Ultimately KQLZ/Pirate Radio didn’t succeed, but at least Scott Shannon gave us radio folks a heckuva ride.
To support the illusion of a true pirate operation, their TV commercials were filled with static…and interrupted other, real commercials. That is, they paid real advertisers to allow them to air a few seconds of their commercials, which then would be “hijacked” by the fuzzy, static-y Pirate Radio spots.
The most inspired moment was when they invited listeners to write in with their comments.
KQLZ’s studio was in Culver City (Los Angeles County), a densely populated business area.
But the recorded announcement instructed listeners to send their comments to “Pirate Radio c/o General Delivery, Catalina Island, California.”
Here’s the moment when KIQQ ceased to exist and KQLZ took over.
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Horrible!
HORRIBLE!
Dan, you’ve made my day. I’ve heard that before and it gets better every time. Shannon was a genius, just ahead of his time. I love that aircheck. A nice lesson in how it should be done. Just brilliant .
What is so Horrible? Scott Shannon gave us excitement, drama, and personality radio! I miss the days when “Personality” radio ruled the airways. Now, we’re stuck with cookie cutter formats, liner card readers, and boring radio.
The consolidation of radio killed the Radio Stars! Listeners aren’t running to their radios to tune into: Wolfman Jack, The Greeseman, Rick Dees, Charlie Tuna, and I could spend hours listing all the others that made Radio and America great. Scott Shannon was truly one of the best programmers that ever wore that PD hat.
“This video contains content from SME, EMI Music Publishing and EMI, one or more of whom have blocked it in your country on copyright grounds.”
Oh, well… I didn’t wanna watch the stoopid video anyway!
I remember listening to that sign-on. I was programming KZTR (Classic Rock) in Ventura at the time. One of my part time guys was the M.D. for Pirate Radio. I was a fan. The playlist was uber tight though.
@Outside the US: Sorry. That must be because the audio included part of a song.
My small connection to this post and that station….I hired/worked with a jock in 1984 in Ukiah, California that went from that small little town to Sacramento, and then landed as the night jock at Pirate radio, Cadillac Jack. Now doing afternoon drive doing what he does best and very well at WOGL Philadelphia. I agree that Pirate was an idea that may have been lost on some but is legendary none the less. Took courage. Need more of that today.