BBC Launches Network Three and Stereo VHF/FM

The PAM 710 Radio circa 1956	In 1957 the BBC launched a new radio service called Network Three, which shared frequencies with the Third Programme and provided an alternative service of educational programmes and concerts of music. The BBC Radiophonic workshop was established a year later in 1958.  In 1959 the BBC television service was to have still more competition as Tyne Tees, Ulster and Anglia Independent Television opened.  In August 1962 the BBC commenced stereo radio test broadcasts of the Third Programme on the vhf / fm band. Eventually stereo radio broadcasting would be very gradually rolled out across the BBC's other radio stations from the late 1960's until the 1980's. The reason the national stereo roll-out took so long was the problem of getting a decent analogue signal.
"Luxembourg Leads The Way"
Radio Luxembourg was still proving popular with British audiences and was known as "The Station Of The Stars".  The stars that would host the daily sponsored record programmes during the 1950's and 1960's included Jack Jackson, Alan Dell, Jimmy Young, Pete Murray, Simon Dee, Dave Cash, Alan Freeman, Tony Brandon and Simon Dee, some of whom would later appear on offshore radio. The transmitter was loud and extremely powerful at 1.2 million Watts, but listeners had to endure some deep fading and distortion as the signal came and went.

While we have mainly been concerned with broadcasting via radio waves, it is worth noting in the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's many areas had homes that were wired to a system that allowed residents to listen to the BBC Radio services without the need for a wireless set. These services, such as 'British Relay' and 'Rediffusion', relayed the Home Light and Third programmes of the BBC via their wired systems.

Listeners who lived in areas that were served by these wired services simply had a loudspeaker that could be switched on and off and a dial that could select one of the three BBC radio programme services.  The loudspeaker required no battery or mains power, and in many households it would often be left on all day long.

Later, as the BBC began to introduce television services, before World War 2 in 1939 and then from the mid 1940's, British Relay and Rediffusion were also in a good position to offer wired television services to subscribers.  These were especially useful where off-air reception via an aerial proved difficult. By the late 1960's three television services, BBC1, BBC2 and ITV along with the BBC's four radio stations, Radios 1 to 4 were also available at the flick of a switch. A television set was rented to the subscribers in order to watch and listen to the programmes. Such systems continued throughout the 1970's but gradually faded into obscurity during the 1980's becoming extinct by the late 1980's / very early 1990's as viewers and listeners became wealthier and could afford better and more advanced entertainment installations an as more modern technology overtook the old and now outdated wired systems. Names associated with television rentals and wired distribution were Radio Rentals, DER, Vision Hire and Granada.  All have now disappeared.

On April 20th 1964 the BBC started the BBC2 television service initially in black and white.  The first programme was Play School, broadcast in the morning, unfortunately there was a power black-out in the afternoon when the station was due to launch officially, so the official launch actually took place the following day!  In 1965 the BBC started the World Service, a short-wave radio service that took the place of the BBC Empire overseas programme.

It was around this time (1964) that a brand new sound came to our radio dials, that of offshore pirate radio.  1960's Britain was "burning with the white heat of technology" to use Prime Minister Harold Wilson's words, and young Britons in their the teens and twenties were shaking off the dour image of the post war¹ ways days and a new swingin' and groovy image was evolving, together with revolutionary new styles in pop and rock music.  At the forefront of this swinging' musical revolution were bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and  young consumers simply could not get enough of this new music but BBC radio, which had remained almost unchanged since the war¹, played very little from the current Hit Parade and had only one programme per week dedicated to such material.  The only real outlet for listeners to hear all the new records was Radio Luxembourg, but that was only available in the evenings and the signal would often fade or become distorted.

Radio Luxembourg also operated a system whereby only artists who paid a fee to the station would get their records heavily promoted.  A young pop group manager, who could not get his bands' records played on Radio Luxembourg or the BBC Light Programme had the idea to set up his own radio station.  Ronan O'Rahilly bought a ship called the Frederica and refitted it as a complete floating radio station, he renamed the ship MV Caroline, sailed from Ireland to the North sea and on Easter Saturday, March 28th, 1964 launched Radio Caroline on 199 meters (1520 kHz) with presenters including Keith Skues, Andy Archer, Don Allen, Bob Stewart and Johnnie Walker. Unlike the BBC the station played non-stop popular music, tending to play one record from the hit parade followed by a popular oldie or album track.  Caroline was a big hit with the listening public.

