Radio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly, to circumvent the tight hold the record companies had on the broadcast of popular music in the UK. It originally commenced transmissions as an offshore radio station broadcasting from a ship anchored in international waters off the coast of South East England. Originally unlicensed by any government, for the majority of its early life, it was labelled as a pirate radio station.

The station continues today as a satellite and internet broadcaster, with occasional transmissions via a low power RSL licence, usually emanating from the final offshore ship, the MV Ross Revenge. There are also other, affiliated broadcasters, who either use the progamming output for sustaining material, or the "Caroline" format and jingle package.

Music ranging from the 60s to today is broadcast, with an emphasis on album-oriented rock (AOR) but also "mixing things up" with nostalgic tracks and some specialised music programmes.

Chronology

Name	Radio Caroline North (original) and Radio Caroline South (former Radio Atlanta)
Area	United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, parts of continental Europe
Slogan	"Radio Caroline on 199 your all day music station"
Airdate	Easter Sunday, 29 March 1964 at 12 Noon GMT to 14 August 1967
Frequency	wavelengths announced as "199" metres (1485/1520 KHz) and later changed to "259" (1169/1187 KHz).
Format	variety, religion, news and popular music
Power	Radio Caroline North = 10kW (later 20Kw). Radio Caroline South = 10kW (later 50 kW).
Owner	Planet Sales Ltd

Radio Caroline first began test broadcasts on Friday, 27 March 1964, commencing full time transmissions at 12 noon two days later on Easter Sunday; from a former Danish passenger ferry, the , now renamed Caroline. The ship was anchored three miles off the coast of Felixstowe, Suffolk, England just outside British territorial waters.

A month later, a second organisation anchored the , a former coaster converted to a broadcasting vessel, and began broadcasting as Radio Atlanta from a position off Harwich, Essex, England.

Both stations continued to operate completely independently for several months, but by July following a merger of their respective sales operations, they had all but united.

Caroline then moved to an anchorage off the coast of the Isle of Man and broadcast as Radio Caroline North while the Mi Amigo remained off the coast of Essex broadcasting as Radio Caroline South. The British government classified both operations as pirate radio stations, although at that time, both were legal.

The two radio ships remained under independent ownership but shared a common sales organization until December 1965 when the owners of Radio Caroline North bought up Radio Caroline South. In 1966 the British Postmaster General, Anthony Wedgwood Benn, introduced a law that rendered the existing arrangement illegal. Even after the Marine Offences Act came into effect, on 14 August 1967, the two Radio Caroline ships continued to broadcast, albeit with operations controlled from outside the UK. The Act removed the main source of the stations' income, and eventually they were towed to the Netherlands (in March 1968) to secure collection of unpaid bills, for servicing, by the Wijsmuller tug company.

After two years of inactivity, Radio Caroline broadcast very briefly from the radio ship Mebo2, home of offshore station Radio Northsea International, during the 1970 British General election campaign. Although its declared stance was politically neutral, Radio Caroline did attempt to influence voters in the UK to vote against the incumbent Labour Party.

The Mi Amigo, the vessel used by Radio Caroline South (1964–1967), was put up for auction in 1972 and was rescued from the scrapyard for the price of 20,000 Dutch Guilders (about 2,400 GBP). Her sister ship, the Fredericia, was later scrapped. Following various shenanigans and contradictory accounts, the ship re-hoisted the O'Rahilly flag.

To begin with, Caroline was off air more than it was on, but after one or two false starts, including a relaunch in 1973 as Radio Seagull, Caroline resumed broadcasting in February 1974 on a more-or-less full-time basis, and by the autumn of that year, as new legislation by the Dutch government saw off RNI and Veronica, the again defiant Mi Amigo was the last radio ship broadcasting to Europe. No longer a pop playlist station, Caroline was re-launched as an LP-based rock music channel on which DJs could play pretty much whatever they pleased. This reflected the attitudes of the majority of European record buyers at that time and was a great success for Mr O'Rahilly, who had noticed that album sales far exceeded those of singles. By the mid-to-late-seventies, Caroline had regained a UK audience of millions, with many more listeners around Europe.

After several years of neglect whilst at sea, the Mi Amigo sank during a very severe storm in 1980, bringing Caroline's golden era to a close with the decade.

The Mi Amigo was eventually replaced by a new vessel, the , which operated once more as a pop music station from 1983 until, following a controversial government-backed raid, it ran aground in bad weather in 1991.

Due to the history of the Caroline operation from 1964 onwards, the company now responsible for operations in the UK has no direct legal or financial connection with the original company, Planet Productions. However, Ronan O'Rahilly has worked with the current management, to keep the name alive and the station on air. As such it is a direct descendant of the 1964 operation. It currently broadcasts via the Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E as part of the Sky package on channel 0199, via the Internet, and by occasional Restricted Service Licence. This company also licenses other stations around the world to use the Radio Caroline name.

1964-1968

Radio Caroline origins

Financial backing for the original venture came from six investors, one of whom was Jocelyn Stevens. The original home of Radio Caroline shared space in the editorial offices of Queen magazine, then also owned by Stevens.

Ronan O'Rahilly has declared that he alone had created Radio Caroline and that he named it after Caroline Kennedy, daughter of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. O'Rahilly claimed that when he flew to Dallas, Texas to buy the transmitters for the radio station, he was reading a copy of Life magazine that contained a now-famous photo-essay depicting the president and his children in the Oval Office. However, O'Rahilly stated that the essay pictured Kennedy's daughter Caroline and that this had inspired him to name both the ship and station after her. After O'Rahilly's claims were re-examined recently, it is possible to say the photos of the three together exist, and one of John Jr under the desk exists .

Original transmissions

Radio Caroline's original theme tune was Jimmy McGriff's "Round Midnight" (a jazz standard composed by Thelonious Monk which was an LP track on I've Got a Woman, Sue ILP 907 1962 UK; Sue 1012 USA). During March 1964, Birmingham band The Fortunes recorded the song "Caroline" on Decca F11809, and this later became the station's theme song, with "Round Midnight" confined to close down on Radio Caroline North after The World Tomorrow programme.

The original Radio Caroline () announced a wavelength of "199" metres, which rhymed with "Caroline". In reality the station was on 197.3 metres (1520 kHz) at the low end of the medium wave band. The Dutch offshore station Radio Veronica was on 192 metres (1562 kHz) and when Radio Caroline was joined by Radio Atlanta which became Radio Caroline South, it chose 201 metres (1495 kHz).

The original transmitter power of the Caroline was almost 20 kW, and this was achieved by linking two 10-kW Continental Electronics transmitters together. Broadcasting hours were initially limited from 6 am to 6 pm daily under the slogan "Your all-day music station", because Radio Luxembourg came on the air in the English language at 6 pm and direct competition was avoided. Later after its first close-down of the day the station decided to return to the airwaves after 8 pm and it continued until just after midnight. In this way Caroline saved its fuel by avoiding direct competition with the most popular television programmes. The use of radio sets at work was an uncommon practice and most commuters used public transport. Consequently most of its pop music programmes were aimed at housewives and later in the day they were targeted towards children arriving home from school. Because of the lack of daytime music radio competition during the first six months of transmission, Radio Caroline soon commanded a daytime audience of several million listeners at a time when all-day pop music broadcast in English was unknown in Europe.

