Pull Up! Luton’s Pirate Radio & Sound System Assembly

Join Revoluton Arts and Marsh Farm Outreach for an evening of conversation and storytelling around pirate radio and the legacy of reggae, rave, drum and bass and jungle in the UK.

Listen to stories from the people who set up their own music scene, like Jamaican-style sound systems that transformed living rooms into makeshift dancehalls. Hear about tower block transmitters that meant pirate radio stations could bypass mainstream stations, and how this played a monumental role in coordinating the UK’s underground dance and rave scene in the 1980s and 1990s.

What memories do you have of pirate radio? What parties or raves still hold in your memory? What was the soundtrack to YOUR Luton?

Did you ever tune into a station that wasn’t supposed to be there? Do you still have a photograph, flyer or cassette nobody else has seen for years? If so, we’d love to hear from you.

Please bring along an object that has significance to you, like a favourite:

• Dubplate

• Cassette tape

• Flyer

• Photograph

• Record

• Radio recording

• Sound system artefact

• Story

As part of the evening, we may ask if you’re happy to have your story recorded to help preserve this important part of Luton’s past.

Arrive at 17:30 for delicious hot food provided by Panzi’s Kitchen.