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Home arrow Volunteers' Night arrow Bedroom Radio
Bedroom Radio

when is this on?

This isn't scheduled anytime soon.


Director / cameraman Doug Aubrey of film-makers AUToNOMi Ltd, delves into the unusual world of a pirate radio fanatic Gary (aka DJ Allusion) and his beleaguered girlfriend, Yvonne, in this intimate and compassionate portrait of young people living in a notoriously deprived area of Glasgow.

AllusionFM broadcasts from wherever an antenna can be hastily erected, but this illegal station is frequently forced to transmit directly from Gary and Yvonne’s own bedroom. In a ongoing game of cat and mouse with the authorities, Gary struggles to stay one step ahead of their persistent attempts to close down his operation and confiscate his equipment.

Bedroom RadioThe police claim the signal interferes with equipment at the nearby airport – a concern not shared by Glasgow’s tireless pirate DJs. "When you do a pirate radio station you’re not messing with the law, you’re messing with the government... and inevitably you’re going to get caught," says fellow broadcaster DJ Freestyle. For Gary, however, nothing short of a custodial sentence could keep him off his beloved airwaves.

Devoted girlfriend Yvonne (aka DJ Miss Chief) keeps watch from the bedroom window for the police as DJ Allusion clambers onto the rooftops, erects another aerial and so begins another long night of transmission to the young people of Glasgow’s Paisley area. Yvonne became a mother at the age of fifteen and by the age of nineteen had her third child, closely followed by a nervous breakdown and her children being taken into care. Despite their young age and frequent run-ins with the police both Yvonne and Gary are devoted to the children who make regular visits to the flat.

Gary has a court case coming up but his thoughts are focussed solely on getting another transmitter, having lost over £3,000 worth of equipment in the latest police raid. On the morning of his court appearance DJ Allusion takes to the airways once again in a final act of defiance, telling listeners: "I’ll be back at 100.8FM - but for now I’m offski because it’s nearly 9.30 and I need to be in court by 10. So for now: catch you all later."

Bedroom RadioThe director of the film, Doug Aubrey, had the following to say about the film:

"We originally came across Gary and Yvonne while filming a Channel 4 news story about the booming UK pirate radio scene. Although their lives have been far from rosy, these guys had a raw energy, a passion for each other and attitude we both instantly knew was worthy of a much longer film.

In the course of the 18 months we spent with them, our enthusiasm and respect for Yvonne and Gary only grew. Their hopes became ours, their dreams, we felt, ones we could help realise and eventually, when tragedy struck, Yvonne’s sadness was our sadness. A pain, which she has been brave enough to share with us on camera."

‘Bedroom Radio’ is a very personal account of a young couple struggling to deal with a seemingly harmless obsession to play music and the effect it has on their lives.

Last Updated ( Friday, 07 September 2007 )
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