I'd like to meet:
It was March 1964. Ronan O'Rahilly had an idea, a vision, and a way to break the BBC monopoly of playing no more than an hour a week of the music that millions of British kids were dying to hear. This is in fact the start of swinging London, The British invasion and the counter cultural revolution that forever changed the world.
The idea of taking a ship offshore into international waters and beaming back music that youth of England craved, broke the careers of The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Eric Burdon and the Animals, the Yardbirds, Steve Winwood and countless other working class British upstarts. The historical importance of Radio Caroline and the pirate radio phenomenon that followed is the last great untold rock and roll story. A group of rogue radio pirates hijacked the airwaves, braved the perils of the North Sea, the British Government, and the wrath of Victorian culture only to emerge with an audience that was close to half the population of the country.
Without the story of Radio Caroline and the other pirate radio stations the world would not have been blessed with some of the greatest artistic achievements of the following decades. Presented here are the memories and historical artifacts that make this one of the most colorful and important times in the history of rock and roll.
BELOW IS A SEVEN PART HISTORY OF RADIO CAROLINE DURING THE 1960'S AND 1970'S
1.) The Days Before Rock and Roll
2.) Don't Get Mad, Get Even
3.) The Glory Years
4.) Defiance, Defeat and Retribution
5.) Movies, Mayhem On Land, The Second Era and Loving Awareness
6.) Caroline's Dutch Era Dutch
7.) The Golden Age
THANKS TO RADIOCAROLINE.CO.UK
PROFILES OF TOP RADIO CAROLINE PRESENTERS
Johhny Walker Roger Day
Tony Blackburn Don Allen
Tommy Vance Tony Allan
Tom Lodge
Thanks to the The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame
Radio Caroline Offshore Presenters - Click On Name For Picture
PRESENTER DATE OF BIRTH PLACE OF BIRTH YEARS
MIKE AHEARN
September 30th, 1942
Liverpool, England
1965 - 1967
TONY ALLAN
September 22nd, 1949
London, England
1970's
DON ALLEN
March 8th, 1939
Winnipeg, Canada
1966 - 1968
ANDY ARCHER
January 22nd, 1946
Terrington, England
1967 - 1968
BUD BALLOU
Unknown
Syracuse, NY USA
1967 - 1968
COLIN BERRY
January 29th, 1946
Welwyn, England
1965 - 1966
TONY BLACKBURN
January 29th, 1943
Guilford, England
1964 - 1966
ROSS BROWN
Unknown
Queensland, Australia
1967 - 1968
ERROL BRUCE
October, 1942
Alexandria, Egypt
1964 - 1966
GERRY BURKE
1930
London, England
1966 - 1967
CARL CONWAY
Unknown
Ramsgate, England
1964
GORDON CRUSE
1942
Calgary, Canada
1966 - 1967
ROBBIE DALE
April 21st, 1940
Littleborough, England
1966 - 1968
RICK DANE
February 22nd, 1941
Cape Town, South Africa
1966
ROGER DAY
March 29th, 1945
Cheltenham, England
1967 - 1968
GERRY DUNCAN
1937
London, England
1964 - 1967
TOM EDWARDS
March 20th, 1945
Norwich, England
1967
ROGER GALE
August 20th, 1943
Poole, England
1964 - 1965
JIMMY GORDON
1944 Australia 1967
KEITH HAMPSHIRE
November 23rd, 1945 London, England
1966 - 1967
DEE HARRISON
1946 Brighton, England
1967
BILL HEARNE
August 6th, 1927
London, England
1965 - 1966
RIC JOHNS
January 26th, 1943 Thorpe, England
1964 - 1965
MARTIN KAYNE
October 27th, 1943
Gravesend, England
1967 - 1968
GARRY KEMP
August 28th, 1934
London, England
1964 - 1965
DOUG KERR
Unknown
Alberta, Canada
1964 - 1965
JERRY KING
May 2nd, 1941
Ontario, Canada
1967
JERRY LEIGHTON 1936
London, England
1964 - 1967
TOM LODGE
1936
Surry, England
1964 - 1967
MICK LUVZIT February 24th, 1944
Manitoba, Canada
1966 - 1967
MIKE MARRIOTT 1941
Leicester, England
1964
STEVI MERIKE October 23rd, 1945
London, England
1967
CHRIS MOORE 1941
Washington, DC USA
1964
SPANGLES MULDOON October 5th, 1946
Chester, England
1967 - 1968
JIM MURPHY March 24th, 1940
Beeville, Texas USA
1965 - 1966
COLIN NICOL December 29th, 1936
Perth, Australia
1964 - 1966
PAUL NOBLE April 10th, 1941
Gosport, England
1964 - 1965
