Hans Knot's International Radio Report - June 2007
To say it with the Four
Tops or Jonathan King, �It�s the same old song� as I say a wonderful
thanks for all your e mails. It�s always nice to get every day again so
many response. I really can feel what those favourite jocks in the
sixties and seventies of last century thrilled when another bunch of
letters came in. Also a very strange feeling that I wrote to them as a
listener, and they write now to me as caretaker of the history. Anyway
let�s go on with keeping the dream alive. Here is first one from our
southern neighbour Philip:
�I write to you asking a favour. I know you reach with your newsletter a
lot of people. Would it be possible to mention our website in your next
issue. We refreshed our Radio Mi
Amigo 319 website recently and at the moment the site is in Dutch
as well as in English. I decided to add the English language as the
statistics showed that there were a lot of English internet visitors too.
I thank you on forehand with greetings from Philip Vioen�. Well there
you go and here is the internet address:
https://users.fulladsl.be/radio-Mi-Amigo-319 https://www.radio-mi-amigo-319.eu
I did enjoy but maybe
Philip you can get another person to have a look on your page too. Too
many mistakes and it would be more pleasant to read if they were not
there. Also I see, when entering the Stan Haag page, a photograph which
is very familiar to me where no �copyright� is used at all. I always try
to find out who made the picture. If not I mention the archive source!
In last issue, after getting a press report from
Eric Wiltsher, I wrote in
the report: Thanks Eric and good luck. Maybe we should meet up again
whenever back in England or you are in Holland to share some memories
again. Eric and I did some interesting radio shows together about the
history of offshore radio including on some Satellite Radio stations in
the early nineties.
I think Eric enjoyed it as he came back to me with: �Dear Hans, That
might be fun, actually I'm off to meet your Queen soon on her state
visit to Slovakia. Shall I put in a good word for you? And thank you for
sharing the RTI Shop with your readers. Talking of old shows, remember a
video was made on the Ross Revenge for the satellite service from Rens
Satellite Shop? A listener sent me a copy he recorded from satellite. It
can now be found on Youtube, was I really that big :-) Part one of the
video, which is in three parts, can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAEMwal6Vss
Another connection with you included recently. A film crew from a well
known international news organisation came to Slovakia. Within moments I
asked him if he was from The Netherlands and yes he was. He remembers
much of the earlier broadcasting days and had certainly heard of you. I
confess we then went into anorak mode every evening after shooting the
TV documentary.�
Well
memories are there everywhere Eric. Good to know they know the name
�Hans Knot�. Could it be it was a Dutch guy with very blond hair, who
formerly worked for NOS in the USA and now has the base in Holland again?
Eric had more: �This is a short story that may interest your readers.
Sub headline, what have I done? Some very stupid people questioned why
last year we did something on 14 August - the stupid people were
actually in England. We again told the story of how as teenagers we had
new stations almost every day of the week and then in came the
authorities and closed it all down. The audience in central Europe were
horrified and intrigued. They were of the opinion that radio/media was
free since time began. Some listeners became angered by the story and
one said, "So we were the same as teenagers" - I had to say yes. Here
comes my sub-headline; the end result was people asking more and more
about offshore days and wanting to know the entire history. And don't
forget you have an open invite to come and see a station that doesn't
have liner cards for DJs, doesn't run a playlist so small you could fit
it on a budget priced MP3 player, and does encourage the DJs to
communicate with, not talk at, the audience. Best Regards, Eric.�
Hans Knot and Eric Wiltshire
(Photo Rob Olthof)
Almost unbelievable to hear the words of today�s teenagers in connection
with the offshore days 40 years back. On the other hand my lady Jana
generates from former Eastern Germany and knowing all the stories how
they lived and partly loved their lives way back then it�s perfectly
understandable. Hope to meet up some day Eric. We�ll be in touch.�
In last issue I had a link to a longer story written about three persons
with the name �Herrmann�, who worked in the early days of
Radio Veronica on board
their first radioship Borkum Riff. We can add another, fourth Herrmann,
to the guys:
�Hallo Hans, I have just read the story on the early beginnings of Radio
Veronica. This is just wonderful that the Herrmanns are being recognized!
I am married to another one of Gunther Herrmann sons named Ludwig. I
have heard so many stories about it that it is great to read about it.
In the summer of 1960 Ludwig has helped out as a very young teenager as
deckhand. Gunther sr. has loved Radio Veronica from its inception. His
second wife years ago painted a picture for Gunther sr. the ship from a
photograph he had. Radio Veronica has always been a part of the Herrmann
family heritage. Yours respectfully, Ciska van Ommeren-Herrmann.�
Very good for the family, who�s members have spread all over the world,
they have now the opportunity to read about the early adventures of
Offshore Radio in the Netherlands.
Time for another nickname,
which I heard while listening to an old Radio 270 recording. For Vince
Allan we knew already the nickname �Rusty� but in the program he was
named: Vince �Uncle� �Rusty� Allan. Let�s go to another e mail from
England this time:
�Hi Hans, Through the link on your latest report it was great to hear
again Bob Walton. While I was an engineer and producer at Radio
Luxembourg in London I recorded him as pianist and arranger on countless
Redifussion albums and I still have a CD of one of those sessions
although he used the name Robert Walton. He was kind enough to sign it
for me - A true gentleman. Cheers,
Alan Bailey.
