Radio Caroline

Radio Caroline is a European radio station that originally commenced transmissions as an offshore radio station broadcasting from a ship anchored off the coast of South East England in international waters. Unlicensed by any government for the majority of its life, it was labelled as a pirate radio station.

1964-1968

Radio Caroline opens

Radio Caroline was founded in 1964 by Irish music industry businessman Ronan O'Rahilly. It began broadcasting on 28 March 1964 from the ex-passenger ferry MV Fredericia, anchored in international waters three miles off the coast of Essex, southeast England. The station took its name from Caroline Kennedy, daughter of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

Related Topics:
1964 - Irish - Ronan O'Rahilly - 28 March - MV Fredericia - Essex - Caroline Kennedy - U.S. President - John F. Kennedy

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O'Rahilly has said in interviews that when he flew to Dallas, Texas to buy the transmitters for the radio station, he was reading a copy of Look magazine. That issue contained a now famous photo essay about the president and his two children John, Jr. and Caroline, who were playing with him in the Oval Office. O'Rahilly recalled a picture that showed young John, Jr. crawling through a miniature doorway away from the President's legs. O'Rahilly changed the subject in his retelling of this story from John, Jr. to Caroline and that is how both his ship and station gained their names. In many homes within Ireland it was not uncommon to see a picture of both the Pope and President Kennedy hanging on the wall, such was the Irish fascination with the president and his family.

Related Topics:
Dallas - Texas - Look magazine - Oval Office - Pope

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When Radio Caroline started in March 1964, its first theme tune played at close down was Jimmy McGriff's Round Midnight (an LP track on I've Got a Woman, Sue ILP 907 1962 UK; Sue 1012 USA). During March 1964, a Birmingham band called The Fortunes recorded the song Caroline (the B-side of You've Got Your Troubles, which entered the British charts in 1965, on Decca F11809), and this later became the station's theme song.

Related Topics:
Jimmy McGriff - Round Midnight - Birmingham - The Fortunes

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Radio Caroline chose a wavelength announced as 199 metres (which rhymed with "Caroline".) In reality the station was on 197.3 metres (1520 kHz) at the highest end of the Medium Wave Band next to Radio Luxembourg on 208 metres. (The name of the dial position was always in metres and the band was never referred to as "AM".) The Dutch Radio Veronica offshore station was on 192 metres and Radio Atlanta (which became Caroline South), chose 201 metres. The original transmitter power of Radio Caroline (which became Caroline North), was 10 kW. Broadcasting hours were initially limited from 6 AM to 6 PM daily under the slogan of "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 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 lonely housewives and later in the day they were targeted towards children arriving home from school in the afternoons. 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 radio was unknown in Europe.

Related Topics:
KHz - Radio Luxembourg - AM - Dutch - Radio Veronica - Radio Atlanta - KW - Pop music

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Caroline was not the first offshore station; the first ship-based radio station reportedly broadcast in the USA from the casino ship Rex, moored off California in the 1930s. Later, offshore radio ships were anchored off the coasts of Denmark and Sweden in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and since 1960 Radio Veronica had been broadcasting successfully to the Netherlands from a ship off the Dutch coast.

Related Topics:
USA - Casino - California - 1930s - Denmark - Sweden - 1950s - 1960s - 1960 - Radio Veronica - Netherlands

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Creation of Radio Caroline North and South

Other offshore radio ships soon followed Caroline's example and began broadcasting off the British coast. A few months after launch, Caroline merged with the new competitor station Radio Atlanta, and until 1968 broadcast from two ships ? the original vessel Fredericia, which moved to the Isle of Man to become Radio Caroline North ? and the MV Mi Amigo, the ex-Radio Atlanta ship, which remained anchored off the Essex coast and took the name Radio Caroline South. Together the two ships were able to cover most of the British Isles and the western-most parts of continental northern Europe.

