licenced stations that started as pirates?

[radionortheast]

I may be wrong here, but it is also my recollection that '103 The Eye' in Melton Mowbray (http://www.103theeye.co.uk/) were formerly pirates known as 'The Wireless Company' or TWC, the only reference to which I can find is on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@twcfmthewirelesscompany419). I remember hearing TWC on FM when I lived in Sheffield.

I remember hearing the wireless company forget when it was going back along way the rsl could be heard up here, on 87.7 or something, they had a very good signal reached the hill I used to live on, probably had their aerial up high, maybe they were holding their aerial up high, thats the wrong song its hold your head up high.

I heard the eye about two years ago under a very large tropo duct, it played all the music you’d hear on a community station talking about a model railway. There was another station I heard at the sametime, though it was called the boss, I found abit funny, as though I was hearing the boss, it was the foss, interesting it was one of the last independent radio stations.

[Persona Non Grata]

Part of the confusion about Capital might have been down to the existence of a short lived but similarly named offshore station c. 1970

There was no connection between them.

Former pirates becoming licenced is not a particularly unusual phenomenon.

Licenced stations becoming pirates is a lot rarer one example was Radio Limerick one which lost its broadcasting licence (in controversial circumstances) but continued broadcasting for a few years anyways.

There have also been a few instances of stations which straddle the line between licenced operation and piracy by having extra unauthorised transmitters/frequencies or by operating with excessive power and/or modulation.