Pirate that ruled the airwaves: Radio Caroline was the boat that rocked the music business | UK | News | Daily Express UK Pirate that ruled the airwaves: Radio Caroline was the boat that rocked the music business POP music fans of the early 1960s were not exactly spoilt for choice when it came to radio stations. 00:01, Sat, Mar 22, 2014 Canadian-born disc jockey Simon Dee broadcasts on Radio Caroline [AP] There were two: the BBC Light Programme (frumpy and dated) and Radio Luxembourg (in the grip of label giants Decca and EMI). The fact that by contrast we have such an enormous range from which to choose today is due to the pirate stations that emerged – none more so than Radio Caroline which celebrates the 50th anniversary of its launch next week on March 28. The station was the brainchild of Ronan O’Rahilly. Frustrated by his inability to get airplay for his client Georgie Fame he resolved to set up a radio station that would transmit from a ship in international waters off the British coast, safe from the clutches of the authorities.

He raised £150,000 and bought a 763-tonne former Danish ferry called the MV Frederica. Next step was to hire some hip young DJs, a line-up that included a former national serviceman called Cyril Nicholas Henty-Dodd, who found fame under his rather trendier pseudonym Simon Dee. Radio Caroline launched on Easter Sunday 1964 amid a blare of publicity and went on to become the biggest commercial radio station in the world, breeding a generation of household-name DJs such as Emperor Rosko, Tony Blackburn and Johnnie Walker. It was forced to cease offshore operations in 1990 due to a lack of fuel and supplies and there was no way back as a pirate station when the government introduced legislation to allow it to take action against ships broadcasting to its territory from ships in international waters on December 30 of that year. While it survives as an online presence its great days are well behind it but what days they were, as a new book reveals.

Janet Terret climbs up aboard Radio Caroline on her wedding day [PA] Radio Caroline launched on Easter Sunday 1964 amid a blare of publicity and went on to become the biggest commercial radio station in the world WHY WAS IT NAMED CAROLINE? There are no fewer than three theories: ? Founder O’Rahilly was so touched by an article about John F Kennedy illustrated by pictures of him working in the Oval Office of the White House while his two young children gambolled at his feet that he named his station after the president’s daughter. ? It was a ploy to suck up to the Chancellor of the day Reginald Maudling who had a daughter called Caroline. ? One of the station’s backers Jocelyn Stevens was the proprietor of Queen magazine, which had a style guide revolving around the tastes and aspirations of a typical reader known as Caroline. DIRTY TRICKS The battle to be the first pirate station to air and thus the beneficiary of acres of newspaper coverage and TV and radio time led to unscrupulous delaying tactics. Caroline was in a race against time with a rival called Radio Atlanta, whose ship was moored alongside it at a port on the coast of Northern Ireland.

Atlanta boss Allan Crawford complained: “The sabotage that was going on in my ship to stop it getting ready was colossal.” What’s more, the harbour master – presumably influenced by O’Rahilly – periodically ordered Crawford’s ship to leave the harbour for some trumped up reason. Caroline also initially duped its competitor into thinking it was going to broadcast to the Northwest from an anchorage off the Isle of Man before promptly heading in the opposite direction to a spot off the east coast near Harwich. THE ESTABLISHMENT BACKLASH The government reacted furiously to Radio Caroline’s launch with a flurry of ineffective actions. It asked Panama to revoke the ship’s registration, blocked ship-to-shore communications and warned off advertisers. Meanwhile the Post Office told listeners they were liable to a £10 fine and £50 more for any repeat offences. The chairman of EMI suggested that the record industry should buy a ship of its own to jam Caroline’s signal and the British Copyright Council, the Musicians’ Union and Phonographic Performance Ltd went on the attack with the latter threatening writs.

Johnnie Walker, his wife Tiggy and Tom Edwards [NC] THE ADVERTISERS WHO FLOCKED TO BUY AIRTIME Big brands were wary of rocking the boat (as it were) in the early days and so small advertisers such as a holiday camp in Hopton-on-Sea, a radio and TV dealer in Westcliff-on-Sea, and a furniture store in Gidea Park, Essex, were among the first wave of Caroline supporters. But household names soon began to come on board and even the government-funded Egg Marketing Board signed a contract though it agreed not to renew it after a ticking off by the Ministry of Agriculture. WHEN PIRACY BRED VIOLENCE When a rival called Radio City was acquired by Radio London, Caroline investor Major Oliver Smedley thought he was entitled to some of the proceeds due to a dispute over payment for a transmitter he had transferred to Radio City some time earlier. He duly boarded the offshore fort that was City’s base with 20 riggers from a local dockyard, subdued the staff on site, unplugged the transmitter and removed the crystals vital to its operation.

City’s proprietor Reg Calvert later confronted Smedley, a veteran of the Battle of Arnhem and a holder of the Military Cross, at his home in Wendens Ambo, Essex. During the ensuing altercation Smedley shot him dead. He was tried but acquitted of murder after pleading self-defence. PIRATES IN LOVE One story that went all around the world was the first pirate station offshore wedding. After the ship’s captain let slip that he had a licence to marry people at sea DJ Tony Prince persuaded his colleague Mick Luvzit that it would be the most romantic way to tie the knot with Janet Terret, sister of fellow DJ Ray. The ceremony duly took place a few weeks later. Unfortunately many of the guests making their way from the Isle of Man missed the ceremony after failing to find the Caroline because she was enveloped in heavy fog. THE CAPTAIN WHO SAW RED OVER PINK After one ship ended up in a watery grave after going aground O’Rahilly found a replacement and decided it should be painted entirely pink. This did not go down well with the Norwegian captain hired to skipper the vessel.

Crew member Carol Maszka recalled: “He packed his bag and walked out without telling anybody, leaving a note saying, ‘I refuse to be captain of a pink ship.’” THE EUROSIEGE SAGA In August 1985 the Department of Trade and Industry lost patience with the pirates and chartered a boat at an estimated cost of £50,000 a month to blockade Caroline and its near neighbour Radio Laser. Dubbed the Eurosiege, the cat-and-mouse game between pirates and government made the front page of every national newspaper and led every news bulletin. Ronan O’Rahilly later claimed the exercise gave Caroline “£20million of free advertising”. ? Radio Caroline: The True Story Of The Boat That Rocked, by Ray Clark (History Press, RRP £16.99) is available at £14.99 with free P&P. Call 0871 988 8451 or visit expressbooks. co.uk. You can also send a cheque or PO (payable to The Express) to: The Express Orders Dept, 1 Broadland Business Park, Norwich NR7 0WF.

MY CAROLINE MEMORIES THE Radio Caroline ship may have been anchored in the middle of the North Sea but there was rarely a dull moment, according to former DJ Tom Edwards. “Enterprising fishermen would fill their fishing smacks with holidaymakers who wanted to come out and see the ships and also meet us on board,” recalls the man who was a Pontins Blue Coat before breaking into pirate radio. “The captain did not want anybody to come aboard who wasn’t anything to do with Caroline but I think one or two ladies did make it on when the captain had turned his back. If you have a group of DJs on a pop pirate radio station I think something’s going to happen when pretty girls come out in their mini skirts.” The captain’s caution was understandable however as getting aboard could be a hazardous business. “We had to jump from the tender that took us out to the ship from Felixstowe dock on to the Caroline ship, which was terribly dangerous in bad weather,” he says. “We risked life and limb in our quest to become rich and famous – which didn’t really happen.” Given that the DJs had to live in a confined space for two weeks at a time, it was important to be a good mixer.