Thanks Alan and that due to the fact that we share as much as possible
for the reader here is the e mail address everyone can send their
memories, photos and news: Hknot@home.nl
Attention to all lovers of the
Radio 390 programs as Erick from Hamburg has something to tell
you: �Hello Hans, l hope you like our interactive player with over 41
Radio 390 programmes from 1965 to 1967 and l will be adding more
programmes soon! Erick F�rber, Radio 390 Hamburg
Strasse Hamburg, 20354, Deutschland
www.radio390.de.ms
www.radio390hamburg.de.ms
Look, He never forgets to get attention in the report: �Hi Hans, another
good report, it must be so boring with everyone saying that! Guess you
are doing it right. Well you somehow knew my secret before I confirmed
it! Hope I will see you in August in London, or France or Spain or Swiss
or Belgium. I will help with the Caroline celebrations and look forward
to seeing all my buddies. Well one has to start somewhere and we
continue to grow at www.roskoradio.net so the natural extension is to
speak to the press. It is my intention to assist Radio Caroline to
become known world wide through outlets over here and to support their
drive to up their radar profile. I hope to be over in August to finish
our planning and see all the lads. More than that I can not say at this
time. Rosko�
https://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2562639.ece
I got another e mail from Frank van Heerde, who asked if I could give a
mention of a special program which is transmitted every Saturday between
17 and 19 hrs CET on Radio Enschede. Every week the presenters are going
back in time exactly 40 years. They follow the music from those days in
the USA, England and Holland. Now and then Frank tells some stories
about offshore radio too. You can tune in at
www.enschedefm.nl
I repeat this message while a mistake was made in the internet address.
Another interesting site to visit is:
https://www.hello-radio.org/historyofradio.html
My oldest son Jeroen, he became 32 years late May, sent me several
photos he found on ship spotting site, which photo is related to the
Caroline ship Ross Revenge.
https://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=328277
Hi Hans, here's some news to publish in your newsletter, because your
readers can now actually hear on air where your newsletter is. Original
and recorded offshore radio tapes of Swinging Radio England, Radio Mi
Amigo, Caroline, and many other offshore radiostations, can be heard in
the 'Jolly Roger Show' on Laserhothits .This station is still on air
thanks to the help of offshore radio fans. Every Saturday this free
radiostation can be heard on 6275 kHz from 9-15 hours UTC, all over
Europe. Site:
www.laserhothits.co.uk
Next
Henk from Holland who wants to plug one of the Big L deejays: �Steve
Garlick presents the Breakfast Show, Sundays from 0600-1000. I think
this deejay is absolute great Hans. What a program, he never makes any
mistake, really a radioman. I almost never miss his program on Sunday.
Really a must for every reader of your report. �
Henk also sent in a internet address reflecting the short existence of
the MV Magdalena. He
asked himself if anyone has ever taken a photograph of the transmitter
on board the Magdalena from Radio Mi Amigo in 1979. If so be so kind to
sent a jpg to us for publication. In the past Henk obtained such a
transmitter himself which he lent to the people of the War Museum in
Groesbeek. And the condition of the transmitter is very good. He would
love to see a photo of such a BC 10 H or BC 610 transmitter on a radio
ship. As always you can send it to Hknot@home.nl
By the way I�ve now 18 photos from the MV Magdalena
put on internet. They were never
published before.
Which flag was used on the MV
Magdalena?
The photos are partly made by Tom de Bree a deejay who was for one day
on the ship in 1979. He was so shocked from the conditions on the MV
Magdalena that he jumped back on the next tender. I asked him if he had
made a photo of the transmitter room on the ship and he came back with:
�No, I didn�t take any photo in the transmitter room. Also not from the
empty freezers. Also no photo was taken from the wire rope which
functioned as an anchor chain.� With these simple words he just hit the
button telling us how terrible the conditions were.
Anyway
whenever one of the former deejays from Mi Amigo 272 are reading the
report and have taken a photo of the transmitter (please before it was
smashed) feel free to send it to me.
Fran�ois Lhote from French sent me two photographs from the sixties. One
is really a nice one with on the right The Admiral
Robbie Dale from Caroline
South and the other guy is the German Singer Gus Backus. Gus became
known with his hit �Er hat Bohnen in de Oren� (He has beans in his ears!).
Gus Backus and Robbie Dale (Photo
Archive Fran�ois Lhote)
In the last issue of the Hans Knot International Report we had Brian
Keith writing about Magic 999 in Preston on AM. We have Chris Dannatt
responding on the subject: �Hi Hans - Just a quick message about
Robin Ross. My wife and I
went To Blackpool in Lancashire about a year ago, and visited the well
known �Pleasure Beach� amusement park. This complex is a huge fairground,
and has it's own radio station �broadcasting� via speakers located all
around the park. We took a rest break, and sat close to one of the
speakers (which play music and dedications to thousands of visitors
every day in the park) I was sure that I knew the voice on the radio,
and decided to go to the studio to see if I knew the voice concerned. I
was correct - It was Robin Ross. We went into his studio and he told us
that he runs the station in conjunction with 'Rock FM' - a local radio
station which covers Blackpool and Preston. He runs the station during
the summer months, and has other Radio business interests throughtout
the rest of the year. Regards, Chris Dannatt.
Radio Veronica used during their years on the high seas between 1960 and
1974 two ships, the MV Norderney and the MV Borkum Riff. It was Jelle
Boonstra who recently visited the isle of Borkum and wrote an article
with many pictures from both ships:
https://www.offshore-radio.de/images4/borkumriff/
From Belgium: �Hans this lady runs an internet radio station. Could you
give her a plug? Of course I will:
https://208.109.236.118:17910
https://profiles.yahoo.com/djshewolfbites_ssr?intl=us&os=win&ver=8.1.0.249
In last issue one of the topics was the Caroline House at
Singel in Amsterdam.
