If London pirates are radio weeds, Kool has got to be the most successful strain of Willow herb. The empty hissing gaps in the fm radio spectrum are the restricted scraps of wild land in the capital, awaiting commercial development.
To flourish for 31 years is an amazing achievement and the legacy of the station in british music and club culture cannot be over looked.
Another element often found in the wildcorners of South London are traces of 'Skippers'. This slang term was used by homeless communities of old London, meaning a temporary site used for rough sleeping.
The word is derived from Skepper or Skypper; another name for a Barn. The term seems to appear often when referring to the barn as somewhere to sleep the night.
It gradually widened to include all general out-houses and shelters for over night stays.
Skippers are temporary, often improvised and hidden away from public view for safety reasons. This is why the high wooden hoardings and advertising boards of wildcorners make them an ideal location for 'skippering' in modern day cities and towns.
John Healy mentions skippers in his classic The Grass Arena [1988] which documents his years of homeless and extreme alcoholism.
'Skippering is illegal; also rough. Some skippers are fair; most are bad. One feature common to both - they are all lousy.'
'Fights break out in the night; the police come in, nick you or throw you out. depending on their mood; any nutcase can walk in, burn the place down while you’re in a drunken stupor. You try to sleep in the attic with the birds but end up in the basement with the rats.'