“There could be no room for egos because you’d probably be thrown overboard!” says Edwards. “The only argument I ever saw was when a DJ complained to the chef about the food and this terrible argument ensued and I seem to recall that the chef pulled a knife on the disc jockey and I separated them saying, ‘Come on guys, this is ridiculous.’ It was quite frightening at the time.” Most read in UK Radio Caroline claims world first in US launch By James Cridland for media.info - published 20 January, 2015 Famous pirate radio station Radio Caroline launches in the US today, with an intruiging world first: automatic timezone detection. Listeners to internet radio are hampered by timezones, meaning that they often wake up to radio shows intended for drivetime or evening listening. However, with a new app, listeners on the East Coast and the West Coast of the US will get delayed versions of the station, enabling fans to wake up to the breakfast show and go home with drivetime. Listeners via the Radioplayer on the Radio Caroline website also automatically get versions of the station tailored for their timezone.

Tony Paul presents the Radio Caroline breakfast show live from Los Angeles every morning, and will therefore have the interesting experience of waking up to himself on the radio! In 2005, BBC Radio 1 started broadcasting a time-delayed version of the station on US satellite service Sirius, which continued until 2011. It was only time-delayed for listeners on the East Coast, however. In 2013, we highlighted a DIY piece of work: the Radio-4-Matic , which delayed BBC Radio 4's output to Pacific Time for one hacker. You'll find both apps on the Radio Caroline website. Press Release Los Angeles, Calif. - Legendary music station Radio Caroline that defied the British government to bring rock and roll to the UK and sparked the Swinging Sixties launches in the U.S.A. today. Still leading the way in innovation, in an industry first, Radio Caroline is rolling out new apps on Tuesday Jan. 20 that remove the time difference and enable American fans to listen to the station's output from breakfast throughout the day and into the evening in either Eastern Standard Time or Pacific Standard Time.

It's the first time that a British radio station has synched its output for the East Coast and the West Coast of America with its flagship breakfast show originating in Los Angeles. Now listeners on both coasts can start their day with the breakfast show with Tony Paul from 7 to 9 a.m and hear the rest of the station's output from the U.K. around the clock. After 50 years on the air, Caroline remains true to its heritage with real personalities playing the music of the rock and roll generations up to the present day and helping break the best new artists. Apps for iOS and Android are now available for download from the Apple App Store and Google Play and the apps are free! “The British station with the American name soon became recognized as a symbol of rebellion the world over.” New York Times, April 3, 2011. Named after President John F. Kennedy's daughter, Radio Caroline began broadcasting in 1964 from two ships anchored off the coast of Britain in international waters.

At a time when Britain's official broadcaster the BBC refused to play the music young people were clamoring to hear, pirate DJs lived on board the boats and rocked and rolled in defiance of The Establishment, playing songs by The Who, the Rolling Stones, The Beatles and other now iconic bands. Endorsing the book “The Ship That Rocked the World,” Pete Townshend of The Who is quoted as saying: “Without Caroline, we would not have sold a single record.” The story inspired the Hollywood movie “Pirate Radio,” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Ifans, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, which was written and directed by Richard Curtis, a longtime Radio Caroline fan. The station still has one of the “boats that rocked,” the “Ross Revenge,” now restored and anchored just off the coast of southeastern England. A feature documentary about the history of Radio Caroline is currently in production in the U.S. and U.K. and features interviews with Roger Daltrey, Mick Fleetwood, Donovan, Olivia Harrison, Richard Branson and original DJs including Johnnie Walker and Tom Lodge. More information Radio Caroline will take to airwaves from Liverpool to celebrate 5oth anniversary - Liverpool Echo Thank you for subscribing!

Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email Britain's most famous pirate radio station will take to the airwaves once more from Liverpool for its 50th anniversary at the end of this month. Radio Caroline, which epitomised the youth music and cheeky sounds of the freewheeling ‘60s, will be heard once more for four weeks. The original pirate radio station – which was named after President Kennedy’s daughter – was based on two ships anchored outside UK territorial waters to avoid government control. Radio Caroline North (off Ramsey Bay, Isle of Man) was the more successful – broadcasting to millions of young people in northern England and Ireland. Radio Caroline South was anchored in the English Channel. The Mersey Bar Lightship,berthed at Canning Dock, on the Strand, who plan to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Radio Caroline with a months broadcast. In its new incarnation, Radio Caroline North will once again be afloat, but berthed in Canning Dock, aboard the former Mersey Bar Lightvessel Planet.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary was the idea of project manager John Dwyer, 58, of Wallasey , who worked on the original station in the 1980s as a DJ and news reader. He said: “It’s taken me 18 months and five radio licences to make the celebration a reality. “People will able to board Planet to use the bar and see the broadcast from the bridge. “A dome camera will show the station on the web with the well-known Merseyside DJ Terry Lennaine.” The original station was a smash hit with the younger generation because of its non-stop pop music and disc jockeys, which were unlike anything heard on the then staid BBC, which ruled the airwaves. The revived Radio Caroline North will play music from the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s for 24 hours a day, covering the station’s heyday until ship broadcasting ceased in 1991. The Planet lightship will be branded as Caroline with a 30ft- high lattice mast erected and a studio installed from March 24.

John added: “Radio Caroline came along at the right time when youngsters didn’t want to dress like their parents or listen to their music.” Alan Roberts, lightship owner, said: “This is a fantastic idea and just what we want for the future of The Planet!” Radio Caroline will broadcast continuously from March 31 to April 28, on 87.8FM, or online at More Liverpool news today: Radio Caroline recreated on the Mersey - ITV News 31 March 2014 at 12:11pm Radio Caroline recreated on the Mersey A group of radio enthusiasts are recreating Britain's most famous pirate station Radio Caroline from a Bar Lightship on the Mersey. The station will be heard once more for four weeks. Fifty years since the most famous of the pirate radio ships took to the airwaves, Radio Caroline is back on-air from Liverpool. Over the next four weeks, a group of radio enthusiasts are recreating the station. The station was known for broadcasting from a ship in the English Channel, but there was also a Radio Caroline North near the Isle of Man. A group of radio enthusiasts are recreating Britain's most famous pirate station Radio Caroline from a Bar Lightship on the Mersey.

Radio Caroline in Liverpool Credit: Paul Crone The idea came from project manager John Dwyer, 58, from Wallasey who worked on the original station in the 1980s as a DJ and news reader. The original station was named after President Kennedy’s daughter – was based on two ships anchored outside UK territorial waters to avoid government control. Radio Caroline in Liverpool Credit: Paul Crone In its new incarnation, Radio Caroline North will once again be afloat and broadcasting for a month. But it will be berthed in Canning Dock for a month-long licence broadcast for its 50th anniversary at the end of this month. Radio Caroline & The British "Pirates" In 1927 the British government concluded that radio was such a powerful means of mass communication that it needed to be under state control, thus in 1927 they created a monopoly known as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The BBC was given government authority to raise revenue by charging a license fee to every home possessing a radio, and charged with the duty to provide programming. The UK population had no say in the type of programming the BBC was delivering.

By 1930 there were five million radio sets in Britain, all unavoidably tuned to the BBC. Through the ensuing years the BBC and the British government were increasingly hostile toward any competition to their radio monopoly. Their programming was limited mainly to programs aimed at boosting the morale of the British population. This situation continued into the fifties when things began to change when the American Rock & Roll era made its way into the country. Meanwhile in 1958 the first European "pirate" was Radio Mercur, broadcasting from international waters. Established by a group of Danish businessmen, the station transmitted from a small ship anchored off Copenhagen, Denmark. Radio Mercur's success led to other European groups starting similar ventures, including Radio Nord in 1960 anchored off Stockholm, Sweden. Radio Veronica in 1960 began broadcasting in Dutch from an old light ship anchored off the Dutch coast. Pop music on BBC radio was limited to short presentations of the music on weekends only and with straight laced announcers (no DJs). Many pop-music-seeking British listeners turned to Radio Luxembourg, (*2) the only cross border broadcaster able to get back on the air after the war.