There was also a mention of an office which would be opened at
Koninginneweg in Amsterdam. This never happened in 1967 but was
mentioned in a newspaper article. It was Rob Olthof from Amsterdam who
reflected with: �The planned office was mentioned in those days by
famous organ musician Piet van Egmond to my father. He was neighbour of
Rosalie Siedenburg at the Koninginneweg and here place would be at first
the office. But later the Singel building was chosen. By the way Rosalie
was named �Pinky� by the Caroline boys. Anyone of you, Andy Archer,
Roger Day, Johnny Walker or Robbie Dale know why she got that name?
Another link to internet brings us to several photos taken during 1979
and 1980 by Thomas Schulin from Sweden
https://radiohistoria.jvnf.org/carolineimages.htm
After sending out the extra Hans Knot Radio Report, which told you all
about Johnnie Walker�s new book,
I got a lot of response, for instant from Colin Nichol: �What a lot I
didn't know about my old shipmate Johnnie Walker. But then those were
the early days and I've been a long way away. Eggy Ley was a fine jazz
musician as well as Radio Luxembourg producer. His real first name,
which was Derek. I found the following on line, with more information.
By the way, there's another nickname for you, if you don't already have
it - �Derek William �Eggy� Ley. Passed away in December 1995 in
Tsawwassen, B.C. Canada following a stroke earlier in the year. Eggy was
one heck of a guy. At a private party with several of the then Phoenix
Jazzers in attendance he actually encouraged me to blow, as opposed to
play, my trombone for a couple of choruses whilst he had the impossible
task of accompanying me whilst the rest of my �friends� derided my
efforts. In �Jazz, The Essential Companion� the following is said about
him. Ley, Eggy (Derek, soprano and alto sax, vocals, bandleader. Born
London 4th of November 1928. He took up soprano sax in 1949,and led a
top rated Dixieland band in Germany in 1955-1961. After returning to
London he joined Radio Luxembourg and played resident at the Tatty Bogle
Club 1961-69 before producing for BFBS (1969-83),freelancing and
co-leading Jazz Legend(with Hugh Rainey)1973. From 1983 leading his own
Hot Shots, Ley turned professional again, ran a small jazz magazine
�Jazzin' Around� and successfully recorded and toured abroad. He is one
of the pioneers of classic soprano sax. in England.� I cannot remember
when he moved to the Vancouver area, he had played at the Hot Jazz Club
several times before this. He played with his group at the Vancouver
World Fair and was a hit with the local jazz men. His widow, Karel,
still lives near to me and is very active in the Stroke Club which she
founded following Eggy's death. Eggy was very highly regarded in these
parts and a large number of friends and musicians braved a horrendous
snowstorm on Jan.20th 1996 to honour his life. Two sons came from
England, one a nice trombone player, the other a drummer. There was a
great musical evening at the local Legion, not too many dry eyes. Cheers,
Glen, still not able to play my 'bone in public.
With thanks to Glenn as well as Colin. Another one from Australia: �Hi
Hans, Thank you so much for your extra report. I often wonder if Johnny
Walker (and Robbie Dale) ever quite understand the change they brought
to our lives in 1967. Unfortunately, as time passes, the importance of
what took place in the North Sea on 14th August '67 seems to fade as
other world events happen. But those of us who lived through that time
won't forget. I hope these two heroes do realise this! Of course I'll
get the book. Yours in radio, Phil Crosby, Sydney Australia.�
Well
Phil I know it�s on the other side of the world but both Johnnie Walker
and Robbie Dale are heading for the annual
Radio Day in Amsterdam on
November 10th and we do have a special about 40 years MOA, so I think
they should tell the answer on your questions. By the way all
information on the annual Radio Day can be find here, including how to
book a hotel.
https://www.offshore-radio.de/radioday/
Our regular readers know that the former Veronica vessel
Norderney is still in the
harbour of Antwerp. Our reader Pierre Claessens was so kind to sent me 8
different photos he took early June from the MV Norderney. We�ve put the
complete serie on www.mediapages.nl where you can find them, thanks to
the web coordinator Wim van de Water at
https://www.mediapages.nl/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1604&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
VERONICA�S NORDERNEY HARBOUR ANTWERP 2007 PHOTO: PIERRE CLAESSENS
Robbie Duke once was a singer in the Jo Meek period and he had recorded
songs. However Joe died and so his songs were never official released.
But this same Robbie Duke became later for a short spell a Caroline
deejay. Just visit his site:
https://myspace.com/robbieladuke2
Time for Mike, Simon and Gary: �Hello Hans, we would like to pass on a
little bit of radio news from the UK and would like to tell everyone
about it. About a year ago across the www was an internet radio station
that used to work on medium wave on 1350khz 222metres. The name of the
radio station was Radio 222. I suppose that would be obvious? It ran for
quite some time. Well Hans the station has returned it can be found at
https://radio.222.tripod.com with improved website and using tripod
as a base for now, until the group can get there own domain name. They
are temporary usage of
www.imagine963.org and the music content is anything goes dating
from the 50s to 2000. At present the station is under test and would
like to hear from anyone who listens from around the UK would be nice!,
But we also appreciate some exotic reports, as we know that people read
your site from around the world. The website has two more pages to
complete. There is also a forum to join and discuss various subjects
radio related of course. The �about us� page will be something a little
different. Instead of normal text only we'll be adding voice track of
the history of the station. This basically for those with poor eye sight.
To contact us there is an email address which will be updated soon, when
visiting please sign our guest book as we would do on your website!, And
we can�t forget to mention the download page under construction, where
there'll be plenty of audio clips ranging from offshore to former
landbased pirate stations. Any way Hans I will send you a copy of the
history of radio and big thanks to you Hans. Best 73�s, Mark Peters,
Simon James & Gary Drew.
