To get this voyage under way here is a Caroline montage that includes a number of familiar show openings, theme tunes, jingles, promotions, drop-ins and DJs including Robbie Dale, Dave Lee Travis, Johnnie Walker, Keith Hampshire, Ross Brown, Roger Day and Rodney Fortescue. [ LISTEN ] (11:09)
In the early 1960s, music fans were very limited for choice with their selection of radio stations. There were two primary broadcasting stations to choose from – the BBC, and Radio Luxembourg.
BBC’s Radio Light was a relatively simple affair, hosted by “presenters,” rather than people you could call DJs or disc jockeys. These suave men included people like Pete Murray and David Jacobs, who played a handful of new records from artists like Cliff Richard, heavily interspersed with jazz and classical music.
Ronan O’RahillyRonan was a savvy businessman who had already taken the UK by the storm at the young age of 25. He ran a club in the Soho district of London called “Scene,” and worked in PR for actors, pop-singers, and models. O’Rahilly also had a close relationship with the male model, George Lazenby who played James Bond during “Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”
Ronan’s musical connections included Georgie Fame – an eclectic keyboard player known for jazz and blues. When Fame struggled to have his music heard, O’Rahilly formed a new record company to place his songs on a disc and delivered the result to Radio Luxembourg, and the BBC. When neither station would broadcast his client’s music, Ronan decided that he would create a radio station of his own – and he wouldn’t go to the government for a licence to do it.
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According to Sylvan it was very unromantic - cold, uncomfortable, greasy and slightly smelly.Sylvan sits in on Roger “Howling” Gale's late night Party Time program on Radio Caroline South, September 18, 1965.
[ LISTEN ] (9:41)
Of course, launching something like the Radio Caroline pirate ship wasn’t easy. For one thing – you needed a boat to get started. Fortunately, O’Rahilly’s father was the owner of a port in Northern Ireland, where they had access to a passenger ferry named the MV Frederica.
With a little help from his record company and various investors, O’Rahilly raised the funds required to transform the MV Frederica into a pirate radio ship. He anchored the newly-named Radio Caroline on the Northern Sea near Essex and put the word out that he needed disc jockeys.
On Easter Sunday, 1964, the voices of Chris Moore and Simon Dee introduced Radio Caroline to the world with the song “It’s All Over Now” by The Rolling Stones.
Radio Caroline employed about 38 disc jockeys, most of which spent time on both the North and South stations. Many of them found employment with BBC Radio 1 and other stations after the pirate radio movement was shut down.
RADIO CAROLINE IS ON THE AIR
Simon Dee and Christopher Moore open Radio Caroline at 12 noon on Easter Saturday, March 28, 1964 (0:55)
The station started broadcasting when DJ Simon Dee uttered, “This is Radio Caroline, on 199, your all-day music station...”
Simon was speaking from a small studio onboard the 702 ton former passenger ferry Frederica, known to its listeners as Radio Caroline. As was the case with most European countries, British law only prohibited commercial radio broadcasting on land. By basing itself in the North Sea, Caroline was able to exploit this legal loophole, providing British teenagers with all-day rock & roll fun, while simultaneously providing O’ Rahilly with all-day profit from advertisers.
The DJs of Radio Caroline.Presenters Tony Blackburn, Roger Gale, Mike Allen, Ray Teret, Roger Day, Simon Dee, Tony Prince, Spangles Muldoon, Keith Skues, Johnnie Walker, Robbie Dale, Dave Lee Travis, Tommy Vance, Paul Noble, Bob Stewart and Andy Archer became well known. There were also plenty of DJs that visited the Radio Caroline from the Commonwealth countries, including Emperor Rosko, Graham Webb, Keith Hampshire, and Colin Nicol. Steve Young and Norman St John, were also heard. DJ Jack Spector, of the WMCA "Good Guys" in New York, regularly recorded for Radio Caroline.
Eventually, the crew and DJs on the Mi Amgio, a competitor pirate radio station, joined with the Radio Caroline pirate ship, leading to even more presenters and DJs on the air.
Some DJs from the USA and Commonwealth countries, such as Graham Webb, Emperor Rosko, Steve Young, Keith Hampshire, Colin Nicol and Norman St John, were also heard. DJ Jack Spector, of the WMCA "Good Guys" in New York, regularly recorded for Radio Caroline.
Johnnie Walker from Hampton-in-Arden, near Birmingham, he was born Peter Dingley on March 30, 1945. After leaving Solihull public school at the age of 15, he worked as a second-hand car salesman and disco DJ under the name “Peter Dee.” He joined “Swinging” Radio England at its start in May 1966 but was told he would have to change his name as Peter Dee was too similar to that of another DJ, Roger Day. He chose his new identity from a tape of American radio jingles and became “Johnnie Walker.” In October he moved to Caroline South as the station swing-jock. He soon took over the 9-midnight show which he quickly made his own.
