge from off the British coastline with new radio ship transmissions.


Programmes

These were shows heard in 1982 as reported in the ''Radio Luxembourg Research Report'' (page 20) of ''208'' listeners. The Survey was conducted during the last quarter of 1982 by British Market Research Bureau for Radio Luxembourg (London) Ltd. By the time the survey appeared, the programme line-up below had changed in various ways, including the death of Barry Alldis in the middle of the survey: *Sundays: 7:00 pm – ''Haunted Studio'' – with Stuart and Ollie Henry. 9:00 pm – ''Star Chart and Top 30 UK Singles'' – with Tony Prince. 11:00 pm – ''Sunday's Top 20s'' – with Barry Alldis and Rob Jones. 1:00 am – ''Earthlink'' – with Benny Brown. *Mondays: 6:45 pm – ''Radio Outreach'' with John Knight; ''Battle of the Giants''; ''Top 30 Airplay''; ''Top 30 Disco'' – with Rob Jones and Benny Brown. 1:00 am – ''Earthlink'' – with Barry Alldis. *Tuesdays: 6:45 pm – ''208 Editorial'' with Rodney Collins; ''Beatle Hour''; ''Daily Mirror Rock and Pop Club''; ''Top 30 UK''; ''Top 30 Albums'' – with Rob Jones and Barry Alldis. 9:00 pm – ''Top 30 UK''; ''Top 30 Albums'' – with Benny Brown. 1:00 am – ''Earthlink'' – with Mike Hollis. *Wednesdays: 7:00 pm – ''Gold and Games'' – with Rob Jones and Benny Brown. 9:00 pm – ''American Top 30'' – with Bob Stewart. 11:00 pm – ''Top 30 Easy Listening'' – with Benny Brown. 1:00 am – ''Earthlink'' – with Mike Hollis. *Thursdays: 7:00 pm – ''The Number Ones''; ''Top of the Pops'' – ''with Bob Stewart and Mike Hollis''. 9:00 pm – ''Top 30 Futurist'' – with Rob Jones. 11:00 pm – ''Discothèque'' – with Benny Brown. Midnight – ''Spotlight On ...'' – with Stuart Henry. 1:00 am – ''Earthlink'' – with Stuart and Ollie Henry. *Fridays: 7:00 pm – ''The Record Journal'' – with Stuart and Ollie Henry. 9:00 pm – ''Top 30 Disco'' – with Tony Prince. 11:00 pm – ''Top 30 Airplay'' (repeat) – with Bob Stewart. 1:00 am – ''Earthlink'' – with Barry Alldis. *Saturdays: 6:45 pm – ''208 Editorial'' – with Rodney Collins. 7:00 pm – ''Street Heat''; ''Top 30 Rockshow'' – with Stuart and Ollie Henry. 11:00 pm – ''Big L
Marlboro Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Mar ...
Top 20 Country'' – with Bob Stewart. Midnight – ''Midnight Memories'' – with Barry Alldis. 1:00 am – ''Earthlink''; ''Love Songs'' – with Mike Hollis. Some other presenters in the 1970s and 1980s: *Dave Christian * Neil Fox * Peter Powell * Tony Prince,
Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. ...
North *Tony Blewitt *David Lee Stone (former Laser 558 DJ) *Bob Stewart,
Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. ...
North *Rob Jones *Mike Hollis *
Mike Read Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter. Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for musi ...
*
Emperor Rosko Michael Joseph Pasternak (born 26 December 1942), known by his stage name Emperor Rosko, is an American presenter of rock music programmes, most widely known for his shows on Radio Caroline and BBC Radio 1 in the UK in the 1960s and early 1970s. ...
,
Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. ...
South *Mark Wesley, Radio 390, RNI *
Paul Burnett Paul Burnett (born 26 November 1943) is an English radio disc jockey. Early career Burnett began his radio career while in the Royal Air Force in the Persian Gulf in 1964. In 1966 he joined offshore radio station, Radio 270, broadcasting off ...
,
Radio 270 Radio 270 was a pirate radio station serving Yorkshire and the North East of England from 1966 to 1967. It broadcast from a converted Dutch lugger called ''Oceaan 7'' positioned in international waters off Scarborough, North Yorkshire followed ...
*
David "Kid" Jensen David Allan "Kid" Jensen (born 4 July 1950) is a Canadian-born British radio DJ and television presenter. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Jensen began as a radio DJ on Radio Luxembourg. Jensen was later a broadcaster for the BBC from 1976 ...
, BBC Radio One * Stuart Henry;
Radio Scotland Radio Scotland was an offshore pirate radio station broadcasting on 1241 kHz mediumwave (242 metres), created by Tommy Shields in 1965. The station was on the former lightship L.V. ''Comet'', which had been fitted out as a radio station in ...
242 *Ollie Henry (wife of Stuart Henry) *Rodney Collins *
Keith Fordyce Keith Fordyce (15 October 1928 – 15 March 2011) was an English disc jockey and presenter on British radio and television. He is most famous as the first presenter of ITV's ''Ready Steady Go!'' in 1963, but was a stalwart of both BBC radio ...
*Alton Andrews * Timmy Mallett *
Nick Abbot Nick Abbot (born 22 August 1960) is an English radio presenter and currently presents ''The Late Show'' on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on LBC. Early life and career Abbot was born on 22 August 1960, and was educated at George Heriot's School, ...
During the 1980s one of the station's slogans was "Planet earth's biggest commercial radio station".