Radio Luxembourg could only be heard at night in Britain when propagation was good. Despite the inconvenience of long periods of signal fading, Radio Luxembourg was extremely popular. In the 1960s the BBC initially enjoyed a statutory monopoly on radio in the UK. At that time the BBC broadcast little more than 2 hours per week of recorded popular music, a limit partly determined by the high level of royalties charged by record companies for airplay. From 1964 onwards, a number of pirate radio stations started broadcasting from ships and coastal forts located around the UK, but from outside the 3 mile limit of British territorial waters at that time. These pirate stations were not subject to British law in respect of both broadcasting rights and royalty payments. Most of them broadcast continuous recorded pop music and they funded themselves with advertising and sponsorship revenues. These stations were subsequently branded as "pirates". The most famous and longest-lasting was Radio Caroline. Caroline beginning- Ronan O'Rahilly is usually credited as the founder of British Pirate Radio. In the early sixties, O'Rahilly, the son of a well-known and wealthy Irish family, came to London hoping to become involved in film making.

(In the later 60's O'Rahilly was manager of actor George Lazenby, famous for playing James Bond just once in the movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". It was also O'Rahilly who convinced Lazenby NOT to sign up for a further multi-movie deal to continue playing Bond, insisting Bond was a fad that wouldn't last! Instead Sean Connery returned to play Bond again). O'Rahilly got into the music scene managing new young artists. He tried to get one of his clients Georgie Fame recorded, but the few record companies showed no interest. So he produced his own recording which he tried to promote. The BBC wouldn't play it because it wasn't on their preferred EMI or Decca labels. When he visited the head of Radio Luxembourg with his acetate recording, they showed him their limited air play lists, also dominated by EMI and Decca who had paid Luxembourg to play their records, and were booked up for the next five years. O'Rahilly decided he'd have to start his own radio station. The story of how O'Rahilly actually came up with the specifics of how to start an independent radio station is debated.

His story is that it was all his own idea after he learned of stations like the Voice of America operating from ships at sea, gathering information on the operation from the U.S. Embassy, and also visiting Radio Nord and Radio Veronica gathering information regarding offshore operations. The more likely reality is that O'Rahilly got his specific project ideas from those of an Australian businessman, Allan Crawford, who had years of experience in setting up his own record label and some involvement with Radio Veronica and a short-lived British-language station 'CNBC', which both broadcast from a Dutch radio ship. Crawford had come to his own decision to place a broadcast station in International waters off the UK Coast as a means of independently promoting artists, after experiencing the BBC/Luxembourg/Record Labels monopolies that O'Rahilly also encountered. O'Rahilly met Crawford in his office in 1962 to discuss Crawford's Project Atlanta, and charmed Crawford into believing O'Rahilly's (actually his father's) port in Greenore, Ireland, would be perfect for adapting his radio ship secretly.

In return for the offer, Crawford revealed all his plan details, covering flags of convenience, banking arrangements, costs, financing and so on, while continuing to think highly of the smooth-talking O'Rahilly despite the latter's hidden agendas. Crawford intended to buy the MV Mi Amigo, a ship already previously used as a radio ship for Swedish offshore stations including Radio Nord. The owner was then approached by O'Rahilly, attempting to buy it, but the owner was suspicious of his 'empty talk', and there was no deal. Crawford nearly got his station on air as early as 1962, when the Mi Amigo was even anchored in the North Sea close to Veronica at one point, but his backers became nervous regarding what the British Government's response might be to the sudden challenge to their authority, and withdrew their funding. Crawford lost the deal and the Texan-owned Mi Amigo ended up back in Galveston, where its broadcasting equipment was stripped out for conversion to a yacht. Crawford finally gained funding and bought the Mi Amigo in 1963. It sailed to various ports in Spain and finally Greenore, Ireland for radio/studio and mast installation.

Meanwhile, O'Rahilly had set out to fund his project. While in Dallas, Texas to buy transmitters, he was reading an article in Life magazine and was captivated by a photograph showing president John F. Kennedy's daughter Caroline playing in the Oval Office of the White House and disrupting the serious business of government. This was exactly the image he wanted for his station. The name had to be Radio Caroline. With finance in place, O'Rahilly's business partner Chris Moore went to Rotterdam, Holland and purchased an old Danish ferryboat named "Fredericia", to be renamed "MV Caroline", which sailed to Ronan's father's Greenore port for conversion, arriving just before Crawford's Mi Amigo. Although there was not so much conversion work required on the Mi Amigo, it was still delayed waiting its turn as priority was given to O'Rahilly's ship. Mi Amigo was to get a lighter 3-ton 141ft aluminium mast, but its arrival was also delayed. Radio studios were built on the MV Caroline's upper decks behind the ships bridge. Power generators were installed in the hold providing power for two 10 KW Continental medium wave (AM) broadcast transmitters.

The 13-ton steel 165ft vertical antenna mast was installed on the deck near the bow of the ship. They made test transmissions, which interfered with harbor lights and local TV and radio reception. Crawford and O'Rahilly had reached agreement to avoid competition, whereby Atlanta would broadcast to the southeast of England while Caroline would take up position off the Isle of Man to cover the northwest. However, when the completed MV Caroline sailed out of port, Atlanta was surprised to learn that Caroline sailed south and east around England to anchor three miles off the coast of Felixstowe, a seaside town north-east of London on the coast of Suffolk, a position close to Mi Amigo's intended anchorage. On Easter Sunday 28th March 1964 at 12noon, Radio Caroline officially started on air with the announcement "This is Radio Caroline on 199, your all day music station" - Simon Dee was the opening voice heard, announcing the first live show presented by Chris Moore. Records were played by an engineer 'through the glass' in the other studio. Most programs were recorded on land on reel-to-reel tapes and taken out to the ship to be played as 'live'.

Caroline was on the air, shattering the monopolies of the BBC and Luxembourg, and changing radio forever. Its 10,000watt signal was from a mere 80 miles from London and thus stronger than Luxembourg's. Broadcasting hours were initially limited from 6am to 6pm daily under the slogan "Your all-day music station" to avoid competition from Radio Luxembourg which broadcast in English at 6 pm. Radio Caroline came as a total surprise to the British authorities. They had been aware of the Atlanta project since 1962, but knew nothing about Caroline. The original wavelength was announced as "199" meters (1509 kHz), rhyming with "Caroline". In reality the station was on 197.3 meters (1520 kHz) at the low end of the medium wave band. The Dutch offshore station Radio Veronica was on 192 meters (1562 kHz). A month later, Crawford's "Radio Atlanta" ship Mi Amigo arrived, also anchored in international waters off the coast of Harwich, England and only a mile from Caroline. Atlanta had suffered further delays.

When both ships were in Greenore, two pairs of crystals - the component that sets the transmitter's frequency - had been ordered from America, one for each ship, but Caroline kept both sets. Atlanta had to use temporary replacements that were slightly off-frequency, causing some interference. Transmissions were also delayed by Swedish engineer Ove Sjostrom, who was employed by O'Rahilly and got Caroline on the air in Greenore. He had originally worked on Radio Nord (on the ship 'Bon Jour', later renamed 'Magda Maria', which became 'Mi Amigo') and gave Crawford a lot of advice for his Atlanta project, but was never paid. So for some revenge, he, with another Swede, approached the Mi Amigo when it anchored near MV Caroline and told them they were working on the ship. Invited on board, he went to the transmitter room and subtly sabotaged the transmitter without leaving evidence. Crawford did hold one ace up his sleeve: unlike O'Rahilly he had done his homework regarding the best position for anchoring his ship, in the 'Wallet Channel' between Frinton-on-Sea, Essex and the Gunfleet Sands, the latter providing some shelter from rough seas and currents.