TONY PRINCE May 9th, 1944
Oldham, England
1965 - 1967
EMPEROR ROSKO December 26th, 1942
U. S. A.
1966 - 1967
MARK SLOAN March 7th, 1942
Somerset, England
1965 - 1966
NORMAN ST.JOHN May 12th, 1943
Healsville, Australia
1965 - 1966
BOB STEWART July 3rd, 1939
Liverpool, England
1965 - 1967
JON SYDNEY December 12th, 1939
Clare, Australia
1965
RAY TERET Unknown
Salisbury, England
1965 - 1966
DAVE LEE TRAVIS
May 25th, 1945
Buxton, England
1965 - 1967
ALAN TURNER
March 29th, 1939
London, England
1964 - 1966
TOMMY VANCE
July 11th 1940
Oxford, England
1966
BRYAN VAUGHAN
February 23rd, 1941
Sydney, Australia
1964 - 1965
JOHNNIE WALKER
March 30th, 1945
Hampton-in-Arden, UK
1966 - 1968
GRAHAM WEBB
April 19th, 1936
Parramatta, Australia
1965 - 1967
DAVID WILLIAMS
Unknown
Oswestry, Shropshire
1966 - 1967
JASON WOLFE
1942
South Africa
1967 - 1968
STEVE YOUNG
1943
Penarth, Wales
1966 - 1967
TIM YALE
1945
Putney, London
1966
Music:
PRESS THE SQUARE BUTTON TO STOP THE MUSIC BEFORE PLAYING A VIDEO
Movies:
Radio Caroline Video - (Circa 1965)
Another History Lesson
Cheers to This!!!
Modern Tribute to Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline Book By Former DJ Tom Lodge
Books:
The Ship That Rocked The World book by presenter Tom Lodge. Also featured here is his exclusive interview with The Beatles!
View Jonny Dongel at Punx Dot Com
Heroes:
The Time Line of Swinging Sixties England and Radio Caroline
1963 - 1966
(More Years Coming Soon)
Help Us Fill It In!
(Message Us With Your Memories)
1963
August
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August 23 - The Beatles release "She Loves You" in Great Britain. It becomes the biggest selling single in pop music history.
September
-
September 13 – The Beatles, “She Loves You” is the #1 pop single.
October
-
October 11 – Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, “Do You Love Me” is the #1 pop single.
November
November 1 – Gerry & the Pacemakers, “You'll Never Walk Alone” is the #1 pop single.
November 22 - U.S. President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas TX. Radio Caroline will be named after President Kennedy’s daughter Caroline.
November 29 – The Beatles, “She Loves You” returns as the #1 pop single.
December
December 13 – The Beatles, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” is the #1 pop single.
December 30 - Ronan O’Rahilly purchases the ‘M. V. Caroline’ for the sum of 20,000 pounds. Pirate Radio is just around the corner.
1964
January
January 1 – Top of the Pops premiers on BBC television.
January 3 – The Beatles, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” is the #1 pop single.
January 17 – The Dave Clark 5, “Glad All Over” is the #1 pop single.
January 31 – The Searchers, “Needles & Pins” is the #1 pop single.
February
February 9 - The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, which breaks television ratings records.
February 21 – The Bachelors, “Diane” is the #1 pop single.
February 28 – Cilla Black, “Anyone Who Had A Heart” is the #1 pop single.
March
March 20 – Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, “Little Children” is the #1 pop single.
March 20 - For the first time in history, all Top Ten singles on the UK chart are by British acts.
March 27 - The M.V. Caroline drops anchor five miles off Harwich in international waters. At 9 p.m. that night Radio Caroline put out her first test signal.
March 28 – Chris Moore introduces, as the first record, the Beatles recording of "Can't Buy Me Love". Britain's first commercial radio station is on the air. Other sources claim the first record played was The Rolling Stones Not Fade Away, dedicated to Ronan O'Rahilly.
April
April 3 – The Beatles, “Can't Buy Me Love” is the #1 pop single.
April 20 - Gallup Poll shows that Radio Caroline has gained nearly seven million listeners in just three weeks of broadcasting. This doesn't include listeners under the age of seventeen, and the total was from a potential audience of only twenty million people.
