Hans Knot's International Radio Report - Christmas 2007
Welcome to the
Christmas edition of the Radio Report and also the last one for this
amazing radio year filled with a lot of special broadcasts as well as
reunions as well as the Radio Day in Amsterdam, where so many people
shared together. It was very nice to see that many came there for the
very first time and were, afterwards, sure to come back the next time.
May I thank you all for your support during the past year and first of
all wish you all a Happy Christmas!
In last issue I brought back the story about the 17 years young
Erik Beekman, who was
saved from the MV Mi Amigo in 1977. He was too ill to stay on the ship
and brought to England, where his mother arrived not much later to take
him home. The captain of the lifeboat refused to get two young ladies
from England from the ship. After I mentioned the story two questions
came in. First one from England, here’s Ted Finch: I read the story
about the young fellow taken off the Mi Amigo a by lifeboat. Do you have
any idea who the two young British women reported to be on board were?’
Well Ted, to be honest, I can’t tell as they were either mentioned in
the newspaper nor in the Monitor Magazine, which paid attention to the
rescue. So if anyone knows please sent it to
Hknot@home.nl and for the second
question, which came from Fred Boon, I do have an answer. Fred wrote
that he always thought Erik Beekman his real
.jpg)
name
was Marcel Out. I have to tell that in the seventies (1977) on Mi Amigo
there was Erik Beekman (Bart van Gogh) on Radio Mi Amigo, another using
the name Erik Beekman was indeed Marcel Out but this was about ten years
later and the latter one worked for Radio Monique on the MV Ross Revenge.
I must admit that in the reports, sent away by e mail during the last
day of November, there was a mistake made by me. The photo featuring Ron
O’Quinn, Roger Day and myself in the restaurant after the Radio Day, had
Johnnie Walker’s name instead of Roger’s one. The internet versions had
the right names!
Time for Big L as Brian Keith wrote to me: ‘Hello Hans, yesterday
(November 29th) evening, as usual, I listened to Randall Lee Rose on Big
L. Around 18.15 he told the listeners that he worked 20 years ago on the
Ross Revenge. Then came: “ We didn't get much money but it was a lot of
fun". I always thought while listening to him on Big L remembering his
voice but didn’t know from where. Was he Blake Williams, Steve Masters,
Chuck Reynolds? I know you must know the answer. Brian Keith.’
Well the third name was the correct one, indeed he used the name
Chuck Reynolds on Radio
Caroline. Later on he went to Capital Radio in London and from there on
he used the name Randell Lee Rose.
Like
in the last two issues here’s another cartoon sent in by the Admiral
Robbie Dale. It’s from 1967. By the way the collection photographs and
other material from Robbie’s Archive is growing and growing and are on
www.hansknot.com
It was silent a few issues of the report regarding the main man in
California but Cherry, the charming manager from
Rosko, sent us the next:
‘Hans, some Rosko news. He is currently doing a two hour show for Big L
on Saturdays between 5 and 7pm UK time.
Also a two hour show will be heard on BBC Radio Essex on Christmas Day
between 12 noon and 2pm. He can also be heard on Sunday on Aston FM and
on REM.FM in Spain on Saturdays 12 noon till 1pm. Attached a photo to
say Merry Christmas,
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article2961406.ece
Elsewhere in this bumper issue you’ll find non offshore memories to
Christmas from the Emperor!
I mentioned it already that befriended site were updated around the day
I published last report and late the same evening saw the e mail from
the Pirate Hall of Fame:
I have just updated the (award-winning)
Pirate Radio Hall of Fame.
New this month: We have two pages of fantastic photos taken on board the
original Radio Caroline ship, provided by Alan Turner (and there is more
to come from him next month); we have a report from the recent Dutch
Radio Day - where the PRHoF was honoured with one of the first Radi
Awards; a Pirate Radio Hall of Fame correspondent hears his Radio
Atlanta request on this site - 43 years after its original transmission;
we have the sad news of the death of a Radio City DJ; and our
traditional "Christmas in international waters" page has been updated.
My grateful thanks, as ever, to everyone who has contributed to the site
- and to Steve Silby for this photo, taken just after I had collected my
Radi Award (and a Beat Fleet badge) from the Admiral Robbie Dale.
www.offshoreradio.co.uk
In last issue I mentioned remembering Andrew Emmerson writing an article
about the pirates in 1967. It must been some 30 years ago I came in
contact with Andrew, now living in Northampton, for the first time. We
became close friends and see each other at least once a year. Sharing
our love for radio, trains and a good beer. Way back on the last day of
February 1967 an article of his hands was published in Incant. Let’s
follow Andrew’s article, which got the header: ‘Pirates Sinking’.
