NI radio station apologises after X-rated song played in the afternoon

Derry-based community station, Drive 105, played a song by New Zealand star Benee which contained the word “f**k” and four uses of the word “f****d” shortly after 5.30pm on a Saturday afternoon last year.

A disgusted listener complained to Ofcom, the watchdog for the radio industry, who have ruled the broadcast was in breach of its rules.

In its defence, Drive 105 said the music was on an automated loop because there was no presenter at the time.

The popular station, which was set up as a charity in 2009 and is run by volunteers, said steps have been taken to ensure the same thing never happens again.

Benee, who real name is Stella Rose Bennett, is a 24 year-old singer whose biggest hit to date was Supalonely, which was released in 2019.

The song’s video has received more than 320 million views on Youtube since being uploaded in February 2020.

It is believed the song, which highlights the problem of loneliness among young people, struck a chord with many people during the Covid pandemic.

However, Supalonely, which features a number of swear words, was not to music to the ears of one Drive 105 listener on Saturday, January 21 last year.

After receiving the complaint, Ofcom launched an investigation into the broadcast of the song at 5.34pm, a time when children would have been expected to be listening to the station.

In its report, Ofcom stated Drive 105 FM had said this was the first time something like this has happened in the station’s 15-year history.

Once it became aware of the error, the station “immediately removed” Supalonely from its system.

The report added that Drive 105 informed its presenters the song was no longer available and reminded them content of this nature was “not acceptable”.

Drive 105 FM said all content on the station was usually “suitable for all listeners at all times” and apologised for the error.

The station said there are times when its output is automated and on this occasion “the presenter was not in the studio and did not hear the offending song”, so it was not possible for an apology to be issued immediately.

A Ofcom spokesperson said when considering the complaint about Drive 105, they took into account its research into public attitudes towards offensive language on TV and radio.

“This research found that the word “f**k” was considered by audiences to be among the most offensive language and required clear and strong contextual justification.

“It also found that audiences consider that…this word should not be aired on television before the watershed or on radio at times when children are particularly likely to be listening.

“According to Ofcom’s guidance on offensive language on radio, radio broadcasters should have particular regard to broadcasting content at the following times: between 06:00 and 09:00 and 15:00 and 19:00 Monday to Friday during term time; and between 06:00 and 19:00 at weekends all year around, and in addition, during the same times from Monday to Fridays during school holidays.

“We took into account the licensee’s comments and that this was the first issue of this type in the station’s history.

“However, in this case, the broadcast of one instance of the word “f**k” and four instances of the word “f****d” at 17:34 on a Saturday was a clear example of the most offensive language being broadcast at a time when children were particularly likely to be listening.

“We also took into account that the licensee accepted that it had made an error in broadcasting the most offensive language at this time of day and that it explained the steps it had taken to ensure this would not happen again.”