Atlanta finally got on air on 27th April 1964, initially making test transmissions with announcements in French to disguise themselves. It officially started as Radio Atlanta on 12th May 1964 - cheekily commencing broadcasting at 6pm just when Caroline went off the air, and on the frequency of 201meters very close to Caroline's 199meters. Both stations operated independently, though sometimes serviced by the same tender boat from Harwich. Stories of supplies, records and 'jingles' being stolen from one party by the other abounded. Two months later the two stations merged. It came as much as a surprise to the crew and DJ's on the Mi Amigo: they were mostly kept in the dark after non-urgent ship-to-shore communications were stopped by the authorities in reaction to the 'law-breaking' of the pirates. MV Caroline drew near Mi Amigo and the captain crossed over to explain.

DJ's were given the choice of which ship to stay with when MV Caroline, being more seaworthy than the Mi Amigo, then sailed north to an anchorage in the Irish Sea off the coast of the Isle of Man to broadcast to Ireland, Scotland and the North of England as Radio Caroline North. Radio Atlanta on MV Mi Amigo became Radio Caroline South and remained at anchor off the Essex coast to cover London and the South East. It chose 201metres (1495 kHz) frequency but still announced itself as "199meters". As if to confirm the wisdom of Crawford's choice of anchorage off Frinton, Caroline South tried moving nearer to London and the Thames Estuary to improve coverage, but the turbulence caused by the shallower waters and stronger currents made conditions very rough for Mi Amigo, which returned to their original anchorage within a week. Radio Caroline became prosperous with its popularity, allowing their offices to move into the plush expensive Soho Mayfair area of London. Their 'Caroline Club' membership grew swiftly, and many pop groups, including big names such as the Beatles and Rolling Stones, owed their popularity to the airplay received from the pirate ships.

The DJs were mobbed like pop stars by teenage fans when they arrived off the ship's tender boat at Harwich Quay, after passing through the obligatory immigration and customs. However the British government classified both operations as "pirates" even though both were legally operating in international waters. In 1966 the British Postmaster General, Anthony Wedgwood Benn, introduced a law that proclaimed the so-called "pirate" stations illegal, alleging 'danger to shipping' by the 'unauthorized use of frequencies' by the pirates and subsequent radio interference, as one of several reasons. Another excuse the government cited was increasing troubles arising from the proliferation of the pirates. One was the "Radio City Affair". Reginald Calvert was 'owner' of an ex-Second-World War fort off Kent, England being used by another pirate, Radio City. In 1965 Caroline began to negotiate a take-over of Radio City. Calvert entered a deal with one of Radio Caroline's directors, Major Oliver Smedley, formerly with the Atlanta project, who provided a transmitter to the fort, which failed, causing Smedley to withdraw from the deal.

In 1966 Smedley boarded the fort with 10 workmen to repossess his unpaid-for transmitter. Calvert visited Smedley's home to demand the men leave his fort and return some transmitter parts, but in a violent altercation, Calvert was shot dead. Smedley was later acquitted from manslaughter charges. The weather often made things difficult for the ships. Even in summer, amidst spells of fine calm weather there could still be a swell, making the playing of records difficult, or rough weather delaying supply tenders. Listeners became fascinated to share their hardships, hearing the sounds of the ship being ravaged by storms in the background when the microphone was on. DJ Tony Blackburn however later admitted he sometimes threw things like ashtrays around the studio while on-air, to heighten the drama. The DJs and crew were removed from the ship by 'breeches buoy', taken care of by the police, and never charged. Only when they later saw press photos did they realize their incredible good luck. The 133ft ship had avoided serious shipwreck by floating over a large concrete breakwater then coming ashore right between two wooden breakwaters, within a larger gap where one breakwater had been removed years before.

It was the only gap in over 5 miles of coastline of 120ft-spaced breakwaters. The Mi Amigo was pulled off the beach on high tide two days later, and towed to Holland for a refit, gaining a generator, more-powerful transmitters and an antenna mast extension. Meanwhile Caroline took up an offer from 'Swedish Pirate Queen' Mrs. Britt Wadner, owner of pirate Radio Syd (South), to rent her ship Cheetah II. Mrs. Wadner had herself experienced legal wrangles with the authorities, Sweden having passed legislation to outlaw pirate stations in 1962. She had been jailed a number of times. Since by Swedish law prisoners can continue their profession while in jail, she had still been allowed to record programs in her Hinseberg prison cell! Now, it was said she had been advised the ship ought not broadcast off Sweden because of the dangers from pack ice, so the ship retreated south to warmer waters offshore Holland. But it's likely she also feared the tightening of Sweden's broadcasting laws.

Cheetah II's FM transmitters were not suitable for Britain so an AM transmitter, along with a generator, were brought back from Mi Amigo and installed on the ship, albeit running at lower than normal power, but enough to maintain their advertising income. Caroline was back on air after one month's absence, though it did have a lot of problems, frequently going off-air, and conditions on board the otherwise spacious ship were harsh. Mi Amigo returned 3 months later, but had technical problems trying to get back on air. There was a short circuit at the top of the mast, no engineers on board, and gales preventing one coming to the ship. The bored DJs decided to take action themselves, and one by one tried then succeeded in climbing the mast, without safety harness (its clip-on latches wouldn't fit the new upper mast section's rings), to clear the rogue wire. The hero was DJ Tony Blackburn, who never did get the $75 promised by Ronan O'Rahilly for doing the deed. They also had to replace some insulators that were breaking down due to the new transmitter's higher power.

Caroline now had TWO Caroline South's, Cheetah II on the original 199 meters, and Mi Amigo now on '259' (actually 252) meters, 1169 kHz, close to neighbor pirate Radio London on 266 (1133kHz) and BBC's 'Light Program on 247 (1214kHz). Gradually '199' persuaded its loyal listeners to move over to 259, after which Cheetah II's services were no longer required. Cheetah II remained in the area for awhile but got caught up in various problems, including drifting, impoundment, writs, disputes over ownership and attempts at sale. After more than a year the ship finally got free to resume its original intended voyage to Gambia, Africa from where it broadcast offshore, then became a restaurant, shop, and discotheque in the harbor, finally sinking there in the 70's after a storm. Britt Wadner also operated a hotel there. Meanwhile, Radio Caroline, with its improved power began to claw back audiences from its main rival 'Big L', Radio London.

It had further competition from another ship "Swinging Radio England" which also used slicker American-style jingles produced by the famous PAMS in Dallas, Texas. DJ's on Caroline sneakily recorded England's jingles to use for themselves, edited with "Radio Caroline" dubbed over the original station name where appropriate. O'Rahilly enjoyed the audacity for a couple of days then told his guys to stop, to avoid legal action. While marooned on the radio ships, crew and DJs missed the mainland especially on days when the coastline was clear and illuminated at night. One Caroline DJ, Johnnie Walker, took over the 9-midnight show. His intimate personal style was hugely popular and his 'Kiss in the Car', 'Frinton Flashing' and 'Ten O'Clock Turn On' features broke new ground on British radio. Motorists listening to Caroline would park their cars on the seafront along the coast with headlights directed at the radio ship. Johnnie would ask them to flash their headlights responding to various questions. By a process of elimination, they'd whittle down to an individual car.