April 24 – Peter & Gordon, “World Without Love” is the #1 pop single.
April 26 - The Rolling Stones release their eponymous debut album
May
May 8 – The Searchers, “Don't Throw Your Love Away” is the #1 pop single.
May 22 – The Four Pennies, “Juliet” is the #1 pop single.
May 29 – Cilla Black, “You're My World” is the #1 pop single.
June
-
June 26 – Roy Orbison, “It's Over” is the #1 pop single.
July
July 2 - Radio Caroline and Radio Atlanta merge under the Caroline logo. It is agreed that MV Caroline, the larger, heavier and stronger vessel, should go North to a position off the coast of the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.
July 3 - Caroline sails north. Keeping outside territorial waters, she continues to broadcast all the way around the tip of England to her new position three and a half miles off Ramsey, Isle of Man.
July 10 – The Animals, “House Of The Rising Sun” is the #1 pop single.
July 17 – Rolling Stones, “It's All Over Now” is the #1 pop single.
July 24 – The Beatles, “A Hard Day's Night” is the #1 pop single.
August
August 14 – Manfred Mann, “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” is the #1 pop single.
August 28 – The Honeycombs, “Have I The Right” is the #1 pop single.
September
September 11 – The Kinks, “You Really Got Me” is the #1 pop single.
September 25 – Herman's Hermits, “I'm Into Something Good” is the #1 pop single.
October
October 9 – Roy Orbison, “Oh Pretty Woman” is the #1 pop single.
October 15 – Harold Wilson elected British Prime Minister.
October 23 – Sandie Shaw, “(There's) Always Something To Remind Me” is the #1 pop single.
November
November 3 - Lyndon B. Johnson re-elected President of the United States.
November 13 – Roy Orbison, “Oh Pretty Woman” returns as the #1 pop single.
November 20 – The Supremes, “Baby Love” is the #1 pop single.
December
December 4 – Rolling Stones, “Little Red Rooster” is the #1 pop single.
December 11 - Sam Cooke is killed under mysterious circumstances in Los Angeles, California. Shortly thereafter, "A Change Is Gonna Come," a song considered by many to be his best, is released.
December 11 – The Beatles, “I Feel Fine” is the #1 pop single.
1965
January
January 15 – Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, “Yeh Yeh” is the #1 pop single.
January 20 - Alan Freed, DJ who first used the phrase Rock and Roll dies at the age of 43.
January 22 - Britain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Luxembourg and Sweden sign a Council of Europe Agreement to ban pirate radio broadcasts 'on board ships, aircraft or any other floating or airborne objects'. The agreement bans not only the broadcasts themselves but also bans anyone from providing the stations with supplies, equipment or broadcasting material.
January 29 – The Moody Blues, “Go Now” is the #1 pop single.
February
February 5 – The Righteous Brothers, “You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling” is the #1 pop single.
February 19 – The Kinks, “Tired Of Waiting For You” is the #1 pop single.
February 26 – The Seekers, “I'll Never Find Another You” is the #1 pop single.
March
March 12 – Tom Jones, “It's Not Unusual” is the #1 pop single.
March 18 - Rolling Stones Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Bill Wyman are fined five pounds for urinating on the wall of a London gas station. The band had asked to use the restroom, but it was out of order.
March 19 – Rolling Stones, “The Last Time” is the #1 pop single.
April
April 9 – Unit Four Plus Two, “Concrete and Clay” is the #1 pop single.
April 16 – Cliff Richard, “The Minute You're Gone” is the #1 pop single.
April 23 – The Beatles, “Ticket To Ride” is the #1 pop single.
May
May 9 - Bob Dylan performs the first of two concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall, concluding his tour of Europe. Audience members include The Beatles, and Donovan.
May 14 – Roger Miller, “King Of The Road” is the #1 pop single.
May 21 – Jackie Trent, “Where Are You Now (My Love)” is the #1 pop single.
May 28 – Sandie Shaw, “Long Live Love” is the #1 pop single.
June
June 12- The Beatles were appointed Members of the British Empire (MBE) by the Queen. Since it was unusual for rock stars to be appointed as MBEs, a number of previous recipients complained and protested.
June 18 – Elvis Presley, “Crying In The Chapel” is the #1 pop single.
June 25 – The Hollies, “I'm Alive” is the #1 pop single.
July
July 2 – Elvis Presley, “Crying In The Chapel” returns as the #1 pop single.
July 9 – The Hollies, “I'm Alive” returns as the #1 pop single.
