IC Radio is a society and a community. These are the values we try to live by:
Ask Beit security for KEY CARD 2 (you must be on the access list). Enter via the side door.
Use the big red switch at the bottom of the plug board stack.
Open Zoom > SSO > sign in with your Imperial account. Configure audio as shown:
Shows are usually recorded via RSVP. Otherwise:
DJ gear flows into the DJM-800 and then to the Studer for broadcast. If you’re unsure, ask a committee member for a quick run-through.
IC Radio’s story begins in January 1974, when students discussed a campus station after a Photographic Society event — an origin later chronicled in John Allen’s “Before AM” memories. Over the next year, the group experimented with makeshift broadcasts and, in 1975, produced a promo tape for STOIC (Imperial’s student TV), followed by regular news bulletins over the refectory PA system. Early recordings took place in halls — notably Nigel Davis’ reel-to-reel sessions — while volunteers built a DIY studio beneath Southside, soldering together a home-made mixer from kits.
After a lengthy licence process, IC Radio passed inspection on 30 November 1978 and launched on 999 kHz AM at 10:00 on 2 December 1978 — the first record spun was “Crocodile Rock”, which inspired the crocodile emblem. The station pioneered a campus-contained leaky-feeder system, carrying a low-power AM signal along radiating cables into halls without spilling into the wider ether.
Momentum built quickly. In early 1979, IC Radio’s story reached Capital Radio (live interview) and intertwined with BBC Radio London’s 48.5-hour charity marathon, which IC Radio relayed as an overnight sustaining feed. A second studio — “Northside” in Garden Hall— was linked to Southside via service-tunnel audio lines. Outside broadcasts flourished — including lively Sunday Southside Bar shows— alongside on-air stunts and breakfast “open house” sessions that cemented a playful, student-led sound.
In 1985, alumni founded The Crocodile Club, one of the earliest student-radio alumni associations, publishing the annual Reggie handbook— a running chronicle of people, kit and culture that helped preserve the station’s institutional memory.
Through the late 1980s and 1990s, the AM service (via leaky feeder) anchored a packed student schedule and a hands-on engineering culture. A short FM Test & Development in 1989 never became permanent, and IC Radio doubled down on campus broadcasting and training the next generation of presenters, producers and engineers — a pipeline that would send alumni into professional media.
The station relocated to the West Basement of Beit Quad (ICU media hub) in 2001, coinciding with the rise of web streaming, which took IC Radio far beyond South Kensington. An additional 1134 kHz AM relay at Wye launched in 2004, with contemporary DX notes documenting the frequency and service: Medium Wave Circle bulletin.
By the mid-2000s, the station’s digital music library exceeded 51,000 tracks, and IC Radio earned recognition at the 2006 Student Radio Awards— nominations for Liquid Lunch (Best Entertainment) and Martin Archer (Best Male), who later presented on the Kiss network. Programme strands ranged from rock (e.g., Rocktopia) to campus talk — the breadth mirroring Imperial’s eclectic student base.
Through the 2010s and into the 2020s, IC Radio settled into a digital-first operation out of Beit: 24/7 streaming at icradio.com, an expanding on-demand footprint on SoundCloud, and social programming via Instagram. Open events and collaborations with London venues and student societies have further blurred the lines between studio culture and campus nightlife.
This history is assembled from alumni recollections and public archives, and may not be wholly complete. If you have corrections or additions, please email icr@ic.ac.uk (subject: “IC Radio History Suggestions”).
SINCE 1976