For more on the history of offshore broadcasting before Caroline, see the article Pirate radio.

Creation of Radio Caroline North and South

When the original Radio Caroline merged its sales operations with those of Radio Atlanta, the second station was re-branded as Radio Caroline South while remaining in independent (from the original Caroline) ownership. The original Radio Caroline then sailed from Felixstowe around the coast of Great Britain to the Isle of Man, broadcasting all the way. The only deejays on board were Tom Lodge and Jerry Leighton. When Radio London arrived off the coast of England, there was an attempt to merge the sales operation of this station with the Caroline organization before Radio London commenced transmissions. However, these talks came to nothing. Another unsuccessful attempt was made to bring Radio City within the Caroline branding.

Radio Caroline North (MV Caroline), anchored off the Isle of Man, and Radio Caroline South (MV Mi Amigo), anchored off South East England, became a network for sales purposes, although initially the programming of each remained independent of the other. The two ship stations were thus able to cover most of the British Isles and the western-most parts of continental northern Europe. Later, some programmes, pre-recorded on land, were broadcast simultaneously from both ships.

has been a radio disc jockey for Radio Caroline since 1964]]

Name	Dave Lee Travis (aka DLT)
Caption	DLT in the studio at Magic
Birth date	May 25, 1945
Birth place	Buxton, Derbyshire, England, UK
Occupation	Radio presenter

Name	Tony Blackburn
Caption	Blackburn at the 2008 BAFTA Television Awards
Birth date	January 29, 1943
Birth place	Guildford, Surrey
Occupation	disc jockey

The first programme heard on Caroline was presented by Chris Moore Though the pirates had clearly made an impact on the state-owned broadcaster, evidenced also by its hiring of many of the pirate DJs, it was to be another six years before the first on-land commercial radio stations began to appear in the UK.

Several justifications have been posited for the passage of the act, including:

the pirate ships were a danger because of RF interference to emergency shipping channels,

the act was adopted for the benefit of the recording industry,

the UK authorities could not accept the existence of an entity that was not subject to their control.

In any case, a mere seven months later, on 3 March 1968, the original two ship stations now known as Radio Caroline International were towed away by a salvage company to secure unpaid bills for servicing by the Wijsmuller Co.

The original era of Radio Caroline had come to a close.

1970: Radio North Sea International

Name	Radio Caroline International
Area	Broadcasting from various locations offshore to Western Europe
Airdate	1970
Frequency	various on AM, FM and SW
Format	popular music and news
Power	105 kW MW
Erp	90 kW MW
Owner	Mebo Ltd
Affiliations	A brief name change from Radio North Sea International during the British General Election, after which the station reverted back to its original name.

In 1970 another radio ship named anchored off the east coast of England in time for the British General election under the call sign of Radio North Sea International or RNI. This station was jammed by the UK Labour government and this resulted in RNI campaigning for the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom general election 1970 under the call sign of Radio Caroline International. With cooperation from Ronan O'Rahilly this temporary manifestation of Radio Caroline began to lobby against the Labour Party, and for the introduction of licensed commercial radio in the United Kingdom.

The government had perhaps failed to recognise that newly enfranchised 18-21 year olds (RNI's & Caroline's main audience) were disgusted by Labour's treatment of offshore radio.

Following the election, the MV Mebo II reverted to its original name of Radio North Sea International but jamming continued under the "new" Conservative government for which the pirates had lobbied and the Marine Offences Act remained in place.

Caroline Television

There were several major news stories in the European press announcing the start of Caroline TV from two aircraft using Stratovision technology. One plane was set to circle over the North Sea in international air space near the coastline of the United Kingdom, while the other one was kept on standby to take over duties. Presentations were made to US advertising agencies. Although these stories continued for some time and included details of co-operation by a former member of the Beatles and a sign-on date was given, nothing more was heard of the venture once that date came and went.

1972-1980: Mi Amigo rescued from scrapyard

Name	Radio Caroline and related stations
Area	Broadcasting from various offshore locations to Western Europe
Airdate	1972
Frequency	various
Format	album rock
Power	10 KW later 50 KW
Erp	27 KW (highly variable)
Owner	Status unclear and mainly operated by supporters
Sister stations	Radio Atlantis 1973 and Radio Mi-Amigo 1974-1978

Caroline made a comeback in 1972, this time from the smaller of the two ships, the MV Mi Amigo, anchored off the Dutch coastal resort of Scheveningen and serviced and operated from the Netherlands. The ship had restarted broadcasting as Radio 199, but soon became Radio Caroline once again with a Top 40 line up that included DJs Chris Carey, broadcasting as Spangles Muldoon (who was also station manager), Roger 'Twiggy' Day, Andy Archer, Paul Alexander (Paul Rusling, who later set up Laser 558), Steve England, Johnny Jason, and Peter Chicago. The ship carried programmes for Radio Veronica for a short time (while the latter's ship, the Nordeney, was on the beach, thrown there in a violent storm) and at one stage in summer 1973 broadcast two separate stations (English and Dutch) simultaneously, on 773 and 1187 kHz. Two aerials were deployed at the time, the twin transmitters were on air for about six weeks until the aerial mast failed. To accommodate the second aerial, a second short mast, positioned just in front of the bridge, was employed as the other end for the main mast.

Around this time, Ronan O'Rahilly decided that Caroline should adopt an album format similar to that found on "FM progressive rock" stations in the USA, as this potentially very large radio audience was not catered for at all in Europe. This service was initially broadcast using the name Radio Seagull.

Radio Atlantis and Radio Seagull

Since Radio Caroline could not find adequate advertising revenue it shared it's 259 metre frequency (actually 1187 kHz, corresponding to a wavelength of 253 metres) with Dutch language pop stations, the first of which was a Belgian station called Radio Atlantis. It used the frequency during the daytime to broadcast pre-recorded programmes and Radio Seagull broadcast live (and somewhat anarchically) from the ship's studio during the evening.

Radio Mi Amigo

When their contract with Radio Caroline came to an end, the crew of Radio Atlantis moved to their own ship, the . Daytime programmes were then provided by another Belgian station, Radio Mi Amigo, which was officially launched on 1 January 1974. In contrast to Caroline in the early 1970s, this station was a commercial success, with a wide listenership in Dutch-speaking Belgium and the Netherlands, but also with a surprisingly large following in the UK. Radio Seagull changed its name back to Radio Caroline on 23 February 1974. The Album format was still followed, however. Throughout most of the 1970s, Radio Caroline itself could be heard only at night, under the banner "Radio Caroline — Europe's first and only album station".

Caroline's daytime partner station Radio Mi Amigo was run by Belgian businessman and Suzy Waffles magnate Sylvain Tack. The station's offices and studios were based on Spain's Playa De Aro Costa Brava resort, where it produced programmes for Dutch-speaking holidaymakers. Most of the programmes of Radio Mi Amigo were taped and rebroadcast from the Caroline ship by day and were a mixture of Europop/Top 40/MOR together with native Dutch language popular music, presented by Belgian, Dutch and occasionally English DJs with frequent commercials. Land-based commercial radio was prohibited in Belgium at that time; thus Radio Mi Amigo had little competition and so enjoyed a wide popularity in Belgium and, to a lesser extent. in the Netherlands. For the first few years there was a big demand for advertising space on the station. After the closure of the Netherlands' Radio Veronica, Radio Mi Amigo gained a number of Veronica presenters and shows.

