FAQ - Frequently asked questions

It says Pop Music from the UK, but these artists are from all over the world
Yes. The phrase 'Quality Pop music from the UK' is means that the music has been selected from Top 40 charts within the UK. Also we transmit from the South Coast of the UK. Some of these records never charted in the UK. Yes, this would be true, if only one chart was ever used. In the UK the Guinness Book of Hit Singles, is often relied upon as the definitive music chart bible, but there have been other charts; Some according to sales (e.g. BMRB, Gallup), some according to 'needle time' (e.g. Radio airplay, Club Charts) and some as cross between the two (e.g. Tip Sheet). Over 99% of the records chosen here have all been within a UK chart. There are a few that do not adhere to this rule, but these are known to the UK public in another way. e.g. Sampled by a record that has charted, A good example of this is 'Madison Avenue - Dont call me baby', as this makes good use of a sample of 'Pino D'Angio - Ma Quale Idea'. Another example is 'Ming Tea - BBC, which is used to play out the titles on the first Ausitn Powers film.

This is all rubbish, I've never heard of most of these records
Please remember the proverb 'Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder'. What is considered fantastic music for one person, is sure-fire torture by sonic death to another! RAT Radio aims to cover a very wide spectrum of music that have been popular to the UK public, and over fifty years, that could easily include:

• Alternative, Ambient
• Ballards, Breakbeat
• Disco,Dancehall
• Electro
• Folk, Funk
• Garage
• Heavy Metal, Hip-Hop, House
• Indie
• Jazz, Jazz-funk, Jungle
• Latin
• Mod, Motown
• New Age, New Wave
• Orchestral
• Psychedlia, Pop, Punk
• RnB, Reggae, Rock, Rock n Roll
• Ska, Soul,Swing
• Trance, Trip Hop
• UK Garage, Urban

Just like the British weather, wait ten minutes or so and the style is bound to change!

Where does the music come from ?
The music comes from all sources: 33rpm & 45rpm vinyl, Compact Disks and even a few Shellac 78rpm's. The quality of the tracks is usually quite good, but there are a few records that have certainly 'worked hard for a living', and it shows! They are obviously cleaned up before play, but the sound quality is starting to deteriorate. An example of this is the 1971 Lindisfarne hit 'Lady Eleanor'.

Surely this is just a load of MP3's stolen from the internet ?
No. All the music that is played here has been purchased in it's original format

Please help us.
Rat Radio is a small radio station under constant development. It is staffed entirely by volunteers who receive no money whatsoever, not even expenses! Unfortunately it costs a lot of money to run a radio station, mostly due to technical payments, and whilst we strive to remain 'Commercial Free' we depend on donations to be able to continue to provide the quality of service. If you like what you hear, we are happy to receive your donation, small or big, so we can continue to provide you with some of the best entertainment on the internet today.