Ofcom: Caroline Community Radio in breach after sex sounds

Caroline Community Radio 97.4FM, broadcast from Burnham, was pulled up by watchdogs Ofcom after it played the song containing prolonged sounds of a woman moaning during the station’s morning programming, breaching Rule 1.3 of the Broadcasting Code.

The investigation was launched after concerns children may have heard the broadcast on the school run.

The report said: “The station broadcasts a weekday breakfast programme, The Breakfast Show between 6am and 10am.

“Ofcom received a complaint about the broadcast of the song French Kiss by L’il Louis at approximately 8.20am.

“The song contained no lyrics but included prolonged sounds of sexual moaning lasting two minutes and 20 seconds.

“Ofcom considered that the material raised issues warranting an investigation.

“We took into account the licensee’s representations that given the radio station’s target audience, the likelihood of children listening was low.

“However, as this material was broadcast at approximately 8.20am on a weekday during the school term, it was a time when children were particularly likely to be listening to the radio.

“The code particularly refers to the school run and breakfast time as times when children are likely to be listening.”

Ofcom decided the song was not appropriately scheduled and found the station in breach.

The original Radio Caroline was often in deep water as a pirate radio station in the 1960s.

Station manager Peter Moore shrugged off the breach as the consequence of bureaucracy.

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He said: “This is what happens when bureaucracy overrules common sense.

“There are no lyrics in the song, just a sound effect of a lady sighing and moaning, maybe due to having a nice back massage.

“But one complaint causes the regulator Ofcom to convene a committee about what constitutes ‘sexual moaning’.

“Aside from the lengthy process of justification, the knock-on effect is radio stations then become fearful of using songs that have great merit such as from John Lennon or Bob Dylan in case one offending word sets the sequence off again.

“Conversely, the subject matter of the Rolling Stones track Stray Cat Blues is outrageous but described with sufficient caution to be acceptable. For us, and as Jagger sings, It Ain’t No Hanging Matter.”

Radio Caroline and Caroline Community Radio broadcasting locally on 648AM and 94.7 FM and online.