h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ed Stewart - no longer broadcasting for the BBC. Now retired? His Sunday show has now been taken over by Johnny Walker, who no longer (contentiously - see BBC radio talkboards)does Drivetime on Radio Two. You might also mention Andy Peebles, who started out on pirate radio broadcasting to the North of England. Peebles famously said that BBC recruiters ignored any pirates that could not be heard in London - "they didn't do their homework properly" - and because of this he didn't arrive on Radio One until very nearly fifteen years later. (The intervening time was spent on Picadilly 261, the commercial station serving Mancester. 261 is not to be confused with the lamentable and mediocre sucessor station Key 103 - in its 1970's glory days, it was actually twenty times better than Radio One and had a fan following extending deep into North Wales)

Also nothing much said about pirate stations broadcasting to the North and Scotland. Radio North Sea International was still going strong in the middle to late 1970's. There were also pirates in the Irish Sea that, because they could resupply from the Irish Republic, were able to broadcast to the North.

A third factor in the North of England and Wales: we could, and still can, pick up the Irish state broadcaster RTE, which offered general DJ-led shows on a par with Radios One and Two. This was the nearest and most accessible "foreign" radio station for us, as most of the time it broadcast in English. Refreshingly different, and it offered a different take on news and current affairs, especially a thought-provokingly different viewpoint on Northern Ireland. RTE was like a cultural secret among expat Irish diaspora members in the North of England: I first encountered it at my mate Paul Cregan's house, his mum had it on the radio...

A very interesting article from many perspectives.
It still needs updating but since almost 5 years have passed since 2004 I imagine this is now highly unlikely to happen.
The one glaring error which is perpetuated ceaselesly is the fact that Radio Caroline is still alive and well.
She broadcasts via the internet at www.radiocaroline.co.uk and on Sky channel 0199.
Radio Caroline.
45 This Year.
Real People. Real Music.