Johnnie could conduct a 'conversation' to the point of establishing a name, home town and so on, and even set up 'blind date' meetings between cars with males, and cars with females. The infamous British "MOA" - "Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act", became law on August 14, 1967. While the Act could not legally stop the broadcasts themselves from within international waters, it went after the main source of the station's income... advertisers.... by making it a criminal offence to supply or assist in any way such stations by persons subject to UK laws. Several other pirate stations that had appeared around the country's coast by this time - some on ships, others on ex-war forts - complied with the new law and closed down. Caroline listeners stayed tuned, anxious to find out what Caroline would do. At midnight, Johnny Walker famously addressed an estimated 20million listeners, passionately announcing "Radio Caroline would like to thank Mr. Harold Wilson and his Labour government for at last recognizing this station's right to exist, its right to be here and its right to provide you with entertainment, because we belong to you and we love you.

Caroline continues." followed by playing the protest song "We Shall Overcome". By continuing, the three Englishmen, DJs Walker, Robbie Dale and newsreader Ross Brown, now each faced up to two years in prison and a $600 fine if they ever returned to Britain. On land, Caroline House in London had already closed earlier and the station's operational headquarters transferred to Amsterdam. Ronan O'Rahilly, an Irish citizen, continued to operate quietly from the former Radio Atlanta office headquarters in Dean Street, London using the cover of a company 'Mid Atlantic Films'. O'Rahilly claimed only to be involved in the film production business. Although this was partially true, the company also acted as a secret base for recruiting Caroline staff and obtaining supplies and records. One of the first problems created by the new law was that the supply tender boat that formerly came out of Harwich with food, mail and other supplies, could no longer legally supply the station. Radio Caroline made arrangement to bring in supplies from Holland, which could take 24 hours. Often the ship would run short of water.

In reality, Caroline South was often illegally supplied by 'locals' sailing in small boats from the nearest ports, although only when good weather allowed, meaning it often suffered shortages during bad and winter weather. DJ's could be 'stranded' on the ship without relief for weeks. Station operators thought they could get around the law if they were staffed, supplied and funded by non-British citizens, but this proved impractical. Their funds began drying up through lack of British advertising. Following the loss of the Pirates from the Marine Offences Act, the BBC rearranged its organization, renaming existing channels as Radios One, Two, Three and Four. Radio One claimed to cater for the needs of pop-music-seeking pirate fans, and began on 30th September 1967. It employed several ex-pirate DJ's, including Simon Dee who had presented Caroline's first show. The first to be heard on Radio One was Tony Blackburn, the DJ who had climbed the mast to help get Caroline's Mi Amigo back on air just over a year before. Radio One initially proved too restricted, mostly unpopular and unsuccessful as a replacement for the energetic and much-missed pirates. Caroline suffered from its isolation, and difficulty in obtaining lucrative advertising.

The station confused the authorities who continually monitored their broadcasts, by airing unpaid-for 'dummy' adverts amidst the few that were genuine and brought in some funds, and those for which long-term contracts were still valid and had to be honored. They played old adverts for Beechams, Nestle, Bulova watches and Du Maurier and Peter Stuyvesant cigarettes, those companies then frequently having to explain to Home Office authorities that the ads were not authorized and no longer paid for. Caroline also heavily 'plugged' (promoted) selected artists, including David McWilliams, Roberto Mann Singers and Raymond LeFevre and His Orchestra amongst others, all on the Major Minor record label. It limited DJs' freedom and frustrated DJs and listeners alike, and was ironic considering Pirate Radio had been trying to overcome the monopoly of select chosen record labels by the BBC and Luxembourg, but it was supposedly of financially necessary. Major Minor's creator, Phil Solomon, was also a co-director of Caroline, a position earned as gratitude for his financial help to the station earlier.

But it has been suggested that much of the revenue from the frequent plugs didn't even make it back to Carolineï¿½ In March 1968, it was ironic that it was not The Law that brought an end to Radio Caroline, but simple Commercialism. Unable to pay their bills, particularly those of the company providing provisions, Radio Caroline went off the air when two Dutch tugs representing the supply company appeared unexpectedly at both North and South ships, cut their anchor chains, and towed the vessels away to a Dutch port to satisfy debts. Ended by true Piracy?! But - this was not to be the end of Radio Caroline! (Continued in Part Twoï¿½) The pirates genuinely suffered in bad weather in early 1966. Radio London, another pirate radio ship close by Caroline South and popular due to its 'American format', dragged its anchor in a gale and drifted into British territorial waters. It stayed off the air until towed back to its usual anchorage. Then just one week later Caroline's Mi Amigo suffered a similar fate. They realized too late that they'd drifted inside British waters, and the engineers removed transmitter crystals to hide in a drawer, lest they be confiscated by authorities.

Engines were started but failed to halt the drift. They feared for their lives, but the ship eventually got swept up onto the snow-covered beach near Frinton On Sea with a loud bump. The DJs and crew were removed from the ship by 'breeches buoy', taken care of by the police, and never charged. Only when they later saw press photos did they realize their incredible good luck. The 133ft ship had avoided serious shipwreck by floating over a large concrete breakwater then coming ashore right between two wooden breakwaters, within a larger gap where one breakwater had been removed years before. It was the only gap in over 5 miles of coastline of 120ft-spaced breakwaters. The Mi Amigo was pulled off the beach on high tide two days later, and towed to Holland for a refit, gaining a generator, more-powerful transmitters and an antenna mast extension. Meanwhile Caroline took up an offer from 'Swedish Pirate Queen' Mrs. Britt Wadner, owner of pirate Radio Syd (South), to rent her ship Cheetah II. Mrs.

Wadner had herself experienced legal wrangles with the authorities, Sweden having passed legislation to outlaw pirate stations in 1962. She had been jailed a number of times. Since by Swedish law prisoners can continue their profession while in jail, she had still been allowed to record programs in her Hinseberg prison cell! Now, it was said she had been advised the ship ought not broadcast off Sweden because of the dangers from pack ice, so the ship retreated south to warmer waters offshore Holland. But it's likely she also feared the tightening of Sweden's broadcasting laws. Cheetah II's FM transmitters were not suitable for Britain so an AM transmitter, along with a generator, were brought back from Mi Amigo and installed on the ship, albeit running at lower than normal power, but enough to maintain their advertising income. Caroline was back on air after one month's absence, though it did have a lot of problems, frequently going off-air, and conditions on board the otherwise spacious ship were harsh. Mi Amigo returned 3 months later, but had technical problems trying to get back on air. There was a short circuit at the top of the mast, no engineers on board, and gales preventing one coming to the ship.

The bored DJs decided to take action themselves, and one by one tried then succeeded in climbing the mast, without safety harness (its clip-on latches wouldn't fit the new upper mast section's rings), to clear the rogue wire. The hero was DJ Tony Blackburn, who never did get the $75 promised by Ronan O'Rahilly for doing the deed. They also had to replace some insulators that were breaking down due to the new transmitter's higher power. Caroline now had TWO Caroline South's, Cheetah II on the original 199 meters, and Mi Amigo now on '259' (actually 252) meters, 1169 kHz, close to neighbor pirate Radio London on 266 (1133kHz) and BBC's 'Light Program on 247 (1214kHz). Gradually '199' persuaded its loyal listeners to move over to 259, after which Cheetah II's services were no longer required. Cheetah II remained in the area for awhile but got caught up in various problems, including drifting, impoundment, writs, disputes over ownership and attempts at sale.