Initially docked just outside of Essex, the MV Caroline frequently sailed around the coast of Great Britain, from Felixstowe, to the Isle of Man, broadcasting music and zany shows as she went.
Thanks to the movability of Caroline, the ship and its sister vessels were able to cover most of the British Isles, throughout the North and South, while rivals were appearing along the coast. Australian businessman Alan Crawford created the “Mi Amigo,” which had initially begun as a part of the Radio station for Sweden, Radio Nord. Crawford began broadcasting as Radio Atlanta on the May 12, the same year that Radio Caroline was born.
Eventually, Crawford and Ronan decided that they had a “common cause” to share music with the world, and decided to join forces. The Atlanta and Caroline Radio companies merged in 1964, with both O’Rahilly and Crawford acting as joint directors. Radio Atlanta closed and became “Radio Caroline South,” while MV Caroline was broadcasting as Radio Caroline North. The original Radio Carolina sailed to anchor at the Isle of Man, while Mi Amigo stayed offshore from Frinton.
Tony Blackburn was born in Guildford, Surrey, on January 29 1943. He had ambitions as a singer and performed with his backing band The Rovers, which at one time included future singing star Al Stewart on guitar. After seeing a television program about Caroline, he thought that being on the radio might help his singing career and answered a recruitment advertisement. He joined the Caroline South ship in July 1964. At that time he was the youngest DJ on British radio and rapidly won an enthusiastic teenage following. In June 1966 Tony moved over to Radio London.He left shortly before it closed down, joining the BBC just ahead of the rush for jobs. He started as one of the presenters on The Light Program's Midday Spin. When the new Radio One launched at the end of September 1967 Tony was the first DJ on the air, presenting the Breakfast Show from day one.
Tony Prince was born May 9, 1944, in Oldham, Lancashire. Tony was the only offshore personality to have been a real jockey before becoming a disc-jockey. This part of his career was short and was followed by time as an apprentice toolmaker and member of a band called The Jasons. He became a club DJ and, while working in Bristol, presented an early ITV pop program, Discs-a-Gogo. On one of the shows, Tony Blackburn made an appearance to plug his latest record. Prince asked him for a contact number for Radio Caroline. He phoned them, had an audition and joined the north ship at the end of 1965, and “your royal ruler” would become one of the station's most popular presenters. He stayed on until the introduction of the Marine Offences Act in August 1967. He went on to be Program Director of Radio Luxembourg.
Vaughan was born in Sydney, Australia, on February 23, 1941. He finished his education and headed for the UK. He applied at the BBC without success and spent two years packing cigarettes, bar keeping and working in a hotel.
He kept on applying to the BBC and was finally offered a position, just as offshore radio arrived on the scene. Radio Atlanta had been set up by Allan Crawford, an Australian, and he invited a number of his fellow countrymen to get involved. Bryan became the studio technician.
He was responsible for making sure the taped shows went out and for presenting the live ones. When Atlanta became Radio Caroline South, the taped shows disappeared to be replaced by live programs. Bryan continued on the ship as a broadcaster and stayed with Caroline through 1965.
He kept on applying to the BBC and was finally offered a position, just as offshore radio arrived on the scene. Radio Atlanta had been set up by Allan Crawford, an Australian, and he invited a number of his fellow countrymen to get involved. Bryan became the studio technician.
He was responsible for making sure the taped shows went out and for presenting the live ones. When Atlanta became Radio Caroline South, the taped shows disappeared to be replaced by live programs. Bryan continued on the ship as a broadcaster and stayed with Caroline through 1965.
Emperor Rosko aka Michael Pasternak, was born on Boxing Day 1942, the son of Hollywood film producer Joe Pasternak. Rosko got his first taste of broadcasting while serving in the US navy and, after leaving the service, took a broadcasting course in San Francisco. He moved to Europe and worked on French radio before joining Radio Caroline in 1966.He brought with him a personality which combined a number of the gimmicks and techniques he had heard while growing up listening to American Top 40 radio, and he immediately won a large following.In late 1966 he left Caroline to return to France, where he hosted a hugely successful show on French Radio Luxembourg, this time not as an “Emperor” but as “Le President Rosko.”
In October 1965, Ronan O’Rahilly purchased Crawford’s share of the Mi Amigo, and asked Tom Lodge to come on board the Caroline North, and make program changes that would engage the Radio London audience. New DJs were hired, and by 1966, the group discovered that they had successfully acquired an audience of over 23 million.
Radio Caroline even tried to arrange a merger with Radio London, before it started transmissions, but the deal was unsuccessful.
For 3 years, until 1967, the DJs on the Radio Caroline pirate ship broadcast their music and shows 24 hours a day and sold advertising space to make money. With the exception of Radio Luxembourg, no other station had ever sold advertising spaces before. The Caroline station set the pace for the chatty and harmlessly playful radio stations that would come after them – changing the way that we all thought about radio entertainment.