Well the three of you thanks in advance for the �History of radio� and I
do hope a lot of people have a tune in to your station.
Gerard Smit, one time
newsreader and presenter on RNI Dutch Service in the seventies, became
later a journalist. Years and years ago he informed us leaving Holland
as he was heading to Surinam. He runs his own news agency there and now
tells us he married the love of his live. Congratulations Gerard to the
both of you and that you may enjoy each other as much as possible.
Radio Noord, part of RTV
Noord, recently transmitted a most beautiful documentary about the
Nederbeat group The Rody-s which originated from Eastern Groningen. A
documentary partly spoken in Groningen dialect. I listened to it twice,
so beautifully produced. I then decided to write to three of the people
involved: Wiebe Klijnstra, Rob Bakker and Rob van Dam (Marc Jacobs). I
wrote them that if they lived in Great Britain I�d sent in a request for
nomination for a Sony Award for the best produced music documentary of
the year. A pity they live in Holland isn�t?
Wiebe came back with: �Although we are nominated nowhere, the fact that
the Rody�s story has gripped you as pure radioman tells me all!� And
Marc Jacobs wrote : � thanks for this marvelous compliment!� The Rody-s
were played a lot on Radio Veronica and had a special introduction too
on the very first hour of Radio 227.
Herman from Belgium is another regular with sending me each time more
interesting sites. Although this time I�m not too happy. Yes Herman is
Ok�, but the guy who made the next site never heard of copyrights and so
went to other internetsites to provide himself anonymously of wonderful
pictures.
https://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=157338067
And
what did we also get from Canada? An e mail from
Keith Hamsphire. Of
course we know him from Radio Caroline but millions of people,
especially in Canada known him from singing many wonderful songs. One
can be heard on youtube.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nOeklSkVMY
Next we go to the USA and Ron
O�Quinn: ��Thanks for including the photo of Johnnie Walker and
me in your recent report, however I don't want Roger Day and Steve
England left out. When I was in England last month I had a great reunion
with Johnnie and Roger. I have included a couple of photos of our dinner
in London, which was attended by Steve England and Stuart Aiken as well
as all of our wives and my daughter, Shannon. Also a photo when visiting
Steve England. It really doesn't look like Europe, does it? The photo
was taken at Biddulph Gardens near Steve's home. (close to Manchester,
England) Steve and I were doing our �husband� duties and sightseeing
with our wives. ha ha. I am looking forward to finally meeting you at
the Radio Day in Amsterdam this November. Best regards, Ron.�
As you see I�ve chosen for the nice exotic photo taken near Manchester.
And indeed it will be fun meeting you for the very first time next
November.
Steve England and Ron O�Quinn 2007
It's Dick Vreeswijk next from Drachten in the Netherlands. He was
looking on www.mediapages This is another site where I put small stories
in Dutch as well as part of my photo archive. So recently I sent the
webmaster, who does a lot of good work, some Caroline photos which I
hadn�t published before. They were taken during a Radio Caroline RSL in
London Dockyards harbour. Next to meeting Tom Lodge there I also had a
meeting with Dick (Richard) Palmer. It was
Dick
Vreeswijk who wrote: �Just saw the photo with
Dick Palmer on the Ross
Revenge. I remember that in the sixties, when I was living in Amsterdam,
Dick Palmer stayed at my place for a while, together with Ken Veal. The
later one exchanged letters with me for years. The three of us did visit
the two Caroline ships, which both were towed to the Amsterdam Houthaven
(Woodharbour). Also we did visit the Veronica studio�s in Hilversum and
the famous red light district in Amsterdam. I lost contact with both
persons during the years and would love to get in contact again. In the
meantime Dick has already Richard Palmers address but the question is
who knows where Ken Veal is living nowadays. If so, please let us know:
Hknot@home.nl
Dick Palmer and Hans Knot on the
Ross Revenge Photo Rob Olthof
*******************************************************************
Once home of the quaintly named �Eve the Woman�s Magazine of the Air�
the Red Sands Fort was hardly the idyllic place housewives pictured in
their minds eye.
A
broken down rusty old & abandoned WWII Army Fort, manned by a crew that
stripped down to wash & bathe in seawater. Meals were the most basic of
culinary delights cooked up on the old wartime ranges Radio 390 a Sweet
Music Easy Listening Station began its turbulent short history in June
1964 and had by the summer of 1967 closed down.
Now once again music and entertainment come again from the same Fort
used by Radio Pirates 7 nautical miles off Whitstable in Kent. Red Sands
Radio will pay tribute to the Pirate Radio Stations of the 1960�s that
so much influenced how Commercial Radio developed in Britain. There�ll
be some of the original programmes and radio documentaries with a mix of
�The Best of Yesterday and Today� Radio Red Sands launches on 14th July
2007 comes to air.� For more information telephone 07961 601 893 Bob
Le-Roi - Programme Director�
But we�re not ready with Bob as his personal internetsite has an update:
�Welcome to the June Update. In this months Scrapbook a long awaited
return to the Sunk Head for the Part 4 of Series on the
Tower-Radio-Tower escapade. The end's in sight and the Forts abandoned
to be destroyed explosion
Plus the arrival of Red Sands Radio as we look towards making the first
Offshore broadcasts from the Fort since 1967. In "One Subject One Link"
the BBC back in the spotlight again as a contribution condemns the Local
Breakfast
Announcements has details of this years Whitstable Harbour Day, come to
the seaside and join the DFL's (Down from London's) for a fun day at in
town.