After more than a year the ship finally got free to resume its original intended voyage to Gambia, Africa from where it broadcast offshore, then became a restaurant, shop, and discotheque in the harbor, finally sinking there in the 70's after a storm. Britt Wadner also operated a hotel there. Meanwhile, Radio Caroline, with its improved power began to claw back audiences from its main rival 'Big L', Radio London. It had further competition from another ship "Swinging Radio England" which also used slicker American-style jingles produced by the famous PAMS in Dallas, Texas. DJ's on Caroline sneakily recorded England's jingles to use for themselves, edited with "Radio Caroline" dubbed over the original station name where appropriate. O'Rahilly enjoyed the audacity for a couple of days then told his guys to stop, to avoid legal action. While marooned on the radio ships, crew and DJs missed the mainland especially on days when the coastline was clear and illuminated at night. One Caroline DJ, Johnnie Walker, took over the 9-midnight show.

His intimate personal style was hugely popular and his 'Kiss in the Car', 'Frinton Flashing' and 'Ten O'Clock Turn On' features broke new ground on British radio. Motorists listening to Caroline would park their cars on the seafront along the coast with headlights directed at the radio ship. Johnnie would ask them to flash their headlights responding to various questions. By a process of elimination, they'd whittle down to an individual car. Johnnie could conduct a 'conversation' to the point of establishing a name, home town and so on, and even set up 'blind date' meetings between cars with males, and cars with females. The infamous British "MOA" - "Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act", became law on August 14, 1967. While the Act could not legally stop the broadcasts themselves from within international waters, it went after the main source of the station's income... advertisers.... by making it a criminal offence to supply or assist in any way such stations by persons subject to UK laws.

Several other pirate stations that had appeared around the country's coast by this time - some on ships, others on ex-war forts - complied with the new law and closed down. Caroline listeners stayed tuned, anxious to find out what Caroline would do. At midnight, Johnny Walker famously addressed an estimated 20million listeners, passionately announcing "Radio Caroline would like to thank Mr. Harold Wilson and his Labour government for at last recognizing this station's right to exist, its right to be here and its right to provide you with entertainment, because we belong to you and we love you. Caroline continues." followed by playing the protest song "We Shall Overcome". By continuing, the three Englishmen, DJs Walker, Robbie Dale and newsreader Ross Brown, now each faced up to two years in prison and a $600 fine if they ever returned to Britain. On land, Caroline House in London had already closed earlier and the station's operational headquarters transferred to Amsterdam. Ronan O'Rahilly, an Irish citizen, continued to operate quietly from the former Radio Atlanta office headquarters in Dean Street, London using the cover of a company 'Mid Atlantic Films'. O'Rahilly claimed only to be involved in the film production business.

Although this was partially true, the company also acted as a secret base for recruiting Caroline staff and obtaining supplies and records. One of the first problems created by the new law was that the supply tender boat that formerly came out of Harwich with food, mail and other supplies, could no longer legally supply the station. Radio Caroline made arrangement to bring in supplies from Holland, which could take 24 hours. Often the ship would run short of water. In reality, Caroline South was often illegally supplied by 'locals' sailing in small boats from the nearest ports, although only when good weather allowed, meaning it often suffered shortages during bad and winter weather. DJ's could be 'stranded' on the ship without relief for weeks. Station operators thought they could get around the law if they were staffed, supplied and funded by non-British citizens, but this proved impractical. Their funds began drying up through lack of British advertising. Following the loss of the Pirates from the Marine Offences Act, the BBC rearranged its organization, renaming existing channels as Radios One, Two, Three and Four. Radio One claimed to cater for the needs of pop-music-seeking pirate fans, and began on 30th September 1967.

It employed several ex-pirate DJ's, including Simon Dee who had presented Caroline's first show. The first to be heard on Radio One was Tony Blackburn, the DJ who had climbed the mast to help get Caroline's Mi Amigo back on air just over a year before. Radio One initially proved too restricted, mostly unpopular and unsuccessful as a replacement for the energetic and much-missed pirates. Caroline suffered from its isolation, and difficulty in obtaining lucrative advertising. The station confused the authorities who continually monitored their broadcasts, by airing unpaid-for 'dummy' adverts amidst the few that were genuine and brought in some funds, and those for which long-term contracts were still valid and had to be honored. They played old adverts for Beechams, Nestle, Bulova watches and Du Maurier and Peter Stuyvesant cigarettes, those companies then frequently having to explain to Home Office authorities that the ads were not authorized and no longer paid for. Caroline also heavily 'plugged' (promoted) selected artists, including David McWilliams, Roberto Mann Singers and Raymond LeFevre and His Orchestra amongst others, all on the Major Minor record label.

It limited DJs' freedom and frustrated DJs and listeners alike, and was ironic considering Pirate Radio had been trying to overcome the monopoly of select chosen record labels by the BBC and Luxembourg, but it was supposedly of financially necessary. Major Minor's creator, Phil Solomon, was also a co-director of Caroline, a position earned as gratitude for his financial help to the station earlier. But it has been suggested that much of the revenue from the frequent plugs didn't even make it back to Carolineï¿½ In March 1968, it was ironic that it was not The Law that brought an end to Radio Caroline, but simple Commercialism. Unable to pay their bills, particularly those of the company providing provisions, Radio Caroline went off the air when two Dutch tugs representing the supply company appeared unexpectedly at both North and South ships, cut their anchor chains, and towed the vessels away to a Dutch port to satisfy debts. Ended by true Piracy?! But - this was not to be the end of Radio Caroline! Rock-it Radio - Pirate Web page Bringing Pop Music to a Nation -- A Tribute to Offshore Pirate Broadcasting in the UK By: Bennie Dingo -- Rock-it Radio.

It is a somewhat romantic idea to some radiobuffs out there to be in International waters and playing the music you want to play the music you love just off the coast in international waters a ship that has been transformed literally into a floating studio and radio station. But this romantic notion served more then just that idea. It literally brought Pop Music over the airwaves at the time to much of Western Europe. People in Great Britian in the early 60's couldn't hear much pop music over the National radio outlet of the BBC. Only one hour a week was dedicated to the Pop music scene at the time. Many listener's in Great Britain to get there fix of the latest releases in Pop Music had to tune in the AM and Longwave bands to try to pick up Radio Luxembourg a station almost dedicated entirely to Pop Music in the 1960's. But due to the distance the signal was almost always not the best for music reception. In the early 60's Commercial radio was also non existant in Great Britain. Offshore radio to survive would also have to go commercial as well, and they did. Great Britain in the mid 60's had several offshore stations operating ...

the two most notable probably being Radio Caroline and Radio London -- 'The Big L'. It wasn't just the United Kingdom that was getting into Pirate Offshore Broadcasting. Matter of fact Radio Veronica an offshore pirate radio ship started as early as 1960 off the coast of the Netherlands. And had a listening audience that covered not only The Netherlands but also Belgium and Great Britain on the other side of the channel. Ireland, Scotland, Denmark and many other nations have had there offshore pirate stations as well, each with just as much of a colorful history of broadcasting. Due to be released Worldwide in April 2009 -- The Movie -- 'The Boat that Rocked' is loosely based on the famed Radio Caroline off the coast of the UK. Here is a trailer of that show. The U.S. release of this movie has now been renamed as 'Pirate Radio' and is due to be released on 13 November, 2009. Keep an eye out for it! And now here is the real story based on this movie movie below. The Radio Caroline Story The founder of Radio Caroline was launched by a musical entrepreneuer by the name of Ronan O'Rahilly.