‘Despite the
proliferation of offshore radio stations during the last thee years, the
choice of independent programs, which can be easily received at
Canterbury is now limited. On the one hand there are the extremely
commercialised and Americanised Radio London and Caroline – and on the
other, the homely but almost too smooth Radio 390, with only the
Americanised Britain Radio pointed uncertainly between the two. The two
Dutch language stations Dolfijn and pioneer Veronica, are not to be
forgotten, even if they do not command large audiences here. Since the
early days of Caroline and Atlanta in the spring of 1964, the standard
of presentation and transmissions of programs has improved enormously.
Probably few people realised in those days that offshore radios would
still be broadcasting today or that the market could support as many
stations as it has done. But it is my view that commercial radio in
Britain is now on the decline. This is obvious to everyone now that the
Government is achieving more success in silencing the so-called illegal
transmitters and as people like Ted Allbeury are pulling out of the
forth-based stations. Yes, this is only the half of the story. Six month
ago, one could have said the stations had some character, even the more
sensational Caroline and London. This is no longer the case. Possibly
epitomised in the ‘ pirating’ of taped jingles from one station by
another the stations have lost nearly all of their individuality in
trying to capture their rivals’ audience. Indeed over the past six
months minority interests have been well nigh entirely sacrificed. Radio
Essex alias BBMS, considered by many as the ideal local radio, has been
silenced by the court and the same fate has now befallen one of the
Whitstable radios, City, which was the only popular radio station to put
out original non-recorded material. Radio Invicta and his successor 390
both showed great promise of providing acceptable adult programme
service. Yet even here a new ‘family listening’ policy has been
implemented, with the result that authoritative quality programmes like
‘The Voice of Business’ and the Mike Raven Show are no longer broadcast.
And now Ted Allbeury is changing sides to make Britain Radio another 390
and this capture 390’s audience. What does all this mean? It means that
commercial radio in Britain no longer offers a variety of programmes for
all listeners, but a choice between two extremes. On the pop radio side
it means that new singers have little change of success for in contrast
to stations like Radio City, the big two play little material either
British or American, which is not by the big names and thus not sure of
entering the top forties. Record tastes are thus largely dictated by
this monopolists. On the ‘sweet music’ side competition will soon be of
non existent, offering the more sophisticated listener a choice between
Britain Radio and ‘legal’ radio. Whatever, the case was a year ago,
commercial radio now exists primarily for the benefit of the advertisers
and not for the listeners. While I should be the last to favour the
extinction of pop radio or its nationalisation by the BBC, I feel that
listeners have suffe
red
a great loss in recent months and the great potential of offshore radio
broadcasting has been abandoned in favour of odious and unnecessary
standardisation.’
With thanks to Andrew Emmerson sending this to me decades ago. A well
written article from the days before the MOA. Yes, 40 years ago. However
one conclusion is in my opinion not right. On Radio London it were not
only the big names who got the airplay. Numerous unknown or little known
artists got airplay and really in this way became known in the radio as
well as record industry. What about Procul Harum as just one big sample
Andrew!
Then an e mail came in from former Caroline North deejay
‘Ugly’ Ray Terret who
reflected on the story I had last time about
Peter Jay. Peter was
shown in one of the three booklets which were published by the Caroline
organisation being one of the deejays for the station. I asked if anyone
ever heard him on the station or heard of him. Well Ray seems: ‘Hi
Regarding Tony Jay, I met him in the early 60s along with Jimmy Savile,
a gentle friendly very well spoken young man always in collar and tie
and who carried a brief case everywhere. I never realised he went on to
join the pirates.’ Ugli Ray Teret
So the question still stays who knows more about Tony Jay. Anyway Ray, a
big thank you.
The question is if they were all ‘the ugly one’ (Photo archive Ray
Terret)
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Free Advertisement:
In August 2002 there was a radio convention in London.
DJ's from Radio Caroline, Radio London, Radio Scotland, Radio Essex and
other stations were present and talked about their carrier. The people
loved to see Johnny Walker, Tony Blackburn, Robbie Dale, Duncan Johnson,
Bryan Vaughan, Graham Webb, Keith Skues, Roger Twiggy Day, Nick Bailey,
Tom Edwards, Guy Hamilton, Brian Cullingford, Mike Ahern, Norman St.
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SMC (Foundation for Media Communication) filmed part of the program and
these recordings from 2002 are now available on DVD for just 5 pounds
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RC AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS.