1989–1992

In 1989, hoping to build a new audience, Luxembourg in English once more returned with a daytime schedule for the first time since the early 1950s, but this time it was aimed at
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...
n audiences using a 24-hour
stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
transponder on the Astra 1A satellite to supplement the ''208'' analogue night-time service. The end eventually came for ''208'' at 3 am GMT on 30 December 1991 (the station did return to the analogue 208/1440 for one night a year later when the station finally closed its digital service), the last record played on AM being
Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...
's "In the Days Before Rock and Roll" (chosen mainly because of its mention of the radio station), before "At the End of the Day" (one of their closedown songs) was played heading into the top of the hour (even though DJ Jeff Graham had said that they were going to play the original closedown tune, it was not in fact the original song, but a later version the station used as the original was not located, "It's Time To Say Goodnight"). The station then went satellite and shortwave (15350 kHz) only, with the first songs played being " When Will You (Make My Telephone Ring)" by
Deacon Blue Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut albu ...
and " Always" by
Atlantic Starr Atlantic Starr is an American band based in White Plains, New York. They are best known for the hits " Always", "Secret Lovers", "Send for Me", "Circles", "Silver Shadow" and "Masterpiece". History Atlantic Starr began in Greenburgh, New York w ...
. The satellite and shortwave service continued until midnight on 30 December 1992. The closedown night was relayed on various stations, including the old 208 wavelength. The Van Morrison song was the next-to-last record that night, followed by
Marion Montgomery Marion Montgomery (November 17, 1934 – July 22, 2002)
's "Maybe the Morning". The 208 service from that moment on carried an oldies service in German, identifying itself as "RTL Radio – Der Oldiesender". Presenters in the 1990s: *
Chris Moyles Christopher David Moyles (born 22 February 1974) is an English radio and television presenter, author and presenter of '' The Chris Moyles Show'' on Radio X. Previously he has presented '' The Chris Moyles Show'' on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to ...
(under the professional name Chris Holmes) *Jonathan Miles *Mike Hollis *Bob Stewart, (ex-
Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. ...
North) *
Mark Page Mark Page (born 1958 or 1959 in Middlesbrough) is an English radio presenter, former Middlesbrough Football Club stadium announcer and convicted child sex offender. Between 1983 and 1986, he was the presenter of the BBC Radio 1 early weekend Breakf ...
*Peter Antony *
Wendy Lloyd Wendy is a given name now generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain, Wendy appeared as a masculine name in a parish record in 1615. It was also used as a surname in Britain from at least the 17th century. Its popularity ...
*Tony Adams * Shaun Tilley, (ex-
Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. ...
South) *Jeff Graham *Steve Joy *Sandy Beech *David Bozzato *Jodie Scott (ex Caroline 558 DJ. Canadian, on Caroline as Judy Murphy) *Nik Martin *Jessie Brandon, (ex
Laser 558 Laser 558 was an offshore pirate radio station launched in May 1984 using disc jockeys from the US. It broadcast from the Panama-registered ship MV Communicator in international waters in the North Sea. Within months the station had a large audi ...
)


