Capital UK streams today's biggest pop hits as the national feed of Capital, Britain's largest commercial hit music network, broadcasting live from London. It is free to listen right now, anywhere in the world, no account required.
One of Britain's First Two Commercial Stations
Capital Radio launched in London on October 16, 1973, as one of the first two commercial radio stations ever licensed in Britain, paired from the start with London Broadcasting, now LBC, which was built for news while Capital was built purely to entertain, according to a history of the station on Wikipedia. Capital shifted toward a pop-driven format within a year of launch, chasing a bigger audience than its original mix of drama, documentaries and light music could reach.
From One London Station to a National Network
Capital stayed a London station for nearly four decades before Global Radio relaunched it nationally on January 3, 2011, merging Global's Galaxy and Hit Music station groups into a single branded network across the UK. Capital now runs as roughly a dozen regional stations under one shared national identity, sharing a single breakfast show and the same core pop format from city to city.
One Breakfast Show, the Whole Country
That shared identity centers on Capital Breakfast, broadcast nationally out of London with Jordan North taking over as lead host on April 8, 2024 alongside Siân Welby, who has anchored the show since 2020, and Chris Stark, following Roman Kemp's departure from the show.
Listen to Capital UK Free on Radio Shuffle
Capital UK streams around the clock, and Radio Shuffle carries the feed live with nothing to install and no subscription required. Press play above for the hit music network built from one of Britain's very first commercial radio licenses.