But next to hearing other people talk about the subject, I never really had listened to the Sound of the Nation. The Radio Caroline name was used to broadcast from international waters, using five different ships with three different owners, from 1964 to 1990, and via satellite from 1998 to 2013. I could never figure out if he was "high on life" or high on some of that famous Falls Head Herb usually found in the Overdrive studio, so John Bennett tells me. In practice, day-to-day servicing was carried from France and the UK. Belgium had outlawed offshore radio in 1962 and prosecuted advertisers, cutting the station's revenue. Two days later, Mi Amigo was towed to IJmuiden and seized because of unpaid bills. When Laser returned as Laser Hot Hits, it used Caroline's former and inferior frequency of 576kHz. It was the floating pirate radio station whose mission to was to transmit rock 'n' roll to the masses. Brouwer intended to obtain an AM frequency from the Netherlands authorities in 2003 when its medium wave frequencies were reallocated. After the MOB became law on August 15, 1967, we had to wait a long time for new offshore radio stations to arrive although we did have our Caroline stations up till March 1968. According to the latest Nielsen Audio Today report, more than two-thirds of the weekly radio audience works full time and tunes in when they're away from home. The only broadcast staff on board were Tom Lodge and Jerry Leighton. This service was Radio Seagull and broadcast live during the evening. On 19 August 1989, James Murphy, an investigator for the UK Office of the Official Solicitor, acting for the Department of Trade and Industry, joined colleagues and counterparts from the Netherlands Radio Regulatory Authority to execute an armed raid on the Ross Revenge in which equipment was damaged or confiscated. As those people, who did promote the stations with their magazines and internet sites, wouldn't have been there, we certainly wouldn't be celebrating Caroline's Fortieth Birthday this year.". Due to generator trouble, the two services could no longer be broadcast simultaneously and Radio Caroline again broadcast at night with both stations using the 50kW transmitter and Radio Caroline began to receive more mail from the continent. [clarification needed]. "Why do we have to pay, why aren't they out at sea, the music's no good," and so on. Alan even worked with Bob at Radio 1 on. The highlight however was picking up test transmissions from Radio Caroline I had missed the tests of the previous day. After 31 August, shows for Radio Mi Amigo were delivered on cassettes rather than reel-to-reel tapes. The UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) put a permanent watch on movements around the Ross Revenge and the MV Communicator, Laser 558's ship. [31] During this period each night transmission of Radio Caroline started with Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft by the progressive Rock Band Klaatu, issued in 1976 on their album 3:47 E.S.T. . The medium wave frequency was 235 metres (1278kHz) and programmes were sent through ISDN landline to Maidstone and via the internet and broadcast on satellite. The continuing story of Radio Caroline, the 1960's pirate radio station that survived the Marine Offences Act, which saw the end of pirate radio station around the shores of the UK. A rudimentary news service, consisting of headlines on the half hour at peak listening times, was started on 12th September 1983, while the famous Caroline Bell was re-introduced on 16th September. Greg James' breakfast show on Radio 1 also saw an increase in listeners quarter-on-quarter. On 1 January 2016, a second channel was launched called Caroline Flashback, playing pop music from the late 1950s to the early 1980s. On 5 November 1990, lack of fuel and supplies forced the station to stop transmitting. [6], Smedley was charged with Calvert's murder on 18 July, but this was reduced to a charge of manslaughter. Global delivers record results extending its position as the UK's #1 commercial radio company Global leads the UK commercial radio market with highest . BBC Radio 6 Music celebrates its 20th birthday with record listening figures. Bubblegum Lemonade released "Caroline's Radio" in 2010 which was a nostalgic look back at listening to Radio Caroline. The LBC brand. Chris Evans, her Radio 2 predecessor, is on 869,000 for his Virgin Radio breakfast show (down from 1m in last available figures for Virgin in Q4); Virgin Radio has a weekly reach of 1.44m (1.62m . The flagship channel enjoyed an average weekly audience of 7.7 million in the three months to. Various: broadly according to era and frequency: 1960s: mainstream pop. For several months only one transmitter could be used, leading to the loss of the income-generating Radio Monique, although a substitute Dutch daytime service, Radio 558 (later Radio 819), was eventually established. One is lack of finance, so presenters work for nothing we, the Caroline