Loving Awareness

Caroline's chosen format of album tracks rather than top 40 now meant that, although the station served a market gap, overall listenership was smaller than in the 1960s. Caroline also promoted O'Rahilly's new concept of "LA" (Loving Awareness), a far-eastern inspired philosophy of love and peace. Some of the station's DJs were embarrassed at the idea of promoting love and peace on air, but some were fascinated by the challenge of promoting an abstract concept in the same way that they might promote a brand of detergent. Imagine a radio station running advertisements for love! At least one disc jockey was an enthusiastic supporter of the concept. Tony Allan developed a cult following among listeners as he also combined his promotion of "Loving Awareness" with a professional style, humanity, deep knowledge of music, and rich radio voice. The much-loved Allan died in 2004 aged 54 from cancer, and the cult around him has grown.

In 1974, O'Rahilly set up a group called The Loving Awareness Band, comprising John Turnbull (guitar) and Mick Gallagher (keyboards) (both former members of Skip Bifferty and Bell and Arc) and two session musicians, Norman Watt-Roy (bass) and Charlie Charles (drums). In 1976, The Loving Awareness Band released their only album, Loving Awareness on More Love Records (ML001), a label set up by O'Rahilly. The album was - and still is - promoted heavily on the station, and was re-released by the Caroline organisation in 2006 on CD with a replica of the original sleeve. The Loving Awareness CD was released by SMC ( Foundation for media communication in the Netherlands.) The band broke up in 1977, Watt-Roy and Charles played on Ian Dury's New Boots and Panties!! album, and Turnbull and Gallagher joined them on the Stiff's tour, becoming The Blockheads.

Caroline's constant plugging of "LA", together with the progressive rock album music it played — bands such as Pink Floyd; Emerson, Lake & Palmer; Led Zeppelin; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Barclay James Harvest and Hawkwind - gave the station an unusual and distinctive sound which began to grow increasingly popular as the decade progressed. Another feature of Caroline at that time was the "Personal Top 30" where listeners sent in their 30 favourite all-time tracks usually of the prog/heavy rock genre and one was selected to be played over a three hour show on the station.

During this time, the theme tune of the station changed to "On My Way Back Home" by New Riders of the Purple Sage, a track from the Gypsy Cowboy album which included the words "Flying to the sun, sweet Caroline". Also frequently played was "Climb Aboard the Love Ship" by Fox, as well as the original version of the song by (Fox founding member) Kenny Young, which he had recorded prior to his version with Fox. This was used by Tony Allan as the music for the 'climb aboard the love ship and sail away' jingle.

Dutch Marine Broadcasting Act

In 1974 the Dutch government passed laws to prohibit pirate radio which came into effect on 1 September. However, Caroline continued broadcasting, this time moving its headquarters and the servicing operation to Spain and its ship from off the Dutch coast to a position in the Knock Deep Channel, approximately 30 km from the British coast. On 1 September a small motor launch ran into difficulties in rough seas and tied up alongside the Mi Amigo until help could arrive. Radio Caroline broadcast appeals for help, giving the ship's position as 51° 41' N, 1° 35' E. A coastguard vessel was sent to escort the boat back to shore, but the authorities were unhappy that Caroline fans had jammed the emergency switchboards.

After 31 August, pre-recorded shows for Radio Mi Amigo were delivered on cassettes which were much smaller and lighter than reels of tape although the sound quality was greatly inferior.

It was claimed that the stations were tendered from Spain. In practice the Mi Amigo was tendered clandestinely from ports in Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Tenders and small boat owners were warned and in some cases prosecuted for ferrying staff and provisions out to the ship. Belgium had outlawed offshore radio in 1962 and its authorities took action to prosecute the advertisers. This cut the station's revenues. In addition, Belgian courts sentenced the owner and a number of DJs to fines and jail terms in absentia — although the prison terms were later cancelled.

Wavelength changes

The two stations experimented with several different broadcast frequencies. After a short test on 773 kHz in late 1975, May 1976 saw Caroline beginning a daytime service on 1562 kHz (192 metres, the old Radio Veronica frequency) using one of the 10 kW transmitters, while its existing overnight service continued to share the 50 kW tx with Mi Amigo's daytime programming on 1187 kHz (253 metres, announced as 259).

In December of that year Mi Amigo moved onto 1562 kHz on the 50 kW tx, leaving Caroline on 1187 kHz 24 hours a day on the 10 kW. The reduction in power caused Caroline to experience greater interference at night, and in an attempt to improve the signal it was decided to move Caroline to a new frequency. On 3 March 1977 (coincidentally the 9th anniversary of the Caroline ships being towed away in 1968) Caroline closed down, announcing that it would return six days later on an improved wavelength of 319 metres. To allow Radio Mi Amigo to continue broadcasting by day, the engineering work necessary for Caroline's move had to be carried out at night after the 50 kW transmitter was switched off, accounting for the six day closure.

Caroline returned on schedule on 9 March on a frequency of 953 kHz (actually 315 metres but called 319, again because 319 rhymed with Caroline). This frequency produced very strong heterodyne interference because the transmitter crystal was off-channel, and Caroline soon moved to the adjacent channel, 962 kHz (312 metres but still called 319). this was a relatively clear channel that had previously been used by Radio Atlantis, and Caroline's reception in the UK improved.

Meanwhile Radio Mi Amigo was experiencing interference on 1562 kHz (as had Veronica before it) and announced another frequency change. The 1562 kHz service closed on 23 July 1977 and Mi Amigo reopened on 1412 kHz (212 m) two days later.

Finally, it was decided to move Radio Mi Amigo onto 962 kHz (the same frequency as Caroline) and this happened on 1 December. Generator trouble meant that two services could no longer be broadcast simultaneously, and so Radio Caroline was once more relegated to a night-time only service. The upside was that both stations were once more sharing the 50 kW tx, which meant that Caroline began to receive an increase in mail from all over Europe. At times one of the 10 kW transmitters was used to save on fuel and relieve stress on the generators. The 10 kW transmitters could be run on the Henschel generator that was available beside the two main MAN units and also a Cummings that was positioned on the aft deck behind the wheelhouse.

To the chagrin of fans, Caroline then began broadcasting sponsored evangelical programmes in order to supplement its income. Such programmes had been a staple of the 1960s pirates, but Caroline was broadcasting as many as three hours of them each night after Radio Mi Amigo closed, pushing the start of music programmes back to 9 p.m.

On 20 October 1978, a combination of technical and financial problems put the Mi Amigo off the air. This was compounded by a serious accident on the Mi Amigo on 19 January 1979, when the ageing ship took in water and the lifeboat had to be called to take off the last remaining crew members. Unhappy at the loss of advertising revenue, Radio Mi Amigo terminated its contract with Caroline in November and set about equipping its own ship. Caroline finally returned to the air on 15 April 1979. The first record played being Fool (If You Think It's Over), by Chris Rea, dedicated to the British Home Office, whose mission to close the station had not abated since the MOA. Broadcasting was in Dutch and English under its own name by day and in English at night, although for the first few months broadcasting finished at 10pm each evening. Radio Mi Amigo began broadcasting from the later that year, but this was short-lived.

