
In 1964 the BBC had the radio monopoly in the UK and played very little pop music. On the BBC's Light Programme, Saturday Club was a pop-music oasis in a desert of Mantovani, Housewives Choice and Sing Something Simple. Then along came Pirate Radio ships and forts playing non-stop pop music. It took the British Government and the BBC three years to see the need for a dedicated pop-music channel. In 1967 Radio 1 was launched and the era of pirate radio was over.