Flex FM is a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

-based

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popul ...

station, which originally started life as a

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...

station. Flex broadcasts

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. I ...

, old skool hardcore,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

to London and surrounding areas on 101.4FM.

History

Flex was first established in 1992 as a breakaway station from Don FM and began broadcasting from Merton, South West London, on the frequency of 103.6FM. During that time, it followed the path of a number of other pirates in the capital of playing

breakbeat hardcore Breakbeat hardcore (also referred to as hardcore rave or oldskool hardcore) is a music genre of the very early 1990s that spawned from the UK rave scene. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from hip hop. In ...

, through

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

and

, onto

, until it left the airwaves in 2003. During this first period on-air, DJs, MCs and artists to have played on the station have included DJ Deekline (who scored a number 11 UK chart hit with " I Don't Smoke" in the summer of 2000), MC Hyperactive, the Genius Cru (who had a top 20 UK chart hit with " Boom Selection" in early 2001), Billy Whizz, Lady Sovereign,

Ed Rush Ed Rush is the stage name used by the drum and bass producer and DJ, Ben Settle (born 1973). Rush has been releasing records since 1992 and primarily with his musical partner Optical (Matt Quinn), since 1997. Along with Optical he is also the co ...

, DJ Gunshot, Optical, Funky T, Donna Dee, LS, DJ Wise, and Paul Strobe. After a hiatus, Flex returned in 2009 on 99.7FM, playing

UK funky UK funky (sometimes known as UKF or funky) is a genre of electronic dance music born in United Kingdom that is heavily influenced by Soca, soulful house, tribal house, UK garage, broken beat and grime. Typically, UK funky blends beats, bass ...

as well as across its staple music genres. DJs, MCs and artists to have appeared on this return have included MC Sparks, Outlaw, DJ Carloss, Tempo, DJ Twiz, Hands Free, Al-B, Heny G, G Double, Jay 5ive (Antisocial), Selecta Primetime, Smokey Bubblin B, and Andy Mills. In its latter days as a pirate station, Flex would feature in a special report on the BBC ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also avail ...

'' programme, ''Inside the World of Pirate Radio'', broadcast in August 2015.

Legal license

In October 2016, Flex applied for one of the forthcoming community licenses being advertised in London, which would prove to be successful in its bid in May 2017. In late 2017, it commenced fundraising for the building of new studios. Flex started broadcasting legally as a community station as of 1 July 2018, with a roster of both original and new DJs and presenters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flex FM Radio stations in London Former pirate radio stations Pirate radio stations in the United Kingdom Radio stations established in 1992 UK garage