Mi Amigo sinks

By the end of the 1970s, conditions on the MV Mi Amigo had deteriorated. The ship was now 60 years old and had been used to house offshore radio stations for almost 20 years, since her original use as Sweden's Radio Nord in 1961. The ship had drifted and run aground on sandbanks in the North Sea a number of times.

One particularly serious grounding occurred in September 1976 when the ship broke her anchor chain in heavy seas, the studios were flooded, the antenna feed cable broke and the hull was breached below the water line. On that occasion the crew had managed to patch the hull and keep the ship afloat until a tender arrived with welding gear and a new (and according to some reports, stolen) anchor. Six days after the grounding, and in spite of serious damage to the ship's record library, the stations were back on the air almost as if nothing had happened, but it was not to be the last such incident.

As early as 1972 serious doubts had been voiced as to the ship's seaworthiness, but by the end of the 70s some of the boat crews that visited the Mi Amigo were describing her as a floating death trap, so badly rusted that she was only being held together by her paint. Many of the DJs learned to paint during their time on board.

Finally, just after midnight UK time on 20 March 1980, the Mi Amigo foundered in a severe storm after once again losing her anchor and drifting for several miles. She began taking in water and the crew were rescued by lifeboat. The generator had been left running to power the pumps, but these could not manage the inflow of water and the Mi Amigo sank only ten minutes after taking off the four-man crew, three British nationals and a Dutchman, and their canary, named Wilson, after the former Labour Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. In sad and dramatic circumstances, the last words broadcast from the Mi Amigo were by Stevie Gordon and Tom Anderson, as follows:

Well, we're sorry to tell you that due to the severe weather conditions and the fact that we are shipping quite a lot of water, we are closing down, and the crew are at this stage leaving the ship. Obviously, we hope to be back with you as soon as possible, but just for the moment we would like to say goodbye. "It's not a very good occasion really, we have to hurry this because the lifeboat is standing by. We're not leaving and disappearing, we're going onto the lifeboat hoping that the pumps can take it, if they can, 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."

The crew of the Sheerness lifeboat Helen Turnbull were commended for the part they played in the rescue of broadcasters Tom Anderson, Stevie Gordon, Nick Richards and Hans Verlaan from Mi Amigo while she was sinking in the Black Deep near Long Sand Bank. Having to manoeuvre the lifeboat alongside the stricken vessel no less than thirteen times in high seas and a North Easterly gale to carry out the rescue earned Coxswain Charles Bowry an RNLI silver medal. Each of his crew were awarded The Thanks of the Institution on vellum.

The Mi Amigo's mast remained erect, pointing skywards out of the sea for a further six years in what some fans called a gesture of defiance.

1983-1990: MV Ross Revenge

Name	Radio Caroline
Area	Geographic areas bordering upon North Sea
Airdate	August 1983
Frequency	963 kHz (wavelength announced as "319" metres) later moving to 819KHz with additional transmitter in 531-594 KHz range (principally 558 KHz)
Format	album rock and news
Power	50 kW (second 10 kW transmitter later added)
Erp	27 kW (highly variable)
Owner	Ownership was hidden due to legality of operation.

"MV Imagine": U.S. Fraud

In 1983 a fraud case was heard in the United States, whereby the perpertrator used the "Radio Caroline" concept to defraud investors. This venture had involved a major media company based in New York City, Wolfman Jack, his manager in Los Angeles, and a man with a criminal history of fraud from New Jersey. The net result was a United States federal criminal trial in Philadelphia. When this venture was first proposed and money was raised the working name of the ship was the MV Imagine, so-named after the John Lennon song. Unfortunately the investors discovered too late that the MV Imagine was a phantom intended to deceive American investors as shareholders in a new U.S. broadcasting company holding the rights to broadcast as Radio Caroline from the North Sea. This was all revealed in sworn testimony during the trial in Philadelphia. . There was no legitimate connection with the Caroline operations

MV Ross Revenge

When the station finally returned to the airwaves, it did so with an impressive antenna system radiating from a 300 foot mast (90 m) high and the tallest on any ship in the world, and well over higher than the mast of the Mi Amigo. The new ship was the , a sturdy ex-North Sea factory fishing trawler and built during the Anglo-Icelandic Cod War for Ross Fisheries. The station commenced somewhat hurriedly having left port in Spain to avoid further legal entanglements, but at that time the studio was not completed and when this new Radio Caroline took to the air on 19 August 1983, unwanted mechanical sounds were also broadcast each time the microphone was opened by DJ Tom Anderson who had said "goodbye" from the sinking Mi Amigo in 1980.

Officially Caroline was managed from offices in North America with most of the advertising coming from the US and Canada. In practice, day-to-day servicing of the station was carried out clandestinely from France and the UK. From the ship's original anchorage in the Knock deep the Mi Amigo mast could be seen on the horizon.

Ronan O'Rahilly acted as the spokesperson for the new station and said that he wanted an oldies station. This met with opposition from some DJs and crew who had previously served on the Mi Amigo. Caroline returned to the air with the former album format as on the old ship, along with the return of some of the former presenters such as Andy Archer, Samantha Dubois and Simon Barrett.

The MV Ross Revenge was considerably larger than the old vessel and was to be fitted over the years with more elaborate transmitting equipment than the Mi Amigo had seen. In 1983 two 5 kW RCA transmitters were available besides the RCA 50 kW unit. One of these was initially regarded as not serviceable. When Radio Monique hired the main transmitter, sufficient spare parts could be taken from a fourth transmitter that was brought on board from Ireland, to rebuild the third transmitter into a working 10 kW unit. (the RCA 5 and 10 kW transmitters are similar in many respects). The remaining 5 kW transmitter was later converted for short wave use.

The availability of four studios enabled the ship to transmit a number of other services for the first time. As in the 1970s Caroline tried out several frequencies, among them besides 963; 576, 585 (briefly), 558 (after Laser 558 closed) and later 819 kHz. (By this time European mediumwave channels had been reallocated to exact multiples of 9.) In the evenings on 963, in addition to the main Radio Caroline service on 576 or 558, some alternative music programmes were tried, including the reggae-oriented "Jamming 963", and then throughout 1986 and early 1987, a separate programme of progressive and indie rock called Caroline Overdrive. This service can be considered as more in line with the album format.

On 9 August 1985 it was announced that an official vessel was anchored one hundred and fifty yards from the Ross Revenge (day one of "Eurosiege"). It was the period that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) put out a permanent watch on all activities in the Thames Estuary regarding the movements of ships in the neighbourhood of the MV Ross Revenge and the MV Communicator, which was at that stage the radio ship for Laser 558. Caroline DJs on board the ship at this historic time included Susan Charles, Peter Philips, Johnny Lewis, Dave Collins and David Andrews. On 3 September 1985 at 24:00 hours the Dioptric Surveyor departed owing to a force nine storm.

Radio Monique

Once again, Caroline had a Dutch operation. From December 1984 the Ross Revenge broadcast the taped and live programmes of a Dutch music radio production company by day under the name Radio Monique using the 50 kW transmitter. These programmes featured mainly Pop and Euro-Pop style music, aimed at the mainstream Dutch radio listening audience, which gave Radio Monique wide appeal throughout the Benelux.