**********************************************************************
Update time for Bob Le-Roi
has he wrote to us: ‘Welcome to the December Update. Like Santa’s Sleigh
a bit of high flying in Scrapbook with never before published aerial
photographs of the Ross,
Communicator
& Thames Towers . ”One Subject One Link” goes blue with the F-Word. Well
won Simon Marks who nabbed the Laser 558 transmitter crystal, but
surprise the “Half Mast” original 1985 signed & framed photo by Erin
Kelly has yet to reach reserve. In Sales book titles have been slashed
and we have the Radio Essex double CD & book Gift Set a snip for
Christmas. Our tribute to Dave the Fish has been added to with excellent
photographs of Dave in his younger days. Thank you for your interest,
support and valued contribution over the last 12 months. Visit numbers
continue to grow and astound us we couldn’t do it without you. Have a
very Happy Christmas & New Year.
www.bobleroi.co.uk
Next e mail brings us back to the first days in British Offshore Radio:
‘Hi Hans this is the first time I have written but, I have enjoyed
reading your International Radio Report over the years, I have just been
watching part one of the World In Action programme about the start of
Offshore Radio in the UK on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0ql0i2HPK8
And I have a question about the merger of
Radio Caroline and Radio Atlanta,
which I hope you can answer for me, I seem to remember just after the
merger and before the Fredericia sailed to the Island of Man some
Caroline programmes were simulcasted from both ships, Most people I have
spoken to said this didn’t happen but I still think it did, What are
your memories on this and if the simulcast did happen how did they link
the two ships together? I would like to wish you and your family a very
merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Very best regards, Richard Sharpe.’
Well thanks for your e mail Richard. I can’t remember if there were any
simulcasted programs when the stations merged. I only remember the long
trip to the Isle of Man when the listeners were regularly informed about
the progress of the tour. I do remember, on the other hand that when the
Mi Amigo went back to sea in 1966, after repairs took place in the
harbour of Zaandam, some programs were transmitted by Caroline, which
came partly from the Mi Amigo (then for the first time on 50 kW) and
partly from the MV Cheetah, which was lend from Mrs Britt Wadner, the
late former owner of Swedish Radio Syd. But maybe Tom Lodge, who is
reader of the report, knows more. In the meantime a memory to Radio
Atlanta from the newspapers in June 1964.
Than I can reveal that Chris and
Mary Payne had some nice updates on their site recently. The have
news on the latest surgery taken place with former Caroline deejay Mick
Luvzit in Canada. Also they show us to an Australian Radio station which
can also be found by internet and where we can listen several times pro
week to a program from former Caroline man Graham Webb. Also his former
ship mate Mike Ahern has one program pro week. It was also nice to see
that a singer, heard a lot on Radio London in 1966 and 1967, Nita Rossi,
wrote to the Payne’s. You want to know more?
www.radiolondon.co.uk
And another update has been made by Jon at the Pirate Hall of Fame who
wrote to us: ‘Welcome to the AWARD-WINNING Pirate Radio Hall of Fame.
What's new on the site this month? We have two pages of fantastic photos
taken on board the original Radio Caroline ship, provided by Alan
Turner; we have a report from the recent Dutch Radio Day; a Pirate Radio
Hall of Fame correspondent hears his Radio Atlanta request on this web
site - 43 years after its original transmission; and in keeping with the
festive season, our traditional Christmas in international waters page
has been updated. We also have the sad news of the death of a Radio City
DJ With Christmas in mind, don't forget to check out the Anorak Gift
Guide for present suggestions. See the contents page and DJ Directories
of the sixties and seventies for a full index of the site.
http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk
From England, of course with a lot of thanks, an e mail from Alan Bailey
who wants to share with us: ‘Hi Hans, going through my massive
collection of memorabilia I thought your readers may be interested in
these pictures of the ‘Radio England / Britain Radio’ Rate card. It
dates to 1966. Alan Bailey.’
When receiving these documents we shared it with some of the guys who
where part of our Swinging Radio England party at the Radio Day and
after receiving it Ron O’Quinn
came back to us with: ‘Hello Martin and Hans. Thanks for sharing this
with me. As I said at Radio Day either the programming was so bad that "free"
ads would have been too expensive OR Pearle Dean were such poor sales
reps that the stations were not being offered to potential advertisers.
If the programming on Radio England was too fast and frantic why was
Britain Radio unsuccessful? These are questions that will never be
answered and after all.....it was just a job. Best regards to all, Ron.‘
Thanks for responding Ron. Possibly Pearle and Dean was de main factor
for not succeeding. I always compare the failure with the one CNBC
occurred in 1961. Veronica directors Verwey, who's idea it was that CNBC
should be successful on the British market, got a represantive on the
other site of the British Channel to do the work for the station.
Hendrik Bull Verwey concluded years ago that the station purely wasn't
successful due to the fact the represantive was a) too far away from the
Hilversum headquarters so they couldn't see what he was doing and b) the
guy found it more interesting to visit theaters and cinemas instead of
getting the advertising world interested in CNBC. And in the meantime he
earned the money for his non working.