More Equipment/Accessories, Records and CD's up for grabs at great
prices
Enjoy your visits:
www.bobleroi.co.uk
********************************************************************
Talking
about Red Sands and one of the old Radio 390 deejays
Graham Gill had an
accident some weeks ago. While being on a short trip to Portugal he
slipped in the bathroom. Hope the bruises will go away quickly Graham!
It's just a month and few weeks to go that we can say it's 40 years to
go that Radio 390 went
off the air as the first of many Offshore Radio stations off the British
coast. It was a sudden closedown as from 4.30 in the afternoon it was
Graham Gill normally doing his program. �Tea Time Tunes� was ended with
the regular 'gong' and Graham saying: �You're in tune with Radio 390,
Britain's family station. The time now is 5 o'clock and this is a Radio
390 newscast. Here are the news headlines read by Graham Gill.' After
the news he told the listeners that the next news would be at 9 o'clock
in the evening. Next after news and weather he told the listeners:
'Radio 390 invites you On The Scene' and started the tape with
Christopher Clark playing Alan Price Set with �The house that Jack built�.
It would be the very last regular song played on the station. Graham
didn't know that never again the news would be read on the station. A
tender came alongside with the order from the owners to stop the station
at once.
Some 5 minutes after five that very afternoon, July 28th 1967, Radio 390
went of the air with an official statement read by Edward Cole and the
national anthem. It was in `1995 I met Edward Cole to have a long talk
with him about his radio career. He took with him several documents
including a copy of the official statement, which he kept all this years
at home. In honour of the late Edward Cole we will publish this official
document.
Talking about Graham�s last show on the station, very soon he will tell
with his own words what he does remember of his last Radio 390
appearance. This will be published on The Pirate Hall of Fame. Next year
August it�s 25 years ago that
Tom Anderson, in a very dry presentation, reopened the new Radio
Caroline, that transmitted for the first time from the MV Ross Revenge.
It took a long time before the radio ship, which was refitted from an
Iceland trawler into a radioship, went to international waters. It was
refitted in a harbour near Santander in Spain. In 1982, now 25 years ago,
the enormous transmitting mast, about 90 metres, was put on the ship.
Till now proximally 10 photographs, most in black and white, were
published in several magazines and on internet. This year it�s not only
40 years ago that the Marine Offences Act became law but also 25 years
ago guys like Koos en Leunis and Peter Chicago worked long hours to get
the thing together.
As
a tribute to their work on www.hansknot.com unique photographs which
were partly earlier published but most of set never were seen before in
printed magazines or on internet. We thank Rob Olthof for diving them
out of his cellar.
Rigging the mast on the MV Ross
Revenge
I was listening to an old program transmitted on RNI on December 22nd
1973. In this Graham Gill was talking on RNI with AJ Beirens about their
time on land. Also Graham told that the friends from Caroline had come
alongside the ship and brought some presents, including tulips from Andy
Archer. Now here�s the question to AJ and Graham: A mentioning was given
of �The Baroness�. Could either one of you tell me for whom this
nickname was used. I know Johnny Jason was called the baron, but who�s
the other? It must have done Graham pretty good seeing his name
mentioned so many times in this report.
Another nickname which
wasn�t in the list yet was given by Duncan Johnson to Peter Chicago.
Duncan used to name him �Chicago Pete�.
Also a new update on the Pirate
Hall of Fame this month, which you can find at:
www.offshoreradio.co.uk
�What's new this month? David Allan has kindly donated a couple of
photos, dating from his time with Radio 390; Colin Nicol has provided
some great pictures showing the chaos that ensued on the day in 1965
when the Caroline �Good Guys� went to Battersea Fun Fair; the third page
of the �Seventies Supplement� has been added, listing broadcasters of
that era whose names begin with C and one of them has generously
supplied a Radio Northsea International contract of employment, complete
with a set of the ship's rules. Also the Anorak Gift Guide has had a
make-over. See the contents page and DJ Directories of the sixties and
seventies for news of all the latest updates.�
And
while your have screened the update at The Pirate Hall of Fame, don�t
forget to do it also with Mary and Chris Payne�s site at
www.radiolondon.co.uk
In a recent report there was a photo sent by Stuart Aiken in which Ron O
�Quinn and Johnny Walker were shown during a reunion earlier this year.
Stuart has sent me the original complete one taken at the Langans
Restaurant in London. An this time you see that Roger Day was also in
the company there. Sorry Roger that you dropped out the last time:
Johnny Walker, Ron O�Quinn and
Roger Day - Photo: Stuart Aiken
By the way, congratulations to Ron as he was nominated just weeks ago
for a place in the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame.
Mike Brand from Israel advises us to visit next internet site
https://www.radiologoland.com/worldstations.html
Interesting, pass your mouse over the stations on the left, and you will
see the image on the woman�s t-shirt. Then press on the link itself to
see more.
June 3rd brought an excellent interview in Desert Island Discs on BBC
Radio Four, featuring Paul
McKenna. He�s very well known in Great Britain as a hypnotist,
author and television personality. His major activities include
self-improvement television shows, giving seminars through his company
Paul McKenna Training, producing books and multimedia products and
performing hypnosis, neuro-linguistic programming and other personal
development techniques. But many of the Anoraks who listened to Radio
Caroline in the eighties know he was a deejay on the station too. In the
program he told the listeners that he was 20 years of age when he went
out to the MV Ross Revenge and that he had an amazing time there. It was
such a romance to do programs from a ship. And also he had good words
for director O�Rahilly who had encouraged him to speak about Loving
Awareness and other peacefull messages. Above that Paul McKenna loved it
that the deejays could play whatever they wanted.
