Looking Back over Horizon Radio’s Achievements 35 Years & More Ago

It’s 35 years ago this September 2020 when Horizon Radio closed down on the 15th of September 1985. Horizon Radio took the decision to stop broadcasting as the Government had seen the light and where looking at issuing radio licenses for community radio stations, which we applied for. Sadly Mr Douglas Hurd in the end cancelled those licenses (righty so) after the shenanigans of the few who always spoil it for the many!

Invicta, JFM and Horizon Radio on the Soul Music Front, (DBC) Dread Broadcasting Corporation (Lepke founder), with the reggae vibes. Pyers Easton with Rock Station London Music Radio and Alice’s Restaurant a much loved radio station also playing rock plus many more stations. Radio Jackie who we are please to say did get a license in the end and broadcasts today in and around Sutton South West London as a community station.

All these radio stations worked tireless for years to get the chance of a License, so praise where praise is Due then!

Horizon Radio Achievements The Highs & A Few Lows As No One Is Prefect!

• Arrived on Air October 1981 (Wobble Transmitter) Sunday Nights.
• Christmas 1981 First Live Broadcast (Got Busted at Transmitter).
• New Years Day missed It no Transmitter!
• Late Jan/Feb 82 back and New DJ Joins Gary Lee!
• March/April May Gaining Momentum, but tried a Parliament Hill site NAFF!
• May Battersea Tower Block not great, week 3 Eric turns up but we got transmitter out.
• May Meeting at Pimlico, discover Horizons transmitter is garbage according to Brian Anthony and the Wizz kid Pyers Easton (He really Was the Best Pyers that is), starts saying we are drifting, but we said we where on tower blocks not the Thames. Pyers then sees we know nothing about radio. Nigel turns up (Our Engineer) gets kick up ass, (not really). Pyers shows us a frequency counter (What’s one of them?), got one next day from Henrys Edgeware Road. Pyers gives Nigel a design for the exciter (First stage of transmitter). Nigel says his is better, not a chance it drifted. He finally builds Pyers design and whoopee it works as it says on the tin!
• June (Approx) Barry T, Greg Adams + joins Horizon Radio .
• Peckham Rye Hill Park comes on as a transmitter site, still on recorded tapes but transmitter 1 floor below aerial. Don and Chris go up after broadcast to take aerial down, Eric & police arrive on roof. Don and Chris are in council Uniforms, yes those Chris got. Chris lays into Eric accusing him of being a pirate radio idiot and asking police for ID. Chris knew Caretakers office would not take calls after 9.30pm, any how Chris was on Rota as headman at office had supplied the keys and uniforms. Chris gives Eric the number, Eric via police call the office, answerphone kicks in. Eric says he is suspicious, but tells Don and Chris to go (on top roof at that time). As Don and Chris get to hatch to get off roof, Chris shouts back, “If You Guys are not off this roof in 10 mins I will lock you in”! Off they go meet up with rest of guys up the hill, fell about laughing.
• Used other transmitter sites like the Countisbury House, Frobisher Court on Sydenham Hill/Rise & 1 Greystead Road Forest Hill and more, but sites also used by other stations and tenants where aware of what was going on, but Horizon had the Council Uniforms, so got away with it most times.
• Because other sites where busy we returned to  where Eric met the Caretakers!.
• On that visit a situation was seen that made Horizon Radio. A small hut by the hatch 1, 4ftx3ft brick built structure and empty. Receive aerial in roof of it, then false roof, transmitter in floor, false floor on top, head can only just get in box looks empty? Hole in side by hatch for cables, mains and coax, downside of hatch to rear (can’t be seen). Trip switch at rear knocks off power, coax on plug, it all disconnects if anyone moves that hatch. Aerial lead drops away so can’t see where it was connected, looks like it went into poo pipe exit running through the building. Set up and leave by narrow second hatch. Horizon Radio Engineering for you. Always Thinking Out Of The Box?
• Studio in the roof of Comber House builds itself, nice brick wall and cork soundproofing as well, access is a bit dangerous, but so is broadcasting.
• All Horizon Broadcasts, Wednesday and Sundays are live, the auto reverse tape machine is retired.
• Nigel quit soon after; The Stress was off the planet, Chris said it had to be done Pyers way and it was.
• No transmitter builder, no experience in electrics, help Pyers. Soon Chris was building all Horizon transmitters and receivers, aerials and studios.
• 1st Live Outside Broadcast from near studio in Camberwell on a radio mic (Its in the shows section to listen to, early days but it worked!).
• The Transmitter at Rye Hill Nunhead got found in the end, but that year got us out of the engineering problems, never again would we at Horizon Radio rely on a outside transmitter builders.
• Moved to Stockwell as main transmitter site, we had access to the roof from a flat. We also installed a transmitter back on Rye Hill Park. Stockwell would run up until 11pm, then the DJ back in the studio could deactivate the Stockwell transmitter and activate the Rye Hill transmitter by flicking 2 switches. Stockwell site was manned during broadcast, with spotters on the ground who had 2 m radios we used for communication. Eric raided one night, got Barry Jameson who had not seen him and took a legal 2m radio off Barry. The site at Stockwell was off and Rye Hill had just come on. We managed to get the transmitter out before Eric got in, as he could not get access, door was jammed. The transmitter was in the flat but we could see Eric going mad and saw police looking at the flat door through our porthole. Transmitter was put on the balcony roof, nearly falling off balcony in the process. Just in time as Police kick the front door of flat open and in they come in and start searching the place. Legal flat, no warrants just DTI doing what they want. Eric spotted a 2nd 2 meter communication radio & tries to confiscate it. Chris hits the roof at him, and reminds him he has just broken the law by kicking in the flat front door. He would not give back the 2m radio he took from Barry. Result one big bust up at Waterloo Bridge House (DTI) next day, the 2 m radio was given back but somehow damaged. From that day on Eric had to have a DTI chaperone when visiting Horizon?