His father was a well to do Irish Businessman. O'Rahilly began his musical career managing the Rolling Stones in the early 60's. After managing the Stones - O'Rahilly began his own recording label - to promote his newest client -- Georgie Fame. O'Rahilly quickly found that the BBC would not play his label, they only played those of 'established' stars. This begged the question -- how does a new talent become established? So, he next went to Radio Luxembourg, the big Rock Station which broadcasted pop music across much of Europe. He was shocked to discover that almost all of Luxembourg's airtime was already leased by the bigger record labels and the smaller independent labels did not have a chance at airplay over Radio Luxembourg. He fixed the solution by that if no station would play his records, he would start his own station! The idea of offshore radio was not entirely new, and O'Rahilly's own grandfather had been involved in propaganda radio broadcasts during the Easter Rising in 1916, but Ronan took these ideas and modernized in a new format for radio. He greatly admired the U.S. President at the time -- John F.

Kennedy, and he named his new radio station -- Radio Caroline - named after President Kennedy's daughter. O'Rahilly bought the MV Frederica in Rotterdam, Netherlands for cash and took her to the Irish port of Greenore (which was owned by his father) to be fitted out as a radio ship. Along side her lay the MV Mi Amigo, also being fitted out as a rival project (Radio Atlanta), which would ultimately become Radio Caroline South. MV Frederica waited to be refitted as a Radio Ship. The vessel MV Frederica was a 760 ton passenger ferry built in 1930 by the Frederikshavn shipyard in Denmark. As a Baltic Sea Ferry she was very tough and built to withstand the ice of a Scandanavian winter. This made her a relatively stable and comfortable ship from which to work. After purchase by O'Rahilly she was renamed MV Caroline and registered in Panama. A 165 foot mast was attached to her deck and the hold was filled with 30 tons of concrete ballast. Two 10,000 watt transmitters were fitted under the supervision of Arthur Carrington, the British radio expert.

Radio Caroline DJ Martin Kayne remembers: In the record library was a cage that contained the RF Combiner that allowed both of the 10KW transmitters to be run together to hopefully produce 20,000 watts of power. The transmitter room was on deck level, more or less belowthe studio where the two Continental Electronics transmitters stood side by side along with an audio compressor/limiter. The transmitters each contained a series of safety features which would cause them to shut down in the event of a problem. In very rough weather it was not uncommon for them to switch off, seldom both together, but the engineer would have to be on hand to push the reset button. I am not sure if this was due to the transmitters being tilted and tossed around or the effects of the waves breaking over the aerialupsetting the antenna tuning. The antenna was a folded dipole with a multiple wire forming onelge and the steel mast as the other.

The loading coils were in a purpose built cupboard in the ships lounge with heavy duty coaxial cable leading to the transmitters.' Radio Caroline after being fitted and set sail and on Easter Morning of 1964 began playing Pop and Rock music to the British Populace, off the Essex Coast. Shortly afterwards it's rival aboard the MV Mi Amigo arrived off the coast as well and Radio Atlanta arrived. The two ships finally merged business wise and became Radio Caroline North and Radio Caroline South. It was then decided that the more rugged vessel the MV Caroline (formerly MV Frederica) would travel north up through the Irish Sea to take position off the Isle of Man, broadcasting as she travelled. She arrived off Ramsey on Tynwald Day 1964. Radio Atlanta was short lived as a independent broadcaster and Rock-it Radio does offer one of their recordings on CD in the listing below. 'Scoop of a Lifetime' -- Young Reporter gets an exciting news story (from Pirates of the Irish Sea) -- In 1964 Colin Brown was a 17 year old junior reporter on the Ramsey Courier newspaper.

He remembers: 'We heard that the advertising manager George Hare was coming over - And we heard from a local taxi firm that they were going to the airport to pick him up, and I caught a lift. on the way back I interviewed him on his plans for Radio Caroline. Right afterwards he received a interview with Ronan O' Rahilly who was at the same time meeting with some of his colleagues at the Mitre Hotel in Ramsey. I wandered down and asked would he be prepared to talk to the press? O'Rahilly was very friendly, very helpful and told me everything that I wanted to know. It was then arraged that I should go on board Caroline. Colin Brown reminisces that 'When the tender ship got to a certain height level with Caroline you had to jump, literally! One of the first people I met aboard was Tom Lodge, the programme director. I asked if he was ever sea sick? He said NOT! He asked us what record we wanted him to play for us - I just said oh play the next record on the turntable - and I remember it was the Animals 'House of the Rising Sun'.

Tom Lodge was the Program Director for Radio Caroline along with being a fantastic DJ RADIO CAROLINE GAINS HUGE LISTENERSHIP IN THE UK! Soon O'Rahilly was sitting on top of the pop radio empire. The MV Caroline had been fitted out for Caroline North. And with the sister ship off the Coast of Essex for Radio Caroline South. Radio Caroline had a combined weekly audience in the region of 22 Million Listeners! Daily listening to Radio Caroline brought a musical kaleidoscope dizzying in its bredth and depth to listeners starved from Pop music and brought for the musical sounds of: The Beatles; Bob Dylan; The Rolling Stones; The Dave Clark Five; The Hollies; The Who; The Beach Boys; Otis Redding; The Four Tops; The Kinks; The Byrds; Gerry and the Pacemakers; The Supremes; Elvis Presley; The Searchers; Donovan; Manfred Mann and Herman's Hermits and hundreds more pour out of Radio Caroline's powerful transmitter to pop culture hungry teenagers. Radio Caroline Staff - Sort thru 100's of Requests and Fanmail.

LIFE ABOARD RADIO CAROLINE Those living and working aboard the ship fell into three groups: The presenters; the radio engineers, and the ship's crew. Normal routine for the DJ's was to work for two weeks and then to have a week's shore leave. The shore leave was often hectic as the DJ's did stints in dance clubs and halls. The ship was at the mercy of whatever weather the Irish Sea chose to throw at it. Radio Caroline DJ Tony Prince told fans: "I suppose I was very lucky as I was rarely sea sick (sick of the sea yes! but sea-sick , No!) but some of the lads had a rough time, and sometimes they were so ill that they couldn't leave their cabins to do their shows.

The studio on our ship was built right in the middle, and way up on the top deck, so when you did a show in a storm it wouldn't be at all unusual for the records to come piling down on top of you, or for the stylus to lift off the record as the ship suddenly lurched to an angle that seemed to be all of 45 degrees.' The MV Caroline had a mainly Dutch crew who prepared a motley selection of Indonesian dishes, something which did little to sooth those suffering from a bout of Sea Sickness! However, unlike other offshore stations, on Radio Caroline North crew and DJ's mixed and messed together, creating a happy atmosphere. Radio Caroline staff Martin Kayne remembers: "The DJs had excellent living quarters with a wash basin and electric heater in each cabin. Portholes with curtains and a wide staircase similar to that of a hotel leading to the main lounge and dining room." The Dining Room aboard Radio Caroline. Texan Radio Caroline DJ Jim Murphy 'Murph the Surf' - doing his Radio Caroline Show. Later Murphy would leave Caroline and did a tour of duty in Vietnam. Radio Caroline DJ's taking a break in the TV - Lounge Quarters.

Not all Radio Caroline DJ's were aboard ship -- Jack Spector (above) was a big name DJ on New York station WMCA. As a former Brooklyn Dodger player, he had a massive following. In 1965 he began hosting a taped daily show, recorded in New York. It was the nearest thing that British Radio Listeners could be hearing the true American Top 40 Radio. Compared to UK Radio, it was wild! Jack would yell, ring bells, throw in sound effects and every word was drenched in echo. He called himself 'your main man, jake, your leader, your boss with all the hot sauce." GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION In 1967 London the Labour government of Harold Wilson was oposed to pirate radio stations from the outset. The Labour Government stated that they were in contravention of international agreements, interfered with foreign radio transmissions by using their frequenies, and presented a hazard to shipping. However, there was a strong suspicion on the offshore radio listener's that this attitude was derived from snobbery because pirates played pop music. And there may very well of been an element of old style socialist reluctance to relinquish state control over mass communication.