In addition, Caroline transmitted paid-for programmes of various Dutch and American religious evangelist broadcasters such as Johan Maasbach and Roy Masters. These were broadcast on medium wave (and later on short-wave as well) under the name "Viewpoint 963/819" (or "World Mission Radio (WMR)" in the case of the SW service).

In November 1985, the competitor offshore station, Laser, dragged its anchor in a storm. Laser broadcast a Mayday (distress signal) call, which the DTI answered and escorted the Communicator into harbour, where they impounded the ship. With Laser off the air, Caroline moved from 576 kHz to Laser's 558 kHz frequency, now broadcasting a Top 40 music format somewhat similar to Laser's (albeit with a higher proportion of oldies) under the name Caroline 558. Thus when Laser briefly returned as Laser Hot Hits, it was in turn forced to use Caroline's former (and somewhat inferior) frequency of 576.

The mast collapses

In 1987 the British Government passed the Territorial Sea Act which extended the UK maritime limit from three to twelve nautical miles. In order to remain in international waters, the ship moved to a new, less-sheltered anchorage. Initially this was regarded as a minor inconvenience as the mast—the tallest ever used in offshore radio) -- was thought sturdy enough to operate at this anchorage. However, in October a massive storm hit southern England, causing loss of life and severe damage to buildings and trees. Unable to take shelter inside territorial waters, the MV Ross Revenge was forced to weather the storm in the North Sea.

The following day Caroline was one of the few stations in the South East of England still on the air. However, unbeknown at the time, the storm had severely weakened her antenna mast, which collapsed in another storm some weeks later (a video taken aboard the ship at the time by Nigel Harris, known as Stuart Russell in earlier times, is widely available). Caroline quickly returned to the airwaves, initially with a makeshift aerial which gave a less powerful signal (and as a result, a much reduced audience). For several months only one transmitter could be used, leading to the loss of the crucial income-generating Radio Monique, although a substitute Dutch daytime service, Radio 558 (later Radio 819), was eventually established.

1989 Joint Anglo-Dutch Raid

On land, the UK government sharpened the 1967 anti-offshore broadcasting law further, this time to permit the boarding and silencing of stations operating in international waters, if their signal could be received in the UK, even if their vessels were foreign registered and operated. Lord Annan, author of the 1977 Report of the Committee on the Future of Broadcasting, spoke in defence of the pirate in the House of Lords at Report Stage on the Broadcasting Act 1990, saying "Why break a butterfly upon the wheel?" In an article written for the pressure group Charter 88, Steve McGann added "Whether Caroline was right to maintain her defiance for so many years is irrelevant. Her story illustrates how uniquely dangerous government regards an independent voice transmitted over unrestricted airwaves and to what ends it will go to silence it." This legislation, which some see as Draconian, remains in force today.

During mid-August 1989 (months before the new law had even made it through Parliament) Authorities in several European countries carried out a coordinated series of raids on houses, recording studios and offices believed to be used by the Caroline organisation. On 18 August a British government chartered ship pulled up alongside the Ross Revenge and requested permission to board in order to "discuss the future" of the Ross Revenge and the stations operating from it. This request was declined, as was a request to cease transmissions on 819 kHz. (Surprisingly, no request was made in respect of 558 kHz transmission). However, a request to cease broadcasting on the short wave frequency 6215 kHz was complied with, and after several hours the British government chartered ship returned to port.

However, the following day James Murphy, an investigator for the UK Office of Official Solicitor acting on behalf of the UK Department of Trade and Industry, joined colleagues and counterparts from the Netherlands Radio Regulatory Authority to carry out an armed raid on the Ross Revenge in which vital equipment was wrecked or confiscated.

It was claimed that Caroline's use of a marine "supplementry distress and calling" frequency 6215 kHz for the transmission of paid-for religious programmes was causing interference to maritime communications (although the shortwave transmissions had stopped on the day prior to the raid). That station was called World Mission Radio and its on-air announced address was in California.

The main reason though, according to most people, was that 1.5 million people were listening each day to Radio Monique, transmitted from the Ross Revenge. The Dutch state radio station discovered this and complained to the authorities to do something about it because, they argued, they were losing potential advertising money.

The interference on short wave, however, did exist; and several times Caroline was warned about this by officials and offshore-radio fans.

Part of the raid was broadcast live before officials finally cut off the transmitters. Dutch nationals onboard, were arrested and taken back to the Netherlands, together with most of the broadcasting equipment. Non-Dutch staff were not arrested but were given the option of staying on the ship or returning to the Netherlands - most chose to stay on board.

The legality of the raid (as well as accounts of what actually took place on board that day) is still hotly disputed between the Caroline Organisation and the authorities. Caroline claimed that the boarding of the ship and removal/destruction of equipment was an act of piracy on the high seas under international maritime law (a crime which at the time still carried the death penalty). The Dutch claimed that as the ship's Panamanian registration had lapsed in 1987, it was not under legal protection from any country and that its transmissions were a breach of international radio regulations which since 1982 have prohibited broadcasting from outside national territories. Several years after the raid some of the seized items were returned to the station.

Photos taken of the Ross Revenge just one day after this raid are available to see at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauleaston/sets/72157616303013172/

1990-1991: After the raid

Six weeks after the police raid, on 1 October 1989, Radio Caroline restarted from the Ross Revenge . Although initially using makeshift equipment and on very low power, Caroline's return was seen by its staff both as a gesture of defiance toward the raiders and a necessary measure to retain the 558 kHz frequency (which at the time was regarded as one of best available on the medium wave band due to the low level of night-time interference). One of Caroline's most faithful people of all time, engineer Peter Chicago, had hidden parts during the raid. In six weeks he managed to put these into good use and restored the 5 kW transmitter previously used on short-wave to 558 kHz.

Over the following months Caroline's signal quality improved as transmitting valves were donated and programming returned to normal. A new challenge occurred in June 1990, when Spectrum Radio, a new multi-ethnic community radio station for London, was allocated 558 kHz, the same frequency as Caroline. This was seen by many of Caroline's fans as an attempt by the British authorities to jam Caroline.

In the event Caroline's signal caused more interference to Spectrum's than vice versa. Caroline broadcast regular apologies to Spectrum and its listeners but refused to vacate the channel. Spectrum threatened to sue the Radio Authority, which relented and allowed Spectrum to temporairly use a second, clear frequency of 990 kHz (despite earlier claims that no alternative frequencies were available) alongside 558 kHz. Eventually, however, Caroline did leave 558 kHz and moved to 819 (the former Dutch frequency).

This continued until 5 November 1990, when lack of fuel and supplies finally put the station off the air. The final song played being "Pilot of the Airwaves" by Charlie Dore, which turned out to be (unintentionally) poignant. Most of the previous broadcasting staff had by now left. A skeleton staff of volunteers remained on board for a year as caretakers, whilst fresh funding and equipment was sought on land.

In November 1991 hurricane force storms caused the ship to break anchor and drift onto the Goodwin Sands, a notorious "ships' graveyard" in the English Channel. The crew were rescued by RAF helicopter. The Ross Revenge was later salvaged and brought into harbour in Dover.

