Cool Hand Flex & DJ Spice | Fantasy FM, London | 1989

In August 1989, Mystery Man launched London’s second rave station, Fantasy FM. Fantasy FM started broadcasting from North London in August 1989 on 98.6 FM. They played Acid, Rave & Hardcore music, all of which was massive at the time, and was also dominating the mainstream music charts too, during the time Fantasy was on air. Fantasy FM London Playlist When they first came on air, Fantasy were broadcasting on 98.6 FM from East-End tower blocks. Early in 1990 they moved to 98.1, where they remained until the station closed. More consistent in sound across its output than earlier dance stations, DJs played house, techno, acid house and the growing number of UK house releases that can now be seen as the first roots of hardcore and jungle. An early recruit was DJ Hype, who had both fantastic deck skills and an impeccable ear for the tunes that were going to be big. Others included DJ Rap, DJ Spice, The Rhythm Doctor, DJ Krome, Evil O, Shadowfax, DJ Tek, DJ Vibes, DJ Massive and DJ Tricks. There were guest shows from Baby Ford, Mr C of The Shamen and Aphex Twin under the name DJ Ace. Easy D & MC Rush | Fantasy 101.9 FM, Sheffield | February 1992 Fantasy-FM closed down in 1991. The station had plans to broadcast legally via cable or satellite radio (where later pirate Green Apple Radio became the first legal rave station) but these seem to have come to nothing. During the early part of 1990, Fantasy changed frequency to 98.1 FM, which would remain their spot on the FM dial until they closed down in 1991. The reason for them closing down was so they could start broadcasting on Cable TV, which was new here in the UK at the time and was also carrying radio stations, although this plan never materialised in the end. They were also planning to apply for some new incremental FM licenses that the government at the time were due to advertise. Fantasy had many DJ’s such as Hype, Krone, Rap, Spice, Tek and The Mystery Man. All the presenters had their own styles, some preferred to mix live on air with very little speech, others you’re more standard type of presenter, reading out requests/shout-outs etc, most of which came in via pager at the time. Fantasy also used to hold rave nights at the Astoria nightclub in Charing Cross, London WC2. Some of the DJ’s who played at these events were Fabio & Grooverider, Colin Favor & Randall, as well as Fantasy DJ’s. These Rave nights carried on after the station had closed down in 1991. Read more about Fantasy FM in the new book London’s Pirate Pioneers. Champion Puffa | 1991 Oldskool Hardcore | Renegade Radio Out to all the London FM pirates of the past. Although they aren’t about now their contribution to the British music industry and to the London music scene has been immense. Here’s a list of some of our most loved pirate radio stations in frequency order from 1989-2006: Flava FM 87.6 / Shine FM 87.9 / Rude FM 88.2 / Impact FM 88.2 / Centreforce FM 88.3 / Unity FM 88.4 / Conflict FM 88.4 / Ice FM 88.4 / London Underground FM 89.4 / Defection FM 89.4 / Raw FM 90.0 / Raw Mission 90.0 / Raw Blaze FM 90.0 / Pure Magic FM 90.2 / Pulse FM 90.6 / Chicago FM 90.6 / Mission FM 90.6 / Y2K FM 90.6 / Rinse FM 91.8 / Passion FM 91.8 / Weekend Rush FM 92.3 / Kik FM 92.3 / Deja Vu FM 92.3 / Weekend Rush FM 92.5 / Taste FM 92.5 / Mac FM 92.7 / Freeze FM 92.7 / Format FM 93.2 / Touchdown FM 94.1 / Stompin’ FM 94.2 / Kool FM 94.5 / Origin FM 95.2 / Entice FM 95.5 / Heat FM 96.6 / Rinse FM 97.6 / Flashback FM 97.6 / Shake FM 98.0 / Fantasy FM 98.1 / Fantasy FM 98.6 / Future FM 99.1 / Upfront FM 99.3 / Rinse FM 100.3 / Cyndicut 100.4 / Pressure FM 100.4 / Don FM 100.5 / Eruption FM 101.3 / Erotic FM 101.3 / Industry FM 101.3 / Freek FM 101.8 / Temptation FM 102.4 / Chillin’ FM 102.9 / Delight FM 103.0 / Flex FM 103.6 / Smoove FM 104.0 / Rude FM 104.3 / Ruud Awakening FM 104.3 / Don FM 105.7 / Shadow FM 106.5 / Force FM 106.5 / Girls FM 106.8 / Dream FM 107.0 / Risk FM 107.1 / Freedom FM 107.3 / Dream FM 107.6 / Don FM 107.9 and Boomerang 100 Edinburgh #pirateradio #drumandbass #oldskool