Centreforce also known as 88.3 Centreforce and Centreforce Radio is a former

pirate radio Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...

station, now legally broadcasting to London, North West England and North Wales on DAB radio. It was instrumental during the Second Summer of Love period of

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just " acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synt ...

and

rave music A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

culture in the UK. The station is based in

Waltham Abbey Waltham Abbey is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the London metropolitan area, metropolitan and urban area of London, England, East London, north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich ...

, Essex.

Early history

Centreforce first broadcast on 8 May 1989, from London Borough of Hackney then moved to Carpenters Road Stratford,

Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London boroughs, London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of County Borough of West Ham, West Ham and County ...

, East London on the frequency of 88.3 FM. In its short time on air (it ceased broadcasting little over a year later around June 1990), it became the "first seven day rave station", and a pivotal part of the scene, promoting all of the big M25 raves of the time such as

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

, Energy,

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

, and Biology. Regular DJs on the station included one of the founders of the station Roger the Dodger ,

Kenny Ken Ken Delsol (born 12 December 1969), better known as Kenny Ken, is a British Jungle music, jungle and drum and bass Disc jockey, DJ and record producer, producer. Biography Kenny was working for London Transport (brand), London Transport when hi ...

, Danielle & Rochelle, DJ Randall, Keith Mac, Gary D, DJ One, Corporation Dave, DJ Huggs, DJ Connie, Hermit, and Jazzy J. Linden C , Rob Acheson. Centreforce was set up by Andy Swallow who also co-ran the Echoes nightclub in Bow, East London. Swallow was also involved with the infamous football hooligan firm

Inter City Firm The Inter City Firm (ICF) is an Football in England, English football List of hooligan firms, hooligan firm associated with West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, which was mainly active in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. The name came from the ...

(ICF), and controversy around the ICF and its relationship to Centreforce regularly surfaced.

Centreforce Sessions

After a brief return to the airwaves in 2007-2008 on 88.4FM, Centreforce teamed up with Time 107.5, a local legal radio station based in

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

, East London. Centreforce produced the weekend output on the station as ''Centreforce Sessions'' with shows and DJs including

Jumping Jack Frost Nigel Thompson (born 29 May 1967), better known as Jumpin Jack Frost, is a British Jungle music, jungle and drum and bass Disc jockey, DJ and record producer. Biography Frost was born in Brixton, London and, after a troubled youth, started to d ...

Artful Dodger Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger, is a character in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. The Dodger is a pickpocket and his nickname refers to his skill and cunning in that occupation. In the novel, he is the leader of th ...

, Soul Syndicate (Peter P, Chris Phillips), Matt Jam Lamont, and Mr Buzzhard. This ran from June 2009 until April 2012 when a change of management at Time FM saw the relationship parting company.

Internet and DAB Launch

Having returned once again throughout 2017 hosting weekly shows online, as of December 2017 Centreforce announced that they had been awarded a licence to broadcast to London on DAB. As of 14 July 2018, it commenced broadcasting on the Switch London 2 digital radio network. On 19 June 2020, the station launched on the Northeast Wales and West Cheshire MuxCo radio network.

References

External links

Centreforce Radio

Early history

Centreforce Sessions

Internet and DAB Launch

References

External links

Further reading