Related Topics:
Radio Atlanta - Isle of Man - MV Mi Amigo

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The first programme heard on Caroline was presented by Simon Dee. Other DJs who went on become nationally famous included Tony Blackburn, Roger Day, Spangles Muldoon/Chris Cary, Keith Skues and Andy Archer. There were also a number of DJs from the USA and Commonwealth countries, such as Rosko. Syndicated shows from the USA as well as prerecorded religious programmes were also broadcast.

Related Topics:
Simon Dee - Tony Blackburn - Roger Day - Spangles Muldoon - Chris Cary - Keith Skues - Andy Archer - USA - Commonwealth - Rosko

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The Mi Amigo runs aground

In January 1966 the Radio Caroline South ship MV Mi Amigo drifted in a storm and ran aground onto the beach at Frinton-on-Sea. Transmissions ceased as the boat entered British territorial waters and the crew and broadcasting staff were rescued unharmed, but the ship's hull was damaged and it had to go into dry dock for repair. While the repairs were being carried out, Caroline South broadcast from the vessel Cheeta II, which was normally in use by a Swedish offshore station called Radio Syd, but which was off the air at that time, due to severe weather in the Baltic.

Related Topics:
1966 - Frinton-on-Sea - Swedish - Radio Syd - Baltic

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The Cheeta II broadcasts brought with them a change in frequency from 199 metres to 259 metres (actually 253, but called 259 to rhyme with Caroline). This was an astute move for the station, as it meant that Caroline's channel was now just a hair's-breadth away from the highly popular competitor pirate radio ship Radio London on 266m on the one side of the dial, and the BBC's Light Programme mainstream music and entertainment service on 247m on the other. This gave Caroline a higher profile and helped the station capture new listeners away from these other two channels. Radio Caroline North subsequently moved to 257m but also called it 259. Caroline would continue to utilise the "259m" wavelength until the late 1970s.

Related Topics:
Radio London - 1970s

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The Radio City death

In June 1966 Radio Caroline embarked on a joint venture with rival pirate Radio City, which broadcast from an old World War II marine fort off the Kent coast, seven miles from Margate. One of the directors of Caroline, Major Oliver Smedley, agreed to pay for a new transmitter to relay Caroline's programmes from the fort, while Reg Calvert, the owner of Radio City, would continue to run the operation but this time on behalf of Radio Caroline.

Related Topics:
1966 - Radio City - World War II - Marine fort - Kent - Margate - Oliver Smedley - Reg Calvert

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However, Radio Caroline then withdrew from the deal when it was heard that the government intended to prosecute those occupying the forts, which were still Crown property. Smedley, however, had received no payment from Calvert for the transmitter.

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A raid on the Radio City fort was subsequently launched by Smedley, and the station's transmitter was put out of action. Calvert then visited Smedley's home to demand the departure of the raiders and the return of vital transmitter parts. A violent struggle developed during which Smedley shot Calvert dead. During the subsequent trial, Smedley was acquitted on grounds of self-defence.

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The 1967 Marine Offences Act

The British government responded to the presence of Caroline and the other offshore stations in 1967 by passing the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act which made it an offence to advertise or supply an offshore radio station from the UK. All the offshore stations off the British coast closed, with the exception of Radio Caroline, which moved its supply operation to the Netherlands where offshore broadcasting had not yet been outlawed. She was the only UK offshore station to do so. However, the expected advertising revenue from overseas sources was not forthcoming, and less than a year later the station was forced off the air when the Dutch shipping company which tendered the two Caroline ships seized the vessels on grounds of non-payment.

Related Topics:
Marine Broadcasting Offences Act - Netherlands - Advertising

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Six weeks after the Marine Offences Act was passed, the BBC introduced its national pop station Radio 1, modelled largely on the successful pirate competitor station to Caroline, Radio London. The old BBC Light, Third and Home channels became Radios 2, 3 and 4 respectively. It was to be another five years until the first on-land commercial radio stations began to appear in the UK.

Related Topics:
BBC - Radio 1

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