Radio Caroline did not need a UK broadcasting licence as the ship was anchored just outside the British territorial limit off the coast of Felixstowe.  The station was joined by many other offshore stations between 1964 and 1967 including the most successful radio ship Radio London on December 12th 1964.  Many millions of British listeners, who were bored with the BBC's formal style of broadcasting, were entertained around the clock by these swinging new offshore stations with the type of fun record programmes presented by 'zany' disc jockies (DJ's) such as Tony Blackburn and Kenny Everett, that were unavailable on the BBC. 

Since 1966 the BBC had been planning a new station, "Radio 247", as an answer to the popular offshore stations and unlike the other BBC national radio stations. When Radio 247 project was finally launched on September 30th 1967 the on-air name was to be 'Radio One'.  The other BBC network programmes were also re-organized, The Light Programme became Radio Two, The Third Programme became Radio Three, The Home Service became Radio Four broadcasting "Just a Minute" for the first time on 22nd December 1967.

1967: The Happy Sound Of Wonderful Radio One on 247 meters medium wave

Radio One was for many years a part time station, initially only broadcasting for 5½ hours per day partially due to 'needle-time' restrictions imposed by record companies that limited the number of records that could be played.  The station circumvented this restriction somewhat by recording popular bands in their own studios and playing these tapes on air. The remaining air time was filled by relaying the output of Radio Two at various times of the day.  The Radio One programmes were gradually expanded in the early 1970's, only to be cut back again a few years later during the economic troubles caused by the energy crisis of 1974/5, and again in 1978.  The station did not become truly full time until the 1980's.

As the BBC re-organized its network in response to audience demands for a radio service akin to the offshore stations, Radio Luxembourg altered its schedules away from individually sponsored programmes to a format of personality DJ's , which sounded more like the old Radio London station.

But The Public wanted More, They Wanted....Local Radio

The introduction of Radio One satisfied the needs of some of the offshore radio audience, but the public wanted more. There was still a great pressure for the introduction of local radio and the BBC, with encouragement from the Labour government, launched eight experimental local radio stations starting with BBC Radio Leicester on 8th November 1967, quickly followed by Radios Leeds, Merseyside, Stoke, Sheffield, Nottingham, Durham and Brighton.

To the local station managers the world seemed against them.  There was a huge lobby for the introduction of commercial local radio in the UK, the Conservative opposition supported this and seemed set against the BBC local radio experiment while the national press also derided the idea.  Even the BBC did not seem too keen, although all the best technical facilities were provided for their local stations, the management at BBC HQ were initially rather luke warm about the 'back-yard' community programming.

The experiment was also somewhat handicapped by the fact that all the local stations were only to be allowed to broadcast on VHF (FM) frequencies, while this allowed high quality output, the radio set manufacturers produced few VHF equipped sets, consequently very few listeners actually owned a radio set capable of receiving the new stations, or if they did it was probably poorly designed or had no aerial connected to it.  Coupled with the fact the listeners were only used to medium and longwaves and many did not know how to use VHF effectively.

Radio Leeds radio-car

Despite these problems the BBC local radio experiment re-invented radio and was a great achievement for community broadcasting.  Stations became involved in all aspects of the areas that they served, often using a radio car to cover sporting and other outdoor events to comprehensive local news gathering, charitable work and audience participation including a new phenomenon to British radio - The Phone-In!  Some listeners borrowed VHF sets, while others visited friends and neighbours to hear the programmes in which they were directly involved.

When the two year BBC local radio experiment came to an end it was seen as so sucessfult that it continued and was expanded. A new development in British VHF broadcasting improved reception for listeners using portable sets with telescopic aerials. Also the BBC local stations were later to be allowed to broadcast on medium wave in addition to VHF to improve the potential numbers of listeners that could tune in.