Radio Luxembourg

Lore & Background

Radio Luxembourg originated in 1924 when radio technician François Anen built a 100-watt transmitter in his home. By 1926, the Luxembourg government subsidized the station to broadcast military music and plays in Luxembourgish. Inspired by Captain Leonard Plugge, who used continental transmitters to broadcast English-language programmes to Britain, Anen gathered French entrepreneurs in 1929 to form the Luxembourg Society for Radio Studies, which pressured the government for a commercial licence. On 19 December 1930, Luxembourg passed a law awarding a monopoly commercial broadcasting licence, granted to the Society on 29 December, which created the Luxembourg Broadcasting Company, identified on air as Radio Luxembourg.

High-powered test transmissions aimed at Britain and Ireland began in May 1932, provoking a hostile reaction from the British government, which accused the station of 'pirating' wavelengths. The English service debuted on 3 December 1933 under Stephen Williams. Regular English-language broadcasts started in 1934 on a new 200 kW long-wave transmitter.

Programmes included sponsored shows such as 'League of Ovaltineys' and 'Littlewoods Broadcast'. During World War II, the station was taken over by German forces and used for English-language propaganda by William Joyce. After Allied forces took Luxembourg in September 1944, the station was transferred to US Army control for black propaganda purposes.

Reader's Guide

Radio Luxembourg's significance lies in its role as a forerunner of pirate radio and modern commercial radio in Britain. By broadcasting sponsored English-language programmes from continental Europe, it provided the only commercial radio alternative to the BBC until 1973, when British legislation changed. The station exposed millions of Britons to commercial broadcasting and contributed to the creation of the commercial ITV television network in the 1950s.

Its parent company, RTL Group, continued involvement with UK audiences through the British TV channel Five until its sale in July 2010. The station's use of a powerful long-wave transmitter allowed it to reach large audiences despite British government opposition, and its programming of light music and variety shows attracted up to half of Britons at times when the BBC did not broadcast or offered only serious and religious content. The legacy of Radio Luxembourg includes demonstrating that state broadcasting monopolies could be broken, paving the way for the commercial radio landscape that followed.