supporters, can ask for no greater dedication and I am quite happy to do my bit and help keep the dream alive with my monthly subscription. While 6 Music saw a 3.1 per cent dip in its quarter-on-quarter listening figures - pulling in 2.6million listeners - the station is still the UK's number one digital radio station. The station re-started for a second time in August 1983 from new ship the MV Ross Revenge. At the same time, Allan Crawford's Project Atlanta was equipping the MV Mi Amigo at Greenore, where the two competed to be the first on air. Caroline claimed boarding the ship and removal or destruction of equipment was piracy. On a national level, though, this figure is amazingly reliable; it's a national sample size of over 100,000 adults. Meanwhile, Radio Mi Amigo had interference on 1562kHz and changed to 1412kHz (212 m). Two aerials and twin transmitters were used for about six weeks until the aerial mast failed. Around this time, O'Rahilly decided Caroline should adopt an album format similar to FM progressive rock stations in the US, an audience not catered for in Europe. Only the Caroline app has a live programme schedule, 'Now Playing' and multiple streams to suit most internet speeds. On 9 August 1985, an official vessel anchored 150 yards from the Ross Revenge. How different it seemed six weeks later when the Mi Amigo had no mast and RNI no English service. BBC Radio 2 to air special show for Tony Blackburn's 80th birthday. In the 1970's and 19870's is was great to follow all the things which were happening as there were two magazines in which all the facts and figures were published from day to day. In July Caroline moved to the adjacent channel, 962kHz (312 metres but still called 319) and reception in the UK improved. RAJAR figures showed 34.51m people tuning in each week for live output across the stations, with a share of 49.9%. Community radio listening figures - do 10 million people tune in every week? Just as I was about to go to school one morning, my mother called me and my brother into my parents' bedroom to watch the M.V. [64] On 24 November 2021 a new transmitter was installed with an effective radiated power of 4kW. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. won't sell abortion pills in 20 states after warnings by Republican attorneys general of legal action, a decision that limits the medication's . RAJAR stands for Radio Joint Audience Research and is the official body in charge of measuring radio audiences in the UK. Most Read. The national digital station, which is owned by News UK's . The four-week event was funded through on-air local business commercials. The late 1970's model of Radio Caroline is still my favourite, despite the fact they were on and off the air more than a partisan station in WW2. Radio Caroline broadcast 24 hours various song, hip hop music, clasic, etc. Over 30% of radio listeners older than 34 still use analogue radio. In 2002, Caroline began on WorldSpace satellite radio, continuing until Worldspace went bankrupt and re-organised its operations in 2008. American Cancer Society 2022-2024. . Second, it also requires a good sales team and, of course, sales people don't work for nothing. Radio Caroline - 2. I don't think Grandma saw her radio again till I managed to get a small tranny of my own to replace it. In the late 1990's and later on I helped them with the promotion team when they were busy trying to convince as much as possible cable networks to put their signal on their networks. It was also claimed to reach 39 million listeners though I suspect both figures probably had a lot of. In December 1976, Radio Mi Amigo moved to 1562kHz on the 50kW transmitter, leaving Caroline on 1187kHz 24 hours a day on the 10kW. "[41] In a 1995 article for the pressure group Charter88, Steve McGann commented: "Whether Caroline was right to maintain her defiance for so many years is irrelevant. Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. Offshore radio stations were no exception to this rule. Most of Radio Caroline's pop music programmes were targeted at housewives, and some later programming was aimed at children. During 2013, a survey showed a continued move from satellite reception and growth in internet listening. On 1 September, a small motor launch had difficulties in rough seas. Four studios were on board, enabling other broadcasting services. ", Finally, here is Mark Reynolds writing in from Buckinghamshire and thanking all the people who tried to keep the memory of Radio Caroline alive over the years: "I did learn about offshore radio in late 1966 and followed the stations from that point on. Discover the history of the three RAJAR contracts, and understand the review of methods and sampling and fieldwork events timeline. Only 17% of the total UK population can pick up community radio, according to the same Ofcom report we mentioned earlier. They were towed to Amsterdam by a salvage company to secure unpaid bills for servicing by the Dutch tender