Paul H

From Pirate Radio to The Underground Labs

Long before DAB, livestreams, Mixcloud and social media, there was pirate radio — a world built on passion, music, community and a lot of determination.

For Paul H, that world became home.

Known to many from the early days as DJ Sham, Paul was deeply involved in the underground radio scene, becoming part of a generation of broadcasters and DJs who helped create the culture that would go on to influence British dance music for years to come.

His journey took him through stations and scenes including Pulse FM, Chilling FM, Station FM, Ragga FM, Kool FM and Rude FM, putting him amongst some of the original old-school heads from the reggae, ragga, house and emerging underground dance scenes.

This was radio before everything was instantly connected.

There were no social media posts, no WhatsApp groups and no livestream comments. If you wanted to send a shout-out, you got your pager out. The pager was part of the culture — a way for DJs, listeners and crews to stay connected while the stations broadcast from bedrooms, studios and undisclosed locations.

Paul was there through that era, building relationships across different corners of the pirate scene and experiencing first-hand the energy, creativity and community that made underground radio what it was.

DJ Sham & Risk FM

One of the defining chapters of Paul's early radio career was Risk FM, where he became a founding figure and helped establish the station during the 1990s.

The DJ Sham name became associated with Risk FM during this period, with recordings from the era preserving a snapshot of those broadcasts and the music culture surrounding them.

For Paul, Risk FM wasn't simply another station. It was part of a movement — a time when independent broadcasters created their own platforms, found their own audiences and gave underground music a place to breathe.

The old recordings capture something that can't really be recreated: the sound, atmosphere and personality of 1990s pirate radio.

More Than Just House

Although underground house music has remained a major part of Paul's identity, his history stretches across a much wider musical landscape.

Being around the reggae, ragga, house and pirate-radio communities exposed him to different sounds, DJs and broadcasting styles. That cross-pollination was a defining characteristic of the old-school pirate scene, where different genres and crews existed side by side and DJs could move between stations and musical worlds.

It was a culture built on music first, personalities second and technology last.

The equipment might have changed, but the desire to discover music, play it loud and connect with people never did.

From DJ Sham To Paul H

As the years moved on, so did the radio landscape.

Paul continued his journey through stations including Touch FM, Rude FM and Risk FM, carrying the experience of the pirate era into a changing world of broadcasting and electronic music.

The name DJ Sham belongs to an important chapter of his story — the old-school years, the pirate stations, the pagers, the shout-outs and the underground.

Today, it's Paul H behind the microphone.

But the philosophy remains much the same.

The Underground Labs

Today Paul is the host of The Underground Labs Radio Show on LoveLife DAB Digital Radio, broadcasting every Sunday evening from 6pm until 8pm.

The show is dedicated to the sounds Paul continues to champion:

Deep House.

Tech House.

Minimal.

Underground House.

Fresh music.

Underground music.

The Underground Labs brings together Paul's experience from the old-school pirate-radio era with the sound of today's underground scene.

It's a continuation rather than a reinvention.

The technology may now be digital. The audience may be worldwide. The broadcast may reach listeners through DAB, Mixcloud, Twitch and YouTube.

But underneath it all is the same thing that started the journey decades ago:

a love of underground music and the people who listen to it.

The Story Continues

From DJ Sham and the early pirate-radio days, through Pulse, Chilling, Station, Ragga, Kool, Rude, Touch and Risk FM, to today's Paul H and The Underground Labs, this is a radio journey that spans generations of underground music culture.

The pager has been replaced by the smartphone.

The pirate signal has been replaced by digital broadcasting.

The bedroom studio has become a worldwide stream.

But the mission is still simple:

Find great underground music. Play it loud. Share it with the people who love it.

DJ Sham then.

Paul H now.

The Underground Labs — still underground.