Wonderful Radio London - Station Close-down

Station Close-down

At midnight on 14 August 1967, the Marine, etc., Broadcasting (Offences) Act came into effect in the United Kingdom. The intention and effect was to create a criminal offence for any person who supplied music, commentary, advertising, fuel, food, water or any other assistance except for life-saving purposes, to any ship, offshore structure such as a former WWII fort, or flying platform such as an aircraft used for broadcasting without a licence granted by the regulatory authority for broadcasting in the UK.

Despite some initial plans to the contrary Radio London decided not to defy the law and to close before the Act came into effect.

It was decided to close at 3pm on 14 August 1967. The timing was chosen partly because it would guarantee the station a large audience and also to enable the broadcasting staff on board the MV Galaxy to return to shore and board a train to London. A one hour recorded show was broadcast from 2pm to 3pm to allow the staff to get ready to leave the ship. The time also described an "L" shape on the clock face, though whether this was a consideration is unknown.

Their Final Hour, as the programme was called, celebrated recorded greetings of farewell and remembrance from recording stars of the day. Included were the voices of Mick Jagger, Cliff Richard, Ringo Starr and Dusty Springfield. Managing director Birch thanked the DJs and staff and others involved throughout the station's life, as well as the politicians and others who fought for the station – and its 12 million listeners in the United Kingdom and 4 million in the Netherlands, Belgium and France'. This was followed by the last record A Day in the Life by The Beatles. This was followed by Paul Kaye's final announcement: "Big L time is now three o'clock, and Radio London is now closing down." The station's theme tune, the "PAMS Sonowaltz", popularly called Big Lil was the last music heard before the transmitter was turned off just after 3pm.

Just after Radio London closed down, Robbie Dale on Radio Caroline South (previously Radio Atlanta) broadcast a brief tribute to the station, thanked its staff and DJs, and held a minute's silence.

Most of the offshore stations had already left the air. Radio Scotland and Radio 270 closed at midnight. Radio Caroline South announced that both it and Radio Caroline North (the original Caroline) would continue. Owner Ronan O'Rahilly said they were defending the principle of free broadcasting, rather than being mere business assets. (Caroline's offshore broadcasts continued on and off until 1990, after which the station pursued legal means of broadcasting.)

When the Radio London staff arrived at London's Liverpool Street station later that night they were greeted by large numbers of fans (some wearing black armbands and carrying placards with slogans such as "Freedom died with Radio London") the fans attempted to storm the platform leading to minor scuffles with police.

The MV Galaxy sailed to West Germany, where Erwin Meister and Edwin Bollier attempted to buy it for what became Radio Nordsee International. When the deal fell through Meister and Bollier set about finding another ship. In 1979 the Galaxy, with its 212 ft mast still erect, was sunk in Kiel harbour as an artificial reef. By 1986 concerns about pollution from the ship's oil tanks led to its being raised and broken up.