July 23 – The Byrds, “Mr. Tambourine Man” is the #1 pop single.
August
August 6 – The Beatles, “Help!” is the #1 pop single.
August 27 - The Beatles visit Elvis Presley at his home in Bel-Air. It is the first and only time the band and the singer met.
August 27 – Sonny and Cher, “I Got You Babe” is the #1 pop single.
September
September 10 – Rolling Stones, “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction” is the #1 pop single.
September 24 – The Walker Brothers, Make It Easy on Yourself” is the #1 pop single.
October
-
October 1 – Ken Dodd, “Tears” is the #1 pop single.
November
November 5 – Rolling Stones, “Get Off My Cloud” is the #1 pop single.
November 26 – The Seekers, “The Carnival Is Over” is the #1 pop single.
December
December 17 – The Beatles, “Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out” is the #1 pop single.
December 21 - Radio Caroline Club Ball at the New Brighton Tower Ballroom. It is a major event . Top line artists, including the Searchers, the Yardbirds, the Four Pennies, Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, Paul and Barry Ryan, the Honeycombs and Twinkle, are booked to appear and it is a complete sell out.
1966
January
January 8 - Shindig! Airs for the last time in the USA, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who.
January 21 – The Spencer Davis Group, “Keep On Running” is the #1 pop single.
January 21 - Beatle George Harrison marries fashion model Pattie Boyd. The couple met on the set of the Beatles' first movie, A Hard Day's Night.
January 28 – The Overlanders, “Michelle” is the #1 pop single.
February
February 18 – Nancy Sinatra, “These Boots Are Made For Walkin” is the #1 pop single.
March
March 4 - The Beatles' John Lennon is quoted in the London newspaper, The Evening Standard as saying that the band was now more popular than Jesus. Beatles protests and record burnings follow in the Southern US's "Bible Belt".
March 18 – Walker Brothers, “The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore” is the #1 pop single.
March 31 - The Labour Party under Harold Wilson win the general election.
April
April 15 – The Spencer Davis Group, “Somebody Help Me” is the #1 pop single.
May
May 3 - Swinging Radio England and Britain Radio commence broadcasting on AM with a combined potential 100,000 watts from the same ship anchored off the south coast of England in international waters.
May 6 – Manfred Mann, “Pretty Flamingo” is the #1 pop single.
May 16 - Legendary album Pet Sounds by Beach Boys released.
May 17 - Bob Dylan and the Hawks (later The Band) play their legendary show at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England, during which Dylan is booed by the audience due to his decision to tour with an electric band; the booing culminates in the famous "Judas" shout.
May 27 – Rolling Stones, “Paint It Black” is the #1 pop single.
June
June 3 – Frank Sinatra, “Strangers In The Night” is the #1 pop single.
June 24 – The Beatles, “Paperback Writer” is the #1 pop single.
July
July 2 - The Government publishes The Marine etc., Broadcasting (Offences) Bill, under which broadcasts from ships and marine structures will be unlawful. It will be unlawful to instigate, finance, provide goods or in any way aid a pirate radio. The maximum penalties are to be two years imprisonment, or a fine, or both.
July 8 – The Kinks, “Sunny Afternoon” is the #1 pop single.
July 22 – Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, “Get Away” is the #1 pop single.
July 29 – Chris Farlowe, “Out Of Time” is the #1 pop single.
July 30 - England beat West Germany 4-2 to win the 1966 World Cup at Wembley.
August
August 5 – The Troggs, “With A Girl Like You” is the #1 pop single.
August 5 - The Beatles released Revolver album.
August 19 – The Beatles, “Yellow Submarine"/"Eleanor Rigby” is the #1 pop single.
August 29 - The Beatles perform their last official concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California.
September
September 16 – Small Faces, “All Or Nothing” is the #1 pop single.
September 21 - Radio Caroline North DJ Mick Luvzit and Janet Teret (Sister of DJ "Ugly" Ray Teret are married on board the M.V. Caroline by the ship's captain and the Panamanian consul.
September 23 – Jim Reeves, “Distant Drums” is the #1 pop single.
October
-
October 7 - Johnny Kidd, writer of 'Shakin All Over' dies in a car accident.
October 28 – Four Tops, “Reach Out - I'll Be There” is the #1 pop single.
November
November 18 – Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations” is the #1 pop single.
December
December 2 – Tom Jones, “Green Green Grass Of Home” is the #1 pop single.