Legacy from 1992 onwards


Atlantic 252

In 1989, Radio Luxembourg's parent company
RTL Group RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France ...
teamed up with Raidió Teilifís Éireann to create
Atlantic 252 Atlantic 252 was an Irish longwave radio station broadcasting across Ireland and Great Britain on 252 kHz (1190 metres) from its 1988 purpose-built transmission site at Clarkstown radio transmitter, County Meath, which provided service to Atla ...
, an English-language pop music station on
longwave In radio, longwave, long wave or long-wave, and commonly abbreviated LW, refers to parts of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave broadcasting band. The term is historic, dating from the e ...
, based in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
and with advertising content aimed at a UK audience. Initially this only broadcast until 7 pm and ended with an announcement specifically encouraging listeners to switch to Radio Luxembourg on 1440 kHz medium wave. Atlantic 252 switched to 24-hour broadcasts around the time that Radio Luxembourg shut down its medium wave broadcasts. Atlantic 252 closed down in 2002 and the long wave frequency is now used for
RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for th ...
. Presenters common to both Atlantic 252 and Radio Luxembourg include Jeff Graham, Cass Jones and Sandy Beech. The voice of Henry Owens was also heard on promotions for both stations in the early 1990s. * Charlie Wolf, ex DJ
Laser 558 Laser 558 was an offshore pirate radio station launched in May 1984 using disc jockeys from the US. It broadcast from the Panama-registered ship MV Communicator in international waters in the North Sea. Within months the station had a large audi ...
* Andrew Turner, ex Newsreader BBC & Laser Hot Hits 576


Radio Luxembourg (digital)

An English-language classic rock digital station from
RTL Group RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France ...
called Radio Luxembourg began in 2005. It was briefly available in the UK using DRM (digital broadcasts over
shortwave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...
) but the transmitter power was reduced, and by 2008 was not receivable outside Luxembourg itself (essentially, a test transmission). Simulcasts over the Internet also stopped in 2009. Both the station and its website made numerous references to the old 208 service.


Five (television channel)

RTL Group RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France ...
, Radio Luxembourg's parent company, was an initial minority shareholder in the UK's Channel Five terrestrial analogue television channel, launched in 1997. RTL became the majority shareholder from 2006, when it had been re-branded as "Five". It was one of more than fifty television stations that RTL owned throughout Europe. Unlike RTL's television stations in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, most of which are explicitly branded as RTL, Five did not significantly acknowledge its Luxembourg heritage on-air. RTL sold Five to
Richard Desmond Richard Clive Desmond (born 8 December 1951) is a British publisher, businessman and former pornographer. According to the 2021 ''Sunday Times Rich List'', Desmond was the 107th richest person in the United Kingdom. He is the founder of North ...
on 23 July 2010.


Background information

Radio Luxembourg was also broadcast on RTL's various European TV channels after closedown.


Transmitter history

The wavelengths and frequencies used by the English service of Radio Luxembourg changed throughout the years, although "208" was by far the longest-lasting and most famous one. *
Marnach transmitter Marnach transmitter was a broadcasting facility of RTL near Marnach in the commune of Clervaux, in northern Luxembourg. The Marnach transmitter was built in 1955 for improving the transmission of the English-speaking program on 1439 kHz ...
*
Junglinster Longwave Transmitter The Junglinster Longwave Transmitter is a longwave broadcasting facility used by RTL Group, RTL near Junglinster, Luxembourg, which went into service in 1932. Its Antenna (radio), aerial consists of three free-standing steel-framework towers, whic ...
*
FM- and TV-mast Hosingen The FM- and TV mast Hosingen is a 300-metre-high guyed radio mast outside the town of Hosingen, Luxembourg used for FM and TV broadcasting. It has a diameter of 2 metres and was built in 1970. The FM- and TV-mast Hosingen is the tallest constructi ...


