Radio Luxembourg was one of the most important radio stations in European history — a commercial broadcaster transmitting from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg that could reach Britain, France, Germany, and much of Northern Europe, and which for four decades was the primary source of pop music for audiences the BBC and other national broadcasters refused to serve. Its story is the story of how commercial music radio came to exist in Europe.
What Radio Luxembourg was
Radio Luxembourg began broadcasting in English in 1933, targeting British audiences who received the BBC’s staid public service offering and wanted something livelier. Because it broadcast from Luxembourg rather than Britain, it was beyond the reach of British law and regulations. It played gramophone records — illegal on the BBC, which had agreements with the Musicians’ Union limiting recorded music. It carried advertising. It was irreverent, youth-oriented, and extremely popular.
The 208 era and pop music
In the 1950s and 1960s, Radio Luxembourg on 208 metres (medium wave) was how teenagers in Britain heard rock and roll, beat music, and the emerging pop scene. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and countless other artists had their records played first on Luxembourg. DJs like Jimmy Savile, Tony Blackburn, and later Kid Jensen began their careers on Luxembourg before moving to British radio. The 1967 Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, which shut down the pirate radio ships (covered in our UK radio guide), didn’t touch Luxembourg, which continued into the 1980s. It closed its English service in 1992 when satellite and FM had rendered its medium-wave signal obsolete.