Radio Caroline ceased to be an unlicensed, offshore pirate radio broadcasting operation.

Name	Radio Caroline
Area	:Europe (Eurobird 1); Worldwide (Internet)
Airdate	1999
Frequency	Sky Digital: 0199 UPC Ireland: 927Eurobird 1: 11224V
Format	AOR (Album/adult oriented)
Owner	Radio Caroline Ltd. and Caroline Support Group (originally called the Ross Revenge Support Group).
Website	http://www.radiocaroline.co.uk

1991 onwards: Licensed Support Group era

Following the near shipwrecking of the Ross Revenge and subsequent harbouring off the south east coast of England in 1990, the ship has been maintained by an association of enthusiasts called the Caroline Support Group (originally called the Ross Revenge Support Group - this way they could support the ship without getting into any legal trouble with regards to supporting the station). As of 2007, following numerous moves, the Ross Revenge has been docked at Tilbury and is undergoing repairs and maintenance by a volunteer crew. The ship still has working radio studios aboard, from which both Caroline and BBC Essex have occasionally broadcast

Licensed Radio Caroline via Restricted Service Licenses

Radio Caroline was off the air for most of the 1990s, with the exception of occasional low-power broadcasts of one month's duration. A number of these licensed 28-day RSL (Restricted Service Licence) broadcasts took place from the Ross Revenge during the 1990s, with the ship anchored off Clacton, in London's Canary Wharf, Southend Pier and off the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.

The most recent and, reportedly, most successful month-long RSL broadcast ran from 7 August until 3 September 2004, from the ship moored at the cruise liner terminal jetty at Tilbury in Essex. On this occasion the medium wave frequency authorised was 235 metres (1278 kHz) and an ISDN link enabled the programmes created on-board to be routed by landline to their Maidstone studio and thus to web streams and the satellite broadcast. The retailer ASDA and English Heritage, guardians of Tilbury Fort, were amongst the backers for this short duration event, intended to mark the 40th anniversary year of Radio Caroline and promote awareness of the continuing legalised digital and satellite programmes.

A number of shorter duration broadcasts on 531 kHz AM from the Ross Revenge have taken place over various 'bank holiday' weekends, beginning on 28–31 August 2009. The next planned broadcast on this channel is scheduled for 28–30 August 2010, which will coincide (to within a few days) with the 50th anniversary of the first voyage of this ship.

Via satellites and Internet

Originally using legal and landbased studios leased from EKR in Kent, UK,Radio Caroline began broadcasting via satellites from 19.2° and Eurobird 1, covering Western Europe, first with an analogue, and then later with a digital service. Astra transmissions temporarily ceased in November 2002. The station is also heard on the Internet.

Former offshore broadcasters who continue to broadcast on the land-based Caroline are Roger Mathews, Nigel Harris, Martin Fisher, Marc Jacobs, Johnny Lewis, Doug Wood, Dave Foster, Cliff Osbourne, Bob Lawrence, Jeremy Chartham and Ad Roberts. Evangelical programmes are broadcast, together with a number of sponsored specialist music shows. Easter weekend 2008 saw 3 days of live broadcasting from the Ross Revenge in Tilbury featuring 10 presenters from the Mi Amigo of the late 70s. Those aboard for the 90 hour reunion were Roger Mathews, Mike Stevens, Bob Lawrence, Brian Martin, Martin Fisher, Cliff Osbourne, Jeremy Chartham, Marc Jacobs, Ad Roberts, Dick Verheul and Kees Borrell.

Worldspace

In 2002 Caroline took a channel with the WorldSpace satellite radio system. This was a subscription-based satellite which carried only radio services and covered a third of the world from South Africa across to the western tip of India and northern Europe. A special dedicated WorldSpace receiver was required in order to receive WorldSpace stations, together with an annual subscription to descramble the broadcasts. This gave those living outside of the Sky Digital broadcast footprint (principally the British Isles), the chance to hear Caroline on a radio set. In 2007 Worldspace announced it would no longer offer services on its current platform of radios and would instead concentrate on its new Hybrid Satellite system.

Sky

From summer 2006 Caroline has purchased an EPG slot on Sky channel 0199. No subscription is required, so this is available using both the regular Sky subscription and the non-subscription Freesat from Sky service.

Other Caroline operations

Radio Caroline in Dutch

In January 2002, a Dutch Caroline-fan called Sietse Brouwer, launched a Netherlands-based Radio Caroline operating from Harlingen and broadcasting on the Dutch cable network with coverage in the northern Netherlands. This operation was run largely independent of UK Caroline. This was intended to be a prelude to obtaining an AM frequency from the Dutch authorities in 2003, when Dutch medium wave frequencies were reallocated. However, Dutch Caroline failed to secure a high power AM frequency and the cable network service has been discontinued for the interim, owing to lack of funds. In the meantime, the Dutch station is broadcasting in the interim on 1602 kHz every evening and via internet streaming technology, using the resurrected name of Radio Seagull, presenting a progressive rock format as broadcast from the MV Mi Amigo in the early 1970s. From Nov 2009 Radio Seagull can be heard periodically on 558 kHz in London.

Radio Caroline Spain 102.7fm

This station broadcast during the summer of 2009 on 102.7Mhz in the Costa Blanca area of Spain from studios in Benidorm, the station was a huge hit in Spain but had to stop broadcasting due to lack of funding. Broadcasters included Tony Christian, Pawl "Hound Dog" Shanley, Dave Fox, Simon West, Dale Richardson, Peter D as well as meny more. The stations web site is still online at www.radiocaroline.es

Caroline South (Mediterranean Riviera)

The current licensed British Radio Caroline has a broadcasting partner based on the French and Italian Mediterranean Rivieras. Presented under the name Caroline South, this operation provides weekend evening programmes for Radio Caroline which are also broadcast on local FM radio stations on the Riviera. Veteran Caroline DJs Grant Benson and Tom Anderson are among the presenters.

Ireland

Caroline can also be heard in the Republic of Ireland on channel 927 on the NTL cable service in Dublin, Galway and Waterford.

Italy

In spring 2004, Caroline concluded a contract with RTL 102.5 to broadcast as part of the national DAB system in Italy where it can be heard in Rome, Milan, Turin, Bologna, Florence and Naples. Its programming is a mix of Caroline's UK-produced and locally created material.