Radio Luxembourg publications

*''Radio Pictorial'' – radio publication pre-World War II that published programme schedules for all the European continental stations broadcasting in English *''Radio Parade'' – radio publication after World War II that published news about Radio Luxembourg in English. *''208'' – radio programme schedules and features after 1951 until 1959 whose name varied as it was merged with other publications and issued by various publishers. *''
Fab 208 ''Fabulous 208'' (retitled ''Fab 208'' from 1969 onwards) was a British pop music magazine. History and profile Published weekly between 1964 and 1980 by Fleetway{{cite news, author=Jon Savage, title=The magazine explosion, url=https://www.thegu ...
'' – radio programme schedules and features publication during the 1960s and 1970s See also: "Radio-Luxembourg, Histoire d'un média privé d'envergure européenne", by David DOMINGUEZ MULLER, L'Harmattan, Paris, 2007.


Political significance in Eastern Bloc

Radio Luxembourg was one of few channels through which people living in the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
could listen to rock and other contemporary popular music. Under good weather conditions, and especially at night, people as far as eastern Czechoslovakia, Poland, Estonia, and Leningrad could listen to the station. Eastern Bloc governments did not use jammers to prevent people from listening to Radio Luxembourg, but did do so for
Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
and, since the stations used harmonic frequencies (1439 kHz for Luxembourg and 719 kHz for Free Europe), the jamming also affected Radio Luxembourg's signal. Even though western popular music was considered undesirable by socialist regimes, legal prosecution was rare, although not unheard of. The music appealed to young people as something forbidden, and listening to it became a social ritual. It also strongly influenced contemporary underground culture and music in Czechoslovakia.


See also

*
Radio Luxembourg (DRM) Radio Luxembourg is a commercial radio station on Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM). Begun in 2005, it has broadcast in many languages in conjunction with a television service operated from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. History Radio Luxembourg in ...
– the new 2005 service. * Radio Luxembourg (disambiguation) – other language services. *
Radio Luxembourg (French) RTL is a French commercial radio network owned by the RTL Group. Founded in 1933 as Radio Luxembourg, it broadcast from outside France until 1981 because only public stations had been allowed until then. It is a general-interest, news, talk and mu ...
– French-language station. * Radio Luxembourg (German) – German-language station. *
International Broadcasting Company Captain Leonard Frank Plugge (21 September 1889 – 19 February 1981) was a British radio entrepreneur and Conservative Party politician. Early years and political life Plugge was born at Walworth, only son of Frank Plugge (1864–1946), a co ...
– IBC created by
Leonard Plugge Captain Leonard Frank Plugge (21 September 1889 – 19 February 1981) was a British radio entrepreneur and Conservative Party politician. Early years and political life Plugge was born at Walworth, only son of Frank Plugge (1864–1946), a co ...


References

;Specific citations: ;General references: *Details of Radio Luxembourg programming and presenters in English from 1951 until 1958 are drawn from the monthly publications known collectively as 208 magazine with name variations and different publishers. *The Hal Lewis reference is cited in the 208 programme listings magazine for March 1955, page 4.
The obituary of Noel Johnson
who played the voice parts of ''Dan Dare'' on Radio Luxembourg and ''Dick Barton'' on the BBC.
208 It was Great
a book by Alan Bailey about his career at Radio Luxembourg from 1958 to 1975. *Mass Media Moments in the United Kingdom, the USSR and the US, by Gilder, Eric. – "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu Press, Romania. 2003 – This work includes a study of European commercial radio from both Luxembourg and offshore. *"Radio-Luxembourg, Histoire d'un média privé d'envergure européenne", by David DOMINGUEZ MULLER, L'Harmattan, Paris, 2007 *13a. Veronika Štefečková: RTL Group today Extract of bachelor's degree thesis Radio Luxembourg and its importance for auditors in the socialist Czechoslovakia (oral history) – PDF file in English


External links


Official website
on the history of the English service of Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg
The Last Day of 208 (streaming)
Radio 208
- online radio station keeping the sound of 208 alive. Features period music, jingles and air checks. {{Authority control International broadcasters Mass media companies of Luxembourg 1933 establishments in Luxembourg 1992 disestablishments in Luxembourg Radio stations in Luxembourg RTL Group English-language radio stations Radio stations established in 1933 Radio stations disestablished in 1992 Defunct mass media in Luxembourg cs:Radio Luxembourg da:Radio Luxembourg sv:Radio Luxembourg