Unfortunately, as the popularity of pirate radio and Radio Caroline continued to grow, so did the demands from various sources that the government should act and shut down off-shore broadcasts. Caroline was claiming enough listeners to take up half of the UK, and the explosion of popularity scared the government, according to Johnnie Walker. In 1967, the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act was officially introduced by the Harold Wilson Labour government.
The act aimed to officially stop pirate broadcasting, denting the pirate movement and forcing some DJs to go back to working on-land. Various popular names found themselves searching for employment on the newly-launched Radio 1 station from the BBC – which was designed in part as an acceptable alternative to pirate stations.
The Radio Caroline pirate ship was forced to move its base to the Netherlands, while other stations like Radio London fell silent. Eventually, the law continued to grow, and a Dutch version emerged in August 1974, pushing the Caroline further out to sea. Despite this, the history of Radio Caroline continued, with various transmissions going out across the world. There was even ongoing noise from the Ross Revenge ship, docked in Santander of Spain.
The Radio Caroline ship affectionately known as the “ship that rocked the world,” and quite possibly the most beloved ship in history, wasn’t invincible. The Mi Amigo ship known as Radio Caroline South sank into heavy seas after it broke away from its moorings. The 107-foot ship sank in 25 feet of water and had to be towed by the British Government.
Aboard the distressed vessel were Tom Anderson and DJ Stevie Gordon, who told listeners “It’s not a very good occasion really, we have to hurry this because the lifeboat is waiting. We’re not leaving and disappearing, we’re going into the lifeboat hoping that the pumps can take it, if so, we’ll be back, if not, well we really don’t like to say it. I’m sure we’ll be back one way or another. For the moment from all of us, goodbye and God Bless”.
These were the last words spoken on air from the Mi Amigo‘s transmitters. A few minutes after the crew were rescued by the lifeboat Helen Turnbull, the ship’s lights went out as seawater engulfed the generator and Mi Amigo sank.
Radio Caroline was relaunched in 1983, now broadcasting from an ex-trawler called MV Ross Revenge. The station continued broadcasting until the horrendous storms of 1987 destroyed the 300 foot aerial on the ship. This was replaced by two more modest aerials, but on On August 19, 1989 the unthinkable happened.
The large Dutch vessel Volans (with armed officials on board) and the British launch Landward closed in on the Ross Revenge and boarded and took control of the ship as disc jockeys relayed a blow by blow account of events to the astonished listeners.
Once the transmitters were silenced, the Dutch stripped the ship of all broadcast equipment while the British attempted to interrogate the crew under threat of arrest. All this happened in International waters where the boarders had no official powers, and the raiders eventually left, taking with them all of the records, studios and transmitting equipment and leaving behind some vandalism and deliberate damage.
Bill Hearne with an edition of Caroline Cash Casino contest from December 23, 1966. The clues for this particular competition led to the answer ‘ears’, with the eventual winner receiving a prize of £2,490!
[ LISTEN ] (5:41) Sponsored by Libby's canned goods.LEFT: Postmen delivering just one day's Caroline Cash Casino entries outside Caroline House.
[ LISTEN ] (5:41) Sponsored by Libby's canned goods.LEFT: Postmen delivering just one day's Caroline Cash Casino entries outside Caroline House.
Interestingly, after one of the Radio Caroline ships ended up going to its watery grave, O’Rahilly did find a replacement option that he thought the team should paint completely pink. However, the Norwegian captain at the time wasn’t impressed by this decision and walked away from the ship. He left a note saying that he refused to be the captain of a pink boat.
A wonderful look at Radio Caroline, 1965. Featuring DJs Tony Blackburn, Gary Kemp, Paul Noble, Simon Dee and Dough Kerr, assisted by engineer Patrick Starling. With Keith Skues and Bryan Vaughan.
The other Radio Caroline pirate ship (the Ross Revenge) is still alive (2018) and well today. It’s spent most of its time hidden on the backwaters of Kent and Essex or hosted on the Tilbury Docks. At times, the boat opens to the public for special events and tours, and it’s sometimes used in conjunction with Manx Radio on the Isle of Man. Visitors to the Ross Revenge can access the Bridge and check out the record library too. In the hull of the ship, you’ll find radio stations still equipped with technology from the 1970s.
Listen to pure nostalgia from the world-famous former offshore radio station on Caroline Flashback.
WHO WORKED AT RADIO CAROLINE? Here is a partial list: Chris Moore, Tony Blackburn, Roger Gale, Mike Allen, Ray Teret, Roger Day, Simon Dee, Tony Prince, Spangles Muldoon, Keith Skues, Johnnie Walker, Robbie Dale, Dave Lee Travis, Tommy Vance, Tom Edwards, Paul Noble, Bob Stewart, Andy Archer, Graham Webb, Emperor Rosko, Steve Young, Keith Hampshire, Colin Nicol, Norman St John, and Jack Spector.
Some materials found on this page were originally published by the following: Airchexx, Pirate Radio Hall of Fame, Sylvan Mason.
