Early years Founded by
Geeneus and
Slimzee, Rinse FM's first broadcast was in September 1994. For a three-year period in the early days of the station the Rinse studio was hosted in Slimzee's house. In its early years the station mainly played
jungle with a particular focus on
MCs, a direction which set Rinse apart from competing stations. This continued to a lesser extent throughout the 16 years during which Rinse was a pirate radio station. Rinse broadcast on the frequency of 100.3/100.4FM for the majority of its unlicensed years on air. Radio 1 DJ
John Peel recommended the station in 2004, stating that: :When I'm in London I listen to the pirates as much as I can. There's a station I like called Rinse FM, which is somewhere in the area banded by [i.e. between the frequencies of]
Kiss FM and
Classic FM. Sarah "Soulja" Lockhart joined Rinse as their station manager in 2004 and launched their weekly party nights FWD>. In April 2005
Ofcom disconnected a Rinse FM radio transmitter
Legal licence As of August 2007 the station was seeking a legal FM licence. At the time, the station's owner DJ Geeneus said: "We don't want to be legal to play stupid adverts and make loads of money from advertising. We want to be legal to say: look at our scene, look at what we're doing. We're a business, we're not criminals. We're supplying something that no one else is supplying, and we're professional." The station is presently managed by Sarah Lockhart. In October 2015, it joined the London Trial
DAB MUX.
DJs and presenters DJs and presenters to have appeared on Rinse include: • Alexander Nut • Anti Social (Jay 5ive,
Silkie,
Kromestar) •
Artwork •
Benga •
Ben UFO •
Boy Better Know •
Caspa •
Cerrone •
dBridge •
DJ Chef •
DJ Distance •
Fabio &
Grooverider • DJ Flight • DJ Geeneus •
DJ Hatcha •
DJ Ron •
DJ Slimzee •
DJ Spoony •
DJ Target •
DJ Zinc •
Dizzee Rascal •
Elijah And Skilliam (Butterz) • Funk Butcher • Hessle Audio • Icicle •
Ikonika • Jake Demie •
Jyoty • Josey Rebelle • Kismet •
Kode9 •
Loefah •
Logan Sama • Marcus Nasty • Maya Jama • Mark Radford •
Newham Generals • N Type • Norwood Soul Patrol •
Oneman • Paleface • Pangaea •
Pay As U Go •
Pearson Sound •
Plastician •
P Money • Roska •
Royal-T •
Scratcha DVA •
Skepta •
Skream • SK Vibemaker • Supa D • Shax • Spyro • The Clairvoyants - Shax,SBR, Jason H • The Menendez Brothers •
Stamina MC •
Tom Ravenscroft • Uncle Dugs •
Wiley • Youngsta ==Rinse Recordings==