Death of a Pirate: British Radio and the Making of the Information Age

by Adrian Johns

A killing in the English countryside takes us inside the world of pirate radio in its mid-1960s heyday. When the pirate operator Oliver Smedley shoots and kills his rival Reg Calvert in Smedley's country cottage on June 21, 1966, it is a turning point in the careening career of the outlaw radio stations dotting the coastal waters of England. Situated on ships and offshore forts like Shivering Sands, these stations blasted away at the high-minded BBC's broadcast monopoly with the new beats of the Stones and the Who and DJs like Screaming Lord Sutch. For free-market ideologues like Smedley, the pirate stations were entrepreneurial efforts to undermine the growing British welfare state as embodied by the BBC.

The worlds of high table and underground collide in a riveting story full of memorable characters like the Bondian Kitty Black, an intellectual femme fatale who becomes Smedley's co-conspirator, and the notorious Kray twins, brazenly violent operators of a London protection racket. Here is a rousing entertainment with an intellectual edge. 16 pages of black-and-white photographs

Genres: History, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published November 8, 2010

About the author

Adrian Johns is a professor of history at the University of Chicago. Educated at Cambridge University, Johns is a specialist on intellectual property and piracy.

Reviews

[Peter Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very detailed and informative history of public broadcasting in the UK and the various attempts to challenge its monopoly from the 1920s to 2010.Probably more suitable for broadcast enthusiasts but the story of the 1960s pirates is entertaining especially the death of Reg Calvert in a business dispute.So Ultimately a sad story.Well written,not too long and useful to those interested in broadcasting in the UK

[D · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the idea of this book, but didn't love the execution. The book started off very strong, but kind of petered out after the first chapter. It was told a little too dryly for me, and I didn't feel drawn into a strong narrative. I am glad I picked it up off the shelf, though, because I had no idea about any of this history beforehand.

[Thom · Rating 2 out of 5]

About 9/10ths interesting history and 1/10th aftermath, where the author leads the reader to the conclusions alluded to in the subtitle. The book would have been better without this portion, but then I like history.
If the conclusion is the reason for the book, then it needed a much clearer demonstration. Is there a connection between the British Pirate radio, the "Hacker Ethic", and libertarian principles? A reader wouldn't find that here. Perhaps the author's new book, Piracy: The Intellectual Property Wars from Gutenberg to Gates, will satisfy.
The extensive history brought this up from "it was okay" but not quite all the way to "liked it."

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had so many details it was a struggle to slough through. Honestly, I probably never would have finished it if it had not been assigned reading for a class. I found myself actually enjoying the last chapter, if that was the slight change in subject matter or the fact that I knew the end was near is a matter for debate.

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting, but a little jumbled here and there. Also, I was partially hoping for more of the Pirate Radio (movie) story