Radio Caroline - New Zealand

Radio Caroline in New Zealand received permission to begin relaying Radio Caroline UK programmes on a trial basis every evening and overnight from 1 August 2009. The radio station can be heard in Dunedin and surrounding area and broadcasts on AM 756 and on 87.3 FM

See also

Pirate radio in Europe

Alan Crawford - Promoter of Radio Atlanta which became Radio Caroline South in 1964

Marine Broadcasting Offences Act - The law which terminated the commercial viability of offshore radio between March 1964 and August 1967

Tony Benn - Postmaster-General responsible for promoting passage of the Marine Broadcasting Offences Bill

References

Further reading

Radio Caroline, by Venmore Rowland, John - Landmark Press, UK, 1967 - The original book about Radio Caroline. Contains interesting information about the stations

When Pirates Ruled The Waves, by Harris, Paul - Impulse Publications, UK, 1968 - The first book published in the wake of the Marine Offences Act of 1967

History of Radio Nord, by Kotschack, Jack - Forlags AB, Sweden (Swedish), English version published in 1970 by Impulse Publications, UK - Radio Nord used the MV Mi Amigo which was later used by Radio Atlanta which merged with the Caroline Organization to become Radio Caroline South. This ship sank in 1980

From International Waters, by Leonard, Mike - Forest Press, Heswall, UK, 1996 ISBN 0-9527684-0-2 - An encyclopedia about the history of offshore broadcasting until 1996. Contains extensive coverage about the history of Radio Caroline

The Beat Fleet: The story behind the 60's 'pirate' radio stations, by Leonard, Mike - Forest Press, Heswall, UK, 2004 ISBN 0 9527684 1 0 - A look at the business operations behind Britain's offshore stations

Last of the Pirates, by Noakes, Bob - Paul Harris Publishing, Edinburgh, 1984, ISBN 0-86228-092-3 - This book is written by an engineer and DJ who worked on the MV Mi Amigo during the last phase of life prior to sinking. It is a tale of makeshift equipment, disorganization and severe personality clashes amongst the DJs and office staff. According to Noakes some of the station's equipment was acquired on unpaid credit, tenders changed ports to avoid inspection and the station had a high turnover of DJs, partly due to personal conflicts. Noakes describes days of back-breaking radio engineering work in appalling weather for DJs who were high on marijuana

Butterfly upon the Wheel, by Moore, Peter - Offshore Echo's, London, UK, 1992, ISSN 0150 2794 - Written by the station manager, this book recounts the adventures and struggles to keep Radio Caroline on the air from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, in the face of collapsing aerial towers, government blockades and an armed raid, draconian legislation and finally a shipwreck on the notorious Goodwin Sands. The title of the book is taken from a quote from Lord Annan during a debate in the House of Lords on the 1990 Broadcast Bill, regarding the last-minute clauses which were added to strengthen the law against offshore broadcasting. This book has long been out of print, but may be available from specialist suppliers.

Records at Sea - The Story of the Ross Revenge, by Weston, Mike - Radio Caroline Sales, UK, 2002 - A detailed history of the MV Ross Revenge, from her days as a record-breaking North Sea Trawler to her record-playing years with Radio Caroline

Walker, Johnnie. The Autobiography. Penguin Books, London, 2007. ISBN 978-0-141-02428-8 - Includes details of the author's time at Radio Caroline in the 1960s (before and after the Marine Offences Act) and a planned return in the 1980s, which was scupperred by the delays in getting the Ross Revenge on the air

Ships in Troubled Waters, by Harris, Nigel - MyWayPublishing, UK, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9563996-0-1 - This book details the author's long history with Radio Caroline, both in the 1970s as Stuart Russell and from the 1980s onwards as Nigel Harris

Shiprocked - Life On The Waves With Radio Caroline, by Conway, Steve - Liberties Press, Dublin, 2009 ISBN 978-1-905483-62-4 - This book tells the story of Steve Conway and his career with Radio Caroline in the late 1980s, covering the final years of the station at sea, including the recovery from the collapse of the 300 foot broadcast tower in 1987. Conway was newsreader and DJ on board at the time, and also one of the final crew rescued when the Ross Revenge went aground on the Goodwin Sands in 1991. The move to satellite in 1998/99 is also covered briefly in an epilogue

References in other media

The Golden Age of Wireless album by Thomas Dolby, Track: "Radio Silence" - reference to a woman named "Caroline" and lamenting a lost love like an empty radio frequency

Freeze Frame album by Godley & Creme, 1979, Track: "Get Well Soon" - reference to Radio Caroline

Rock and roll track by Status Quo - "Waiting all the time to find radio plays on Caroline"

Pirate Radio track by Ska band The Toasters - Reference to Radio Caroline

Hearthammer by Scottish Folk Rock band Runrig - "Lying under the covers. Radio on. Settle down with Caroline as she sailed all summer long"

Walking down the King's Road track by Squire - Reached top 75 - "In a Chelsea drug store with some friends of mine, mini skirts, dolly birds and Radio Caroline"

The Goodies episode Radio Goodies, made at the same time as the pirate stations were broadcasting, spoofs the pirate radio concept, although it does not mention Radio Caroline by name.

The Boat That Rocked 2009 movie is set in 1966 and uses a vessel that is similar to the 1983 MV Ross Revenge, but according to the producer, the movie is pure fantasy and not a depiction of true events or of any actual radio station.

External links

Radio Caroline UK website

Radio Seagull website

Radio Caroline Spain 102.7fm

Radio Caroline International, Spain

Ross Revenge radio ship official website

Horizon magazine website

Caroline 1395MW service

Website by Ad Roberts, Radio Monique presenter {last update 2008}

www.eylard.nl Unique 80's photos from Radio Caroline/Ross Revenge

Radio Caroline archival material

Video

RADIO CAROLINE, RAMSEY HARBOUR 15/08/1967 & 28/08/1964 from Border TV archive

RADIO CAROLINE INTERVIEW 07/08/1967 w/ Postmaster General Edward Short, from Border TV archive

The attack in 1989

A Day in the Life - broadcasting offshore from the M.V. Ross Revenge

Category:Offshore radio Category:Radio stations established in 1964 Category:Classic rock radio stations in the United Kingdom Category:Pirate radio stations Category:Internet radio in the United Kingdom Category:Satellite radio stations

Name	Tony Blackburn
Caption	Blackburn at the 2008 BAFTA Television Awards
Birth date	January 29, 1943
Birth place	Guildford, Surrey
Occupation	disc jockey

Tony Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, who broadcast on the "pirate" stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s and was the first disc jockey to broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 1967. In 2002 he was the winner of the ITV reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.

Early career

He was born Antony Kenneth Blackburn, in Guildford, Surrey, but in 1946 his family moved to Dorset. His father was a GP, and he was educated at Castle Court School in Parkstone, Poole, Dorset and Millfield School in Somerset, which he entered on a sports scholarship. He went on to become captain of the school cricket team, but left before taking any examinations. He then achieved a clutch of O-levels, following private tuition, and enrolled for a HND course in Business Studies at Bournemouth Technical College. He began his career as a singer, then worked as a DJ for the offshore pirate radio stations Radio Caroline and Radio London, before joining the BBC in 1967, initially broadcasting on the Light Programme.

1960s and 1970s

He was the first DJ on BBC Radio 1 when it was launched on 30 September 1967, and presented the breakfast show until 1973. The first words spoken on BBC Radio 1 were "...and good morning everyone! Welcome to the exciting new sound of Radio 1". As his singing career failed to take off, despite 14 singles being released (two of which, "So Much Love" and "It's Only Love" made the UK Top 40), he stopped singing and concentrated on radio presenting. His cheery style and corny jokes ensured his household reputation and made him a popular figure with some, though his dislike of heavy and progressive rock and punk/new wave made him a hate figure with others. His fellow Radio 1 DJ John Peel would often derisively refer to him as "Timmy Bannockburn".

At first he was associated mainly with bubblegum and mainstream pop, but he later championed soul music. It was largely due to him that "I'm Still Waiting" by Diana Ross, which was initially just an album track, was released as a single in the UK in 1971 and reached number one. He was a regular host of Top of the Pops and in 1968 he fronted his own show, Time For Blackburn, produced by Southern Television for the ITV network.