In an extra issue from
the Hans Knot International Report there was info about Johnny Walker�s
Autobiography, which can internationally be ordered at: The Foundation
for Media Communication in Amsterdam. The price for people in the
Netherlands will be � 29,�, including postage and packing. For people
outside the Netherlands the price will be �34�. You can sent your money
in an envelope to SMC, PO Box 53121 1007 RC Amsterdam. You can also male
your payment to Giro account 4065700 on the name of Media Communication
Amsterdam. To avoid extra costs, don't forget to mention IBAN number: NL
37 PSTB 0004 0657 00 BIC: PSTBNL21.
*******************************************************************
A CELEBRATION OF
OFFSHORE RADIO
On
the 40th anniversary of the Marine Offences Act, the Radio Academy pays
tribute to the pioneers of UK music radio who ruled the medium wave.
4th August 2007 from 12 noon (press)/ 1pm (public)
Tiger Tiger, 29 The Haymarket, London SW1Y 4SP
The Radio Academy presents an afternoon of audio, movies and memories
from the swinging sixties with Johnnie Walker, Tony Blackburn, Paul
Burnett, Roger Day, Keith Skues, Ed Stewart and many more DJs from the
heyday of Radio Caroline, Radio London and the other �pirate� stations.
Alongside the household names there�ll be others who now work in
different fields altogether. But all of them have fond memories of those
pioneering days and will be sharing their stories with fans, listeners
and the current generation of broadcasting professionals. A number are
flying in especially from Australia and Canada to attend. Sessions at
the event will be chaired by Ralph Bernard (Chief Executive, GCap), Mark
Story (Head of Radio, Emap) and Trevor Dann (Director, Radio Academy)
Radio listeners of the early sixties did not have the same choices that
we enjoy today. Back then there were only the BBC�s Home Service, Light
Programme and Third Programme. There was no local radio and no
commercial radio, apart from the distant nocturnal Radio Luxembourg.
Then, at Easter 1964, everything changed. Radio Caroline began
broadcasting from a ship anchored just outside the country�s territorial
limit. Within three weeks a survey showed that Caroline had seven
million listeners. All day music radio had arrived. Although Radio
Caroline was the first, it was not alone for long. A number of other
stations followed � some lasting only a few months, some considerably
longer � but, between them, these so-called �pirate� radio stations
changed the country�s listening habits forever. At the height of the
pirate boom there were ten stations operating around the UK coast
providing a hugely popular service for millions of listeners - but the
government felt obliged to act against them.
In August 1967, forty years ago, it introduced the Marine Offences Act
which made it an offence for a British subject to work for, supply or
advertise on an offshore station. Most of the stations chose to close
down rather than risk prosecution. Radio Caroline continued but it was
the end of an era. Within weeks, BBC Radios One and Two had been
launched in an effort to replace the now-silent pirates and the first
local stations went on air soon afterwards.
Tickets for this event are available now from The Radio Academy:
Non-members of the Radio Academy: �35 (�30 if booked by 22nd June)
Members of the Radio Academy:�30 (�25 if booked by 22nd June)
For more information, click
here.
********************************************************************
Time for another story of the stars, who stayed on the MV Mi Amigo in
August 1967. The Admiral Robbie
Dale. Let�s see what we know about him and/or what you can learn
from the next, with thanks to Robbie:
�Robbie
Dale was born on the 21st April 1940 in Lancashire as "Robbie" John
Robinson. Breta Riley, a primary school teacher at St Josephs School
Heywood wrote of the 11 year old, "John is a talented boy who likes to
talk a lot. His reading and writing remain poor, getting words mixed up.
Despite not being able to correctly spell English, he writes sensitive
poetry". The same teacher wrote, "I predict that John Rabinson will be a
success in later life, one day maybe a wealthy businessman" and to John
in 1954 she wrote "if one day you may famous be then think of me who
encouraged thee". After a number of jobs and a 5 year spell in the army
serving in some interesting places including South East Asia within
SEATO member counties, he discovered a natural talent for picking up
languages, soon speaking Malay and a mixture of Chinese dialects.
Returning to London in 1963 to find 'The swinging sixties'. He Became a
DJ known as Robbie Dale later to work with Radio Caroline, Radio
Veronica, TROS Television, Hilversum 3 and Hilversum 2 in the
Netherlands, getting to grips with 'double Dutch' which became a
trademark. In 1980 co-founded Sunshine Radio Dublin Ireland. As a former
senior deejay in charge aboard Radio Caroline South the tide "Admiral"
was bestowed by fellow deejay Dave Lee Travis. This because Robbie
insisted that everything be ship shape aboard the MV Mi Amigo, a former
Scandinavian coaster, home to Radio Caroline South. Robbie Dale's
broadcasting career began in early 1965. Working in London's Portobella
Road with extraordinary antique dealer John Dale. Specializing in late
Georgian, Regency and Victorian furniture. Spending evenings as a disc
jockey at the fashionable De Vere Club in South Kensington. Calling at
the Radio Caroline's head office he met radio producer Garry Duncan and
Public Relations officer Frances van Staden, who arranged an
introduction to Radio Caroline's founder Ronan O�Rahilly. Robbie recalls
meeting the Caroline bass in his 1st floor office at Caroline House,
Chesterfield Gardens in London's Mayfair. "The job interview lasted a
couple of hours, I sat on one of the two large black leather couches.
The phones on Ronan desk, which also sported a bronz bust of John F
Kennedy, rang constantly. I sat and listened to him dealing with one
thing after another, in between the calls we had a Q & A session.
Finally Ronan asked if I could start the following week, "get the train
at Liverpool Street rail station on Monday, I like your voice. Get the
rest of the details from Gerry Duncan". Robbie joined Radio Caroline
South, taking over the nightly Caroline Club Requests Show, later to be
renamed "Robbie Dale's Dairy". In January 1967 senior deejay Tom Lodge
moved from Caroline South and Robbie was asked to take on the job. As "The
Admiral" Robbie founded The Beat Fleet, a Free Radio Supporters
Association with the purpose of drumming up support for the fight ahead.
