Ronan O'Rahilly, the original pirate station founder, dies aged 79

Ronan O’Rahilly, the Irish founder of the notorious Radio Caroline that popularised pop music on British radio, has died aged 79. O'Rahilly started out as a manager in the 1960s, but had struggled to get his musicians noticed by the UK radio so he circumvented licensing laws by acquiring a former Danish passenger ferry, anchoring it in the North Sea off Felixstowe, and broadcasting from there. Radio Caroline quickly amassed a listenership of millions for its daytime pop-focused output. In 1967, parliament outlawed offshore radio stations, causing a number of Radio Caroline’s DJs moved to the newly created Radio 1, which had been influenced by the success of the former. Radio Caroline moved to Dutch waters, and continued broadcasting at sea until 1991. Alexis Petridis says that O'Rahilly, by championing bands ignored by the establishment, paved the way for the pirate DJs of soul, acid house and grime.