In 1973 he released a Northern soul single under the name Lenny Gamble, and was allegedly furious when Noel Edmonds, who had recently been given Blackburn's BBC Radio 1 breakfast show slot, revealed the alias on air. Nevertheless both broadcasters later became close friends.

In June 1973, he took over the weekday mid-morning slot, where he introduced 'The Golden Hour'. The feature was to prove popular, being carried on by Simon Bates and Simon Mayo when they took over the slot in subsequent years.

In November 1977 he took over the weekday afternoon show. During this period, he was going through divorce with his first wife, actress Tessa Wyatt.

1980s and 1990s

In early 1980 he took over Junior Choice on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8-10am, while continuing to present the Sunday chart show until the end of 1981 - being succeeded by Tommy Vance. During 1982 BBC Radio 1 dropped the name Junior Choice and the show became the Weekend Breakfast Show which Blackburn continued to host until his final show on 23 September 1984. In addition to his BBC Radio 1 weekend show, he joined BBC Radio London in 1981, where he presented the weekday afternoon show. It was here that he showed his love for soul music.

Having left BBC Radio 1 after 17 years he took over BBC Radio London's weekday mid-morning show in 1984, mixing soul music with guests and phone-ins until 1988 when he joined Capital Gold presenting the breakfast show for many years, later moving to the drivetime slot until early 2002 when he took over the Weekday Evening Show from 8-10pm, playing soul music.

Recent years

Blackburn left Capital Gold in late 2002; he joined London's Jazz FM following the station's acquisition by GMG Radio in March 2003 as host of Real Soul every weeknight from 10pm until midnight, initially a live programme before a contract to host the Classic Gold breakfast show that May meant the show became voicetracked - Real Soul ended in March 2004. He was awarded the 'Oldie Of The Year' title in 2003. In addition, Blackburn presented a pre-recorded show entitled the Real Party Night, broadcast across the GMG Radio network and later by CN Radio stations every Saturday evening, prior to its conclusion in mid 2005.

In March 2004, Blackburn returned to BBC London 94.9, presenting a Monday evening soul show, and in addition to that, in April of the same year, he also took on the Saturday lunchtime show.

He also hosted the breakfast show on Classic Gold, with co-hosts Erika North and Sandy Warr. Although his Monday evening show on BBC London 94.9 ended in July 2004, he still continued to present the Saturday lunchtime show for the station.

In June 2004, he was temporarily suspended from his show on Classic Gold for playing songs by Cliff Richard, in defiance of a ruling by the head of programmes that Richard's music did not match the station's 'brand values'. The dispute made national headlines and was even referred to in Parliament, with Leader of the House Peter Hain voicing his support for Blackburn. He was reinstated, amid rumours that the episode was merely a publicity stunt. The station started adding Richard's songs to their playlist after public reaction to this.

He performed in a science fiction audio play based on the Doctor Who television series by Big Finish Productions - The Rapture. He played himself as a DJ, in an Ibiza nightclub where sinister forces are brainwashing the patrons.

In 2002, he appeared in the first series of the British reality TV series, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, which he eventually won. Blackburn also occasionally fronts competitions on GMTV, including "The Clues Brothers" (a parody of The Blues Brothers), with fellow DJ Keith Chegwin.

In February 2006, Tony's house was renovated in an episode of How Not to Decorate.

In 2007, Blackburn was part of Beat The Boys on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. His obstacle was 'Tony Blackburn's Wheel of Steel'.

He made a few appearances on Never Mind the Buzzcocks between 2001 and 2005, appearing alongside guests such as Slash and Gary Moore. He gallantly took all jibes about his clothing on the chin, and at one point climbed onto the desk and gave Bill Bailey a lap dance! He also revealed on the show when asked for a connection between Russ Conway and Tony Iommi that the top of his ring finger on his right hand had been severed off in a toilet door as a toddler, but it had been re-attached, amd the nerves were not completely severed.

In 2007, Blackburn collaborated with The Wurzels to re-release "I Am A Cider Drinker", in aid of a Bristol prostate cancer charity.

He left the Classic Gold breakfast show, upon the merger with Capital Gold, the same year.

On 30 September 2007, he co-presented a recreation of BBC Radio 1's first programme with Chris Moyles to mark the station's 40th birthday.

Upon leaving Classic Gold, Blackburn continued with his Saturday Lunchtime show on BBC London 94.9 and also took over a three hour soul show on the KMFM network in Kent each Sunday afternoon. Blackburn made celebrity guest appearances on Channel 4's Countdown in early October 2007.

Blackburn has been a vegetarian since he was four years old.

Current work

In January 2008, in addition to his two weekend shows, he began presenting a weekly show on KCFM 99.8fm in Hull and East Yorkshire.

In February 2008, he took over the weekend breakfast show on 102.2 Smooth Radio in London from 7–10 am every Saturday and Sunday. The show began simulcasting on several other stations in the Smooth Network from 7 June 2008. Blackburn also acted as holiday cover for his Smooth colleague Graham Dene on the weekday breakfast show. Lynn Parsons was his weekend breakfast show cover. From 21 August 2010 his weekend breakfast show will be extended by one hour, airing from 6-10am.

On 9 March 2008, he began a Sunday request show (in place of his Saturday show) on BBC London 94.9. He also presents the Sunday afternoon show on the KMFM radio stations in Kent. At the beginning of April 2009, his Sunday show returned to a soul and Motown format.

Blackburn co-presented the BBC Children In Need programme with Caroline Feraday, from Dickens World in Chatham, Kent for the BBC South East region on 14 November 2008.

He can now also be heard on the new Radio Plymouth every Sunday afternoon.

On Bank Holiday Monday 31 May 2010 Blackburn returned to BBC Radio 2 for a one-off live show featuring the 60 Top Selling Hits of the 60s. In July 2010 he also stood in for 3 days for Judi Spiers on BBC Radio Devon.

On Bank Holiday Monday 30 August 2010 he again returned to BBC Radio 2 for another one-off live show featuring the top 100 million-selling UK singles.

On Saturday 6 November 2010, Blackburn replaced Dale Winton as the regular host of BBC Radio 2's Pick of the Pops programme.

Blackburn now presents BBC Radio 2's Pick of the Pops every Saturday from 1-3pm as well as BBC London 94.9 on Sundays from 12-2pm

Personal life

In 1972, Blackburn married actress Tessa Wyatt. They had a son Simon. They divorced in 1977. He lives with his second wife Debra in Arkley, near Barnet, Hertfordshire.

Publications

His autobiography, Poptastic; My Life in Radio was published in September 2007, by Cassell Illustrated.

Quotation

NME - August 1971

References

External links

Tony Blackburn at SmoothRadioLondon.com

Tony Blackburn at Radio Rewind

Audio: Interview with Paul Morley for The Observer, 2010

Category:1943 births Category:British radio DJs Category:English radio personalities Category:English television presenters Category:English vegetarians Category:I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here! contestants Category:Living people Category:Offshore radio broadcasters Category:Old Millfieldians Category:Participants in British reality television series Category:People from Guildford Category:Pirate radio personalities Category:Reality show winners Category:Smooth Network presenters Category:BBC Radio 2 presenters Category:Top of the Pops