1983 Horizon Radio Achievements, That Was The Year That Was

• So this was the year we created the Horizon Radio Soul Family, yes the original one. Every bank holiday an extended night and day broadcasts Kisses Peckham was the first all-dayer. Every bankholiday thereafter saw a Horizon Radio aldayer somewhere. August The Podium 9 Elms Lane Vauxhall, 1000 capacity, rammed inside and outside a total shut down of Vauxhall London as Capital Radio, BBC Radio London and LBC reported “Avoid Vauxhall as there is an event going on there) yep venue full, cars outside with doors open playing the live outside broadcast, Vauxhall, was a roadblock with Horizon Radio listeners. Stock Aitken Waterman even wrote a record after we used that phrase.
• Then it exploded in March 84, 24hr broadcasting running both 94.5fm and 104fm, but had to move to 102.5fm due to problems with the Gas Board who worked with us to find & solve the problem and then recommended us to the IBA as a responsible broadcaster.
• April 84 Back 24/7 on 102.5fm.
• Kisses, Podium, Duggies Clapton live OB’s, Soul On A Summers Day with Showstoppers Ft Change & Ingram, Soul Train with Limited Edition Entertainments and many more events.
• August 84 Studio 4 which was as close to a full on radio studio as it gets kicks in, £20k put into it!
• 11th of October 1984 biggest raid in history by the DTI, £20k studio walks off, all because the idiot at the controls did not follow procedures and thought more of his £75 bag of records! Time to call it a day with idiots like this around.
• 11th of October 1984, at the meeting on that evening Chris Stewart said no he would not put the station back for many reasons, 1, it had been grassed up. 2, No one cared about the studio equipment loss. 3, New Laws, 4, one person did all the work +. Horizon Radio had been closed down!
• January 5th 1985 After weeks of abuse from the usual suspects finally saw Nick Moss, Junior King, Len & Glen of Limited Edition Entertainments persuade Chris to let them bring Horizon Radio back (with His help).
• Saturday January 12th, the new team which included Len & Glen, Nick Moss, Steve May and many more where putting up the new Horizon mast at the back of 31 Westow Hill, up turns Buick and demands to know what is going on. WTF is it to do with him, he was sent off and told to go play on his chopper as that is what little boys do. He returns half hour later to tell us all It was a good job the DTI hit Horizon in 1984 as he and the others had planned to leave a record running and walk out and start a station of their own. Remember the Horizon Radio studio was grassed up and so was the JFM’s studio 1n 1985. We wonder who the grass was, no we do not, we know and so will you after hearing the conversation with Peter Edwards of the Gas Board.
• January 15th 1985 Horizon Radio Returns with a new much better line up of presenters as their later careers have reflected, takes the listeners and advertisers back within a month.
• On and off due to raids by the DTI right up to September, but did get left on when others where taken off. This was due to the transmitter site being in a derelict building, that you had to be so careful in. Nick Moss, had found a transmitter site that was total madness as one slip & you will fall and die (No Joke that was one hell hole, but nice if you knew your way around). Also out or reach of the Cherry pickers Eric was now using to remove aerials and masts.
• July of 1985 Horizon Radio again being first at everything announces the Station would close down and they would apply for one of the new radio licenses.
• Horizon Radio Close Down 15/09/85 broadcast live from studio 8 (The One That – – – – Nicked Later) and a live OB from Harrow Leisure Center. The longest link ever recorded, 3 estimates, 12.000, 15.000 and 20.000 people attended, dancing in the car parks and on the roads. 25 plus PA’s turned up, even Steve Walsh (RIEP) asking to go on the mic and wishing he was an Horizon DJ.
• October 1985, Horizon Radio had been off air for for many weeks, other stations too when Paul Buick phones up to say he has just witnessed Zak Ron Tom and the LWR crew break into the Horizons new Training Studio at 62 Westow Hill and nick most of the studios x2. yet did not call the police and legged it fast after the police where called. Even the police asked why Buick had not called them first or taken car registration numbers.
• What Followed >>>Cars where smashed up, people where told not to work again at certain venues, threats to kill where made. Radio gangland had started. Now do you understand why Horizon Radio never broadcast again and those new licenses were never issued?

So Sad that Tony Johns (RIEP) and the Invicta Crew, Brian Anthony and JFM Crew, DBC with Lepke, Chris Stewart and the early Horizon crew along with Radio Jackie and other stations worked their ass off to get those new radio licenses issued and it was all taken away from those who had worked so hard and more importantly, the listeners in London and the Home Counties who loved the music, by a bunch of pirates or is the word criminals who where in search of Fame and Fortune at any cost and did not care about anything else but themselves.