company Wijsmuller Transport. The founder of pirate radio, Radio Caroline, has died. In March 1968, the very existence of Radio Caroline was threatened when both the MV Caroline and Mi Amigo were boarded and seized before being towed to Amsterdam by a salvage company to secure unpaid bills owed to a Dutch firm. ", Also Philip Coleman was selected to be a part of this chapter: "I do not think my Caroline memories deserve to be mentioned in the Caroline's special, but there are two which may be of interest to you: First, on September 30, 1972, I was a student with a part-time job. I vividly remember the days leading up to the first broadcast from the Ross, the test tones, the usually incorrect! [citation needed]. Former offshore broadcasters who continue on the station are: Roger Mathews, Nigel Harris, Martin Fisher, Marc Jacobs, Johnny Lewis, Doug Wood, Dave Foster, Cliff Osbourne, Chris Pearson, Bob Lawrence, Jeremy Chartham and Ad Roberts. Caroline's album format meant that, although the station served a gap in the market, its audience was smaller than in the 1960s. In 2017, Ofcom awarded Radio Caroline its first AM licence, allowing it to broadcast to audiences in parts of Suffolk and north Essex. By In 1974, O'Rahilly set up a pop group called The Loving Awareness Band, comprising John Turnbull (guitar) and Mick Gallagher (keyboards) both formerly of Skip Bifferty and two session musicians, Norman Watt-Roy (bass) and Charlie Charles (drums). From there Bert Alting wrote: "in the mid-1970's I was living partly on a little room on the loft of a house and in the early evenings I tried never to miss the close-down of Radio Mi Amigo Caroline's sister station in those days and the daily opening of Radio Caroline. The latest NOP Audience Survey Figures show that Radio Caroline has an audience in Great Britain in excess of any other radio station with 19% aged 16 and over, whilst Radio London did have 12%. (Gordon): For the moment from all of us, goodbye and God bless. (ii)576 kHz: continuation of above, with slightly more singles played. During mid-August 1989, authorities in several European countries carried out coordinated raids on houses, recording studios and offices believed to be used by Caroline. Since a couple of years we can read a lot on the subject Offshore Radio on several internet sites. The drop can be partly explained by lower. Later in 1973, when the contract with Radio Caroline ended, the crew of Radio Atlantis moved to their own ship, the MVJeanine.[6]. On this page Hans Knot presents a few exemplary ones. Frequency: 648 AM. The Mi Amigo returned to its Frinton-on-Sea anchorage with a redesigned antenna and a new 50kW transmitter and attempted to resume broadcasting on 18 April, nominally on 259 metres to enable the same jingles as Radio Caroline North on 1169kHz to be used, but actually 252 metres. Since August 2000, Radio Caroline has also broadcast 24 hours a day via the internet and by the occasional restricted service licence. Tenders and boat owners were warned, and some were prosecuted for ferrying staff and provisions to the ship. First you need good audience figures and to do that a greater prominence needs to be sought, hence the push for a Sky EPG listing. [14] Presenters Tony Blackburn, Roger Gale, Ray Teret, Simon Dee, Tony Prince, Spangles Muldoon, Keith Skues, Johnnie Walker, Robbie Dale, Dave Lee Travis, Tommy Vance, Tom Edwards, Paul Noble, Bob Stewart and Andy Archer became well known. This comes after Steve Wright, Craig Charles, Paul O'Grady, Vanessa Feltz and Ken Bruce all left Radio 2 in a mass exodus over the past six months. His programme, which airs five days a week, rose from 4.3 million to 4.5 million listeners between the . I wonder if any of the people who criticise have even tried setting up or running a radio station on land, let alone from twelve miles out to sea with the law heavily biased against them. [35], The Ross Revenge was larger than Mi Amigo and with more elaborate transmitting equipment: in 1983, two 5kW RCA transmitters and a RCA 50kW unit. A little about myself. Reception at that hour was far more difficult than during daytime and so I did my utmost to get the best reception possible. I just hated the intrusive way deejays tried to influence my taste on the other radio stations. [30] Radio Caroline returned to the air on 15 April 1979. DJ Jack Spector, of the WMCA "Good Guys" in New York, regularly recorded for Radio Caroline. Lincoln - Jaz Shelley and Alexis Markowski both put up big double-doubles to lead four Huskers in double figures, as the Nebraska women's basketball team rolled to an 80-64 win over Northwestern in front of more than 6,000 fans at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon. In the evenings on 963, some alternative music programmes were tried, including the reggae "Jamming 963", and in 1986 and early 1987, a progressive and indie rock programme called Caroline Overdrive hosted by Tom Anderson, Fergie McNeal, Andy Johnson, Stevie Lane, Mark Matthews, Kevin Turner, Peter Phillips, Mick Williams (a.k.a. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Ken Bruce finishes his 30-year tenure as host of BBC Radio 2, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Hershey's Canada releases HER for SHE bars featuring a trans activist, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Fleet-footed cop chases an offender riding a scooter, Family of a 10-month-old baby filmed vaping open up. Owner: Planet Sales Ltd. First air date: 1964. Within months, the unlicensed operation had merged with another station broadcasting from a separate boat near the Isle of Man. London WC1E 7EB, Find out more information on completing the Radio Diary. Smedley's trial opened on 11 October at Chelmsford Assizes, where the jury acquitted him.[6]. The station hasn't the glamour anymore it had in its High Seas Days, but I'm still enjoying all the memories. Programmes were presented by current and former DJs from the BBC, ILR, Ireland, Luxembourg, offshore and land-based pirate stations, and other international and freelance backgrounds, including Tony Prince and Emperor Rosko. How we recruit respondents, sampling points and fieldwork in depth. Caroline Archive Hour. We duly bought the wine but do not know if it was the one heard when Radio Seagull opened on January 7, 1974. We almost got on board the MEBO II with the assistance of Brian McKenzie but although we went out on the Trip tender the weather was too bad to allow boarding. Latest releases and insightful stories into the radio industry. Dave Foster. In the 1960's, to attract advertisers, Radio Caroline and Radio London always reported rather high listening figures. The Government argued that the pirate operation was a danger because of the possibility of the radio frequency interfering with emergency shipping channels. In Happy Birthday Tony Blackburn: 80 Poptastic Years on Radio 2, Dermot O'Leary will talk to Tony about his life and career and surprises him with . To allow Radio Mi Amigo to continue broadcasting by day, the engineering work for Caroline's move had to be carried out over six nights, after the 50kW transmitter was switched off. The Dutch claimed the ship's Panamanian registration had lapsed in 1987, was not under legal protection from any country and that its transmissions breached international regulations which since 1982 had prohibited broadcasting from outside national territories. [25] The ship anchored off the Dutch coastal resort of Scheveningen and was serviced and operated from the Netherlands. Radio Caroline tried several frequencies, among them 963, 576, 585 (briefly), 558 (after Laser 558 closed) and later 819kHz. On 3 March 1977, Caroline closed, announcing that it would return six days later on 319 metres. When the US-backed Radio London arrived off the coast of England, there was an unsuccessful attempt to merge its sales operation with that of Caroline before Radio London started transmissions. Broadcasters included Tony Christian, Pawl "Hound Dog" Shanley, Dave Fox, Simon West, Dale Richardson and Peter D.[citation needed]. In 2020, the show's two long-serving presenters, Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey, both departed the programme. Radio Atlanta closed at 8p.m. that day. The band broke up in 1977; Watt-Roy and Charles played on Ian Dury's New Boots and Panties!! Half of AM/FM listening in the United States takes place in a car, but between reduced (or eliminated) commutes and social distancing, there's been a steep decline in the drivers that make up public radio's traditional broadcast audience. The final song was Pilot of the Airwaves by Charlie Dore.[43]. On 27 April, the Mi Amigo was fully operational. Radio Caroline is broadcast in the Republic of Ireland on channel 927 on the UPC Ireland cable service in the main cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Cappoquin, and the County Waterford towns of Lismore and Tallow. When we started our series to commemorate the forty years of Radio Caroline, we asked the readers to write down their memories of the station in just a few lines. Radio Monique was popular throughout Benelux. I took my radio to work and annoyed everyone by listening to RNI in Dutch on short-wave. [45] The Ross Revenge was salvaged and brought into harbour in Dover, ending 27 years of Radio Caroline's unlicensed offshore career. Internet streaming of Radio Caroline programmes continued. Media agencies/owners, PR companies and members of the public interested in receiving more detailed data than that currently shown under Listening Figures on the RAJAR site. Some DJs from the USA and Commonwealth countries, such as Graham Webb, Emperor Rosko and Keith Hampshire were also heard. In the evenings, Radio Caroline transmitted Dutch and American religious evangelist broadcasters such as Johan Maasbach and Roy Masters on medium wave, and later on short wave, under the name Viewpoint 963/819, or World Mission Radio (WMR) on short wave.