Television was still in it's infancy and was not taken particularly seriously by many politicians. Radio, however, had been a very powerful instrument of propaganda during the second world war and was still widely regarded as such. Postmaster General Tony Benn announced the British government's intention to introduce legislation to close down Radio Caroline, in spite of the fact that this had not been in Labour's election manifesto and that the Isle of Man government opposed to it. The British government insisted that the Isle of Man had no choice but to accept the legislation. The Marine Offences Bill became law in 1967. An emergency delegation from the Isle of Man, led by Speaker of the House of Keys Charles Kurrish, travelled to London that summer to put forward the case that the Island was exempt from the legislation, but they were unsuccessful. It was applied to the Isle of Man directly by an order in Council. The Manx Parliament of the Isle of Man (Tynewald) originally refused to ratify the Act, which made it illegal for anyone to supply the pirate radio ships and that it was a domestic matter and the island should not be dictated to by Britain.

The strength of feeling was such that the House of Keys even briefly considered an approach to the United Nations over the issue. The exact nature of the constitutional relationship between the British Government and the government of the Isle of Man is kept deliberately vague, for the convenience of both parties. However, this crisis was one of those rare instances which sharply define that relationship, and the British Parliament took precedent and ruled the decision. Young Radio Caroline protestors rally in Isle of Man. Isle of Man protestors demonstrate the coffin of Isle of Man (Manx) Freedom over Radio Caroline anti offshore broadcasting legislation. THE END OF RADIO CAROLINE -- OFFSHORE After the passing of the Marine Offences Act in Parliament most of the British born DJ's left Radio Caroline. The Risk of prosecution was too great for them to continue. This act however, did not apply to the non-British radio personalities, most of whom carried on into 1968. They were joined by new hands, who were willing to risk the wrath of the law. One of these was Jason Wolfe, who was thought to be a South African but was actually born Chris Bowskill in Cheshire. Jason Wolfe with a Radio Caroline Card - reading -- Fight for Free Radio!

Like many of the post 1967 DJ's he kept the details of who he really was sketchy to avoid prosecution. Jumbo Jim Gordon was an Australian and joined the station from Radio 390, whilst Mark Sloane joined from Radio 355. Jumbo Jim Gordon at the Mic. on his show on Radio Caroline. Since the Act became law it was now technically illegal to supply the ship from the Isle of Man, and tender journeys now had to take an arduous journey to Ireland, making joining and leaving the ship all the more difficult. Radio Caroline land headquarters had now relocated to Amsterdam and fan mail took about six weeks to arrive. Listener's also detected a lowering of morale among the DJs. Political and legal pressure was mounting on Caroline and her crew. Radio Caroline DJ Mark Sloane was on shore leave in a pub in Bristol in 1968 when he was approached by a man in a dark suit who told him not to rejoin the ship ever again. He believed he had been warned off by MI5. But the end of Caroline was because of unpaid bills and NOT Government legislation remembers Don Allen. "It happened on a Saturday evening.

We went off the air at ten o'clock and we watched a bit of television -- and about two o'clock Sunday morning, we were all set to go to bed when we heard this 'thump' on the side of of the ship. We all thought what could that be? Men from a tug had come across and had taken over the ship. They had pirated it. They said they had their orders to cut the anchor chain and late Sunday afternoon we were towed away. Picture from the air of a Dutch Tugboat hired by Creditors towing the Radio Ship MV Caroline back to Dutch Waters. A rusting MV Caroline sits in port until scraped in 1980. THE LEGACY OF RADIO CAROLINE Radio Caroline was a watershed in British Broadcasting history. Today it is difficult to imagine a time when radio was closely restricted by Government, and pop music was effectively 'rationed'. In 1980 MV Caroline was finally broken up and scraped. But Radio Caroline had already broken the mold of broadcasting in Britain, and set the precedent for modern commercial radio. The Explosion of pirate radio sent listener figures soaring and sales of radio sets quadrupled overnight.

Radio Caroline DJ's provided the blue prints for amny of today radio presenters -- Jerry Leighton's off the wall humor was echoed by Kenny Everett who in turn gave rise to the likes of Steve Wright with his cast of characters and the 'shock jocks' of today. The DJ 'hand-over' was born as one jock passed the baton to the next with a schmaltzy greeting. The lavish competitions have remained the bedrock of popular radio, whilst charity appeals, mid Atlantic accents and the publicity stunts had been copied many times over. Radio Caroline brought to the mainstream cultural influences which had prevously been undercurrents in British Society. Radio Caroline was influential in the Northern Soul scene - the station played a lot of Rhythm and Blues and Soul Music, at a time when the BBC did not play black music. The British Government seeing the unpopular pressure they had put on Offshore Broadcasting quickly put a replacement for the pirates -- BBC Radio 1 and was launched the same year as the Marine Offences Act became law. And it was based firmly on the programme format created by the Pirates. It even employed mostly ex-pirate DJ's and used the same jingles.

In spite of the growth of Television, popular radio today is stronger probably than at any other time in its history, and that this is in no small part due to the impact of Radio Caroline North --- 3 miles off Ramsey -- in the wonderful Isle of Man. Bennie Dingo's Rock-it Radio and it's staff salute the Spirit and Legacy of Radio Caroline and it's history making endeavors -- and would like to give thanks to the Manx National Heritage for their assistance in the making of this article. Rock-it Radio has over the year's collected and remastered several of the original DJ's of Radio Caroline and offer the following broadcasts below. Offshore Pirate Radio Broadcasts available from Rock-it Radio. Note: Just click to the title to get a complete description of the broadcast and playlist. 1960's Pirate and Offshore Radio Broadcasts Each show is just $9.50 each with a flat rate shipping Charge worldwide for $1.50. Each broadcast has been digitally remastered onto CD. Orders are shipped within 24 hours of receiving payment. To look at the full playlist of each show - Just click to the show on the left hand side.

Pirate Radio Archives - Family Clan Blog Family Clan Blog by Nanna-Jane I’ve decided to honour National Day’s Not Saints days or but all the odd, weird, funny National Days we hear about on the web. So today is #NationalDay of Radio. National Radio Day Radio Caroline I’m old enough to remember listening to the radio station called Radio Caroline. I don’t think I appreciated how pioneering the station was at the time. Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Irish man Ronan O’Rahilly to get around the record companies’ control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom & the BBC’s radio broadcasting monopoly. Unlicensed by any government for most of its early life, it was a pirate radio station which only became formally illegal in 1967. The station was named after Caroline Kennedy, daughter of U.S. President John F. Kennedy In February 1964 O’Rahilly obtained the 702-ton former Danish passenger ferry, Fredericia, which was converted into a radio ship at the Irish port of Greenore, which was owned by O’Rahilly’s father.

The Fredericia was renamed MV Caroline and anchored off Felixstowe, where it began test transmissions on Friday, 27 March 1964. On Saturday, 28 March, it began regular broadcasting at noon on 197 metres with the opening conducted by Simon Dee. Radio Caroline led the way & shaped the Radio that we listen to today. Radio Caroline Do you remember Radio Caroline? Who’s your favourite Radio DJ? Have you entered our giveaways yet? What are you waiting for! Giveaways

Question: The pirate radio station Radio Caroline was named after the daughter of which US President?
Answer: John F Kennedy