Along side the thousands of listeners who became members, many top pop
stars of the day where enlisted and awarded Honorary Commissions in The
Beat Fleet. Edward Short, then Postmaster General in the Harold Wilson
Labour Government, published the 1965 Marine Broadcasting Offences etc
Act. It went through Parliament and too effect at midnight on August
15th 1967. Minister Short was under constant pressure from the BBC and
determined to put an end to the so called offshore pirate radio stations.
By the 15th of August most of the stations around the coast of Britain
had complied and closed down broadcasting operations. Ronan O�Rahilly
had promised the listening public that the Labour Government would not
succeed with its draconian killjoy policy and that Radio Caroline would
continue.
Aboard the morning supply tender "Offshore Two" returning to the Radio
Caroline ship on August 14th. were Robbie Dale, friends and colleagues
Johnnie Walker and newsman Ross Brown, from a 7 day break in London.
Finding all the other radio staff packed and ready to leave on the
Offshore tender now returning to shore. Leaving behind Johnnie, Ross,
Robbie and one other English speaking person hired the previous day,
Chris Carey aka Spangles Maldoon. Later that day Robbie Dale confirmed
on air at 3pm that Caroline's biggest competitor the popular Radio
London Big L had closed down with great style, and in a blaze of glory.
Radio Caroline continued to broadcast. At midnight Johnnie Walker played
"We shall overcome" and announced to listeners that Caroline had entered
a new era as Radio Caroline International. In preparation Ronan
O'Rahilly and Sales Director/Consultant Terry Bate had arranged to move
Caroline's head office from Chesterfield Gardens in London's West End to
Amsterdam Holland. Terry had rented part of a big canal house at Singel
160 in the heart of the city and employed English speaking Dutch
secretary Pinky Siedenburg to run the office. Weeks passed by before any
of the ships crew or radio personnel made official trips back to shore.
Robbie recalls a very welcome visitor from that period.
Jimmy
Houlahan, a Ronan sidekick, came out to the ship in a motor boat one
cool and misty September night. He brought news and good tidings from
the boss, new records and � 100 pounds each as a bonus gift from Phil
Solomon and thanks to "those who had stuck it out". Despite every effort
things did not get any better and paid for plays grew week by week
making it impossible to put a good show together. The 10 to 16 hours
boat journey across the North Sea far shore leave often through gale
force winds and high seas, made life tough but did not stop the return
of Roger Day. Things generally appeared to be looking up. Listenership
figure had rocketed by many millions across the United Kingdom, Ireland
and Europe. Regular supplies of fresh food, water and bags filled with
listeners mail arrived regularly to both North and South ships. But
because of unpaid bills for marine crew, fuel and supplies the
Wijsmuller tugs arrived alongside the ships at the crack of dawn on the
3rd of March 1968. Both ships were boarded by the Wijsmuller tug crew
members. The anchor chains cut and dropped over the side. MV Mi Amigo
and the MV Fredericia were towed to Holland. At the time of the tow away
Robbie Dale was on a holiday on the Costa del Sol. Johnnie Walker
telegrammed "Caroline has gone". JW.
Robbie Dale 2007 (Collection R.
Robertson)
The previous September Robbie had met his future bride in Amsterdam
Stella Regina, celebrated fashion boutique owner in the city. Having
decided to stay in Holland as the only remaining employee on the
Caroline payroll, Robbie helped to clear out and close the office at
Singel 160. In June 1968 Robbie joined the famous Dutch "pirate" Radio
Veronica resulting from a chance meeting in the city centre
Hotel
American with programme manager and popular DJ Jan van Veen. Jan invited
Robbie to the Veronica studios in Hilversum to meet the station owners
the brothers Verwey Dirk, Joop and Hendrik aka Bull the brother
responsible for day to day running. Robbie's self operate style and zany
double Dutch presentation proved not only popular with station
presenters and co-workers but also a smash with listeners both in
Holland and the South of England, a region which become a strong part of
Radio Veronica's wide ranging listenership. 1969 Robbie joined the
rapidly developing Dutch national television network TROS. His first job
in television, presenting the teenage music magazine "JAM", becoming the
top music show of its kind in the country. The station management wanted
Robbie on radio so with a sad heart he moved from Radio Veronica to
Hilversum 3 to make programmes exclusively for the TROS network. By 1970
"Jam on Radio" proved to be another success. Robbie was invited to take
part in a light entertainment programme on Hilversum 2 working alongside
top entertainer Jos Brink. TROS ratings continued rapidly up and new
membership subscriptions to the stations voting shares took TROS to the
(status A} highest status in the democratic Dutch broadcasting system
thus greater participation on the two television channels and across all
the three radio networks.
Robbie and Stella at Singel 160
Amsterdam (Collection R. Robertson)
In 1972 Robbie with Stella and family returned to London. His long
absence had left him out in the cold. BBC Radio One was up and running
and the first of the IBA local radio franchises had been appointed
Leaving the radio business and joining a commercial cleaning company as
managing director Robbie was responsible for developing sustained growth
at Executive Cleaning Services. Ironically the company contracted to
clean the Capitol Radio studios and offices at Euston Tower. Robbie was
involved in the unsuccessful Ulster Television/Belfast Telegraph IBA
local radio application. Then in early 1980 a proposed radio ship
project in Germany would re-unite Robbie with Chris Cary and Philip
Solomon. This led to Sunshine Radio but the three later parted company.
