107.8 Radio Jackie

Radio Jackie is an Independent Local Radio station in Kingston upon Thames, England broadcasting news, popular hits, and local information to South-West London and North Surrey from its studios in Tolworth.

History

Radio Jackie began as a pirate station with a half hour slot on the Helen Network. When the station folded in 1969, however, Radio Jackie took over the broadcasting on the 1525 kHz frequency and soon became one of the most popular pirate stations in the country. It changed frequency several times, settling on 1332 kHz in 1978 when the new European frequency guidelines were implemented. From February 1971, it also broadcast on FM on 94.4 MHz every Saturday evening.

By the early 1980s, Radio Jackie had become a 24-hour-a-day local station with studios in Worcester Park and a shop in Morden. It employed full-time staff, was VAT-registered and had an entry in the phone directory—a very public operation for an illegal broadcaster. The station had huge public support with local borough councils and MPs supporting its wish to gain a licence. In 1972, a recording of the station was even played in the House of Commons at the committee stage of the Sound Broadcasting Bill, as an example of what local radio could sound like.