Robbie stayed and developed Sunshine Radio on 539 AM and 101FM in Dublin
Ireland. This was the most challenging and rewarding project Robbie had
attempted. He involved his wife Stella and family participating with
determination, putting everything on the line. After surviving and
overcoming the mountainous and creative competition from Radio Nova
during 1981-1984 Sunshine Radio eventually took over as the undisputable
top rated position in Dublin. Robbie Dale�s distinctive voice became
internationally known on �Radio and TV�. One of the more famous on Irish
radio on his daily morning programme on Sunshine 101, 1980 to 1985 and
the hundreds of commercial voice overs he made whilst in radio business.
Not an easy task for a dyslectic child from St. Josephs School in
Heywood. For more go to Google and find �Irish Radio the super pirates�.
Robbie and Stella continue to enjoy life together and are in the holiday
hotel business in the Canary Islands.�
June the 7th brought the press report about the
Pirate BBC Essex Days:
�The radio event of
2004 is back to become the radio event of 2007!
Award-winning Pirate BBC Essex became one of the world's favourite radio
stations in April three years ago when it marked the 40th anniversary of
the start of offshore radio in Britain. This August, Pirate BBC Essex
returns to mark the 40th anniversary of the Marine Offences Act which
set out to outlaw the offshore stations. Already the legends of the
Sixties pioneers of offshore radio have signed up to be part of the
twenty-first century team of presenters to broadcast from the North Sea.
They include Johnnie Walker, Emperor Rosko, Dave Cash and Keith Skues.
Some presenters, such as Norman St John, John Kerr and newsreader Gordon
Cruse are flying in from around the world to be part of Pirate BBC Essex.
Listeners will also hear Tom Edwards, Mike Ahern, Roger Day and Pete
Brady, many of them working together for the first time in decades. They
will be joining Ray Clark, Steve Scruton, Ian Wyatt and Tim Gillett from
the 2004 Pirate BBC Essex line up. Pirate BBC Essex will be based aboard
the classic light vessel LV18, owned by the Pharos Trust and moored off
Harwich. It was the last manned Trinity House light vessel. "This is an
ideal opportunity to raise the profile of our worthwhile local project
to save the vessel for its home port of Harwich," said Tony O'Neil,
Project Director and Trustee. He added, "Since Pirate BBC Essex 2004,
volunteers have been busy restoring the exterior of the vessel as part
of the final phase of restoration."
Pirate BBC Essex goes on air at 6am on Thursday 9 August, and in a
parallel with what happened in 1967, is scheduled to go off air at 3pm
on Tuesday 14 August. A tender vessel will ferry the team and crew out
to the LV18 together with supplies. "Ever since the last time in 2004,
the requests from listeners to do it again have been non-stop," said
Pirate BBC Essex Programmes
Editor
Tim Gillett. "We realise what we did then struck a chord with listeners
and we're glad to be coming back, but this could be the last time."
Pirate BBC Essex was the idea of BBC Essex presenter Steve Scruton, who
as a boy tuned in to Radio Caroline and Radio London. "It was my dream
come true to see it happen in 2004," said Steve. "The early signs are
this time it's likely to be even bigger." Listeners are reported to have
organised holidays from work to coincide with Pirate BBC Essex and many
are preparing to drive up to Harwich to spot the LV18 from the shore.
"One of the memorable moments from 2004 was the flashing," said pirate
legend Dave Cash. "It was great to see a row of cars parked up at
Shotley opposite the boat and there we were chatting to them via
flashing."
In 2004 Johnnie Walker recorded a message of support for Pirate BBC
Essex which was broadcast twice. This time, he's part of the project and
his presence is likely to lead to queues of people wanting to catch a
glimpse of him. A Pirate BBC Essex exhibition charting the history of
British offshore radio will be mounted in the Harwich Ha'penny Pier
office and will include rare artifacts. "We're also planning a little
piece of Pirate BBC Essex memorabilia," said Pirate BBC Essex Technical
Director and presenter Ian Wyatt. Listeners will be able to tune in to
Pirate BBC Essex across the world via computer at bbc.co.uk/essex as
well as via the more traditional medium wave at 729, 765 and 1530.
Listeners will also be able to email and text the station.�
Finishing this issue of the Hans Knot International Radio Report telling
you that I got a small parcel from Ben Vreeburg. Together with Tony Berk
and John de Mol sr. he was responsible for the daily running of the
Dutch service of RNI in the seventies. After close down he stayed at the
Oude Boerenhofstede at Naarden, working for the Strengholt Company. In
the parcel was a new release in the DVD serie �Doculine�. It�s called �Zeezenders
in woelig water�. So now on DVD with a bit different title as the
�Zenders in woelig water� was ever transmitted on Dutch Television in
August 1974. In 53 minutes the DVD tells the story of the offshore radio
stations of the Dutch coast, including Caroline, RNI and Veronica. Some
unique interviews and also footage from English TV in the sixties. The
Foundation for Media Communication has decided to sell the DVD
especially for the readers of the Hans Knot International Radio Report.
Zeezenders in Woelig Water can now be ordered by paying 10 Pounds or
14,50 Euro. You can either sent it by normal mail or on Giro account
number 4065700 Stichting Media Communicatie PO Box 53121 1007 RC
Amsterdam. Don�t forget to mention the next information when you order:
IBAN: NL37 PSTB 0004 0657 00 BIC: PSTBNL21
Well that�s all for this time. Take care and don�t forget to sent your
memories, photos and questions to
Hknot@home.nl and for the photos
hans.knot@gmail.com
Hans Knot
Offshore Radio Programme Names - Programmanamen Zeezenders 1958-1990
Read Hans Knot's former report