Money time. What did you earn as a deejay on an offshore station on
weekly basis in the sixties. No we’re not talking about the enormous
amounts guys like Howard Stern are earning. Probably it wasn’t bad when
working for stations like Caroline and London, but for the others I
can’t see good salary in those days. And the
crew members? Well I
don’t think they must have been happy. I got recently a contract from
Frank van Heerde from Holland in which is shown that salary was not big
at all for crew members. The guy involved worked for one stint on the
Galaxy (in the contract mentioned as Galaxie) and earned in February
1965 just 14 guilders a day. I think the family of this cook got very
hungry of such a low salary!
Christmas Memories on air and on the road, a few thoughts from the
Emperor:
‘Well Hans, I must
say I have spent very few Christmas’s in front of a fire. I am a work
junkie and always volunteered to work the holidays. Most jocks were
happy to split and be traditional, not me. I could write a lot more
about New Years Eve but you asked about Christmas. My Xmas thoughts go
way back to the sixties when I was on duty for Uncle Sam on CVA 43
playing music for the military, This means you scan all types of music
Country, Soul, Classic, etc it was the beginning of my programming
school! The military is made up of so many different types it is a chore
to keep them all happy at one time. I graduated 15 years later to Radio
Syndication with what is now known as “the Jack Format", but it was
started way back when I was off Vietnam in 1962!
Using
Xmas as the first roadmap, Trying to mix cohesively with an all ready
fragmented mix of Xmas music into a format that would please listeners
from the four corners of the USA took some doing, always trying to blend
and mix sound with sentiment and rhythm, balancing black and white and
then putting the package together with country/soul/pop/rock, etc, Once
that was mastered all the rest was easy!! So early Xmas was passed as a
Military Xmas jock learning to program.
Then on to Europe in the mid 60’s, and my love of radio kept me always
subbing for the chaps that wanted to go home and be with their families,
I was solo and a bachelor and on my own so I did not mind. I would admit,
if a paying gig came in I would take it (rare on Christmas) however here
are a few memories about live gigs and live radio on Christmas. The
recollections are slow to come, but a few surfaced.
Young Rosko in his early radio
days (OEM Archive)
A nightclub in Hollywood. An Office party of the hoi polloi, it was kind
of hard watching tons of tons of presents being opened by others for
others, watching strangers go all-sentimental. It tended to make one
feel extra alone! However, the parties gave me ideas for what to do on
air when I was not gigging, so one helped the other. I remember one
night at this Xmas office party they got so drunk they left all their
gifts behind. We dropped them off at the Salvation Army for the poor
live with a radio van, what promotion, I almost felt guilty! To this day
they may be still looking for those gifts! On the hard side, it was a
cold bitter cold night in Europe circa 68. I was gigging outside of
Brussels, a live radio gig, an O.B. For RTL. It was an ice covered club
and prone to power cuts but we got through it. We finished at 2 a.m. I
was driving my 55 T bird on black ice; to me it was a real eye opener
into Euro hazardous driving and took me an hour to go 2 miles to my
hotel at 3 a.m. I must have bumped in to every stump and snow bank in
the area (zero traction.)The good side was my speed limit was 3 mph so
no big damage, just an awareness of how hard it is to drive on unsalted
black ice, all this for good Christmas cheer.
There was an Xmas night in Southern California, Tarzana I think, I did a
major Hotel party. Many hours later when n I got back to my Van there
was a 300-pound bloke on acid sitting in the passenger seat! He was well
stoned on LSD and refused to leave. We loaded all the gear for about an
hour whilst he just stared off in to space, we could not move him. It
was quite a problem as he was strong as an ox and gone on acid. This was
one very dangerous chap. (Imagine a 300 pound Jack Nickelson from the
loony bin, drooling, grinning, and snarling quietly). What to do? What
to do? We were three but no match for these behemoths, I had this one
thin roadie, fast a greased lighting, and I told him to get the guy to
chase him. He was not keen but like us tired and wanted to go home, so,
plan was activated. What a sight I told him to keep ahead and jump in
the van as I drove by. (Working for the Emperor has never been dull) we
finally conned him out, I don’t know how, I think we questioned his
manhood. The plan worked and we moved on down the road with him hanging
on the back door, you guys get the drift. I was not going to stop! Red
light, stop signs, he was bellowing about our future demise in a brutal
manner etc, whatever, he finally dropped off the back and we went home,
amen. Err and Merry y Christmas.
I was on the radio one Christmas when a lost child was reported and it
was important to get the word out, I offered 100 records to anyone who
saw the kid and got her returned. We got the good news 2 hours later. A
wonderful night!
If you are on air or gigging it is a different type of night anyway. To
this day I tell my agent go for the holidays I will happily work! To
this day I offer my services. I scored a show on the BBC this year and
will look after BBC Essex 12 till2, Christmas day!! And that is better
than Boxing Day…………My birthday!! Even I don’t want to work on my
birthday!
75 % of the times you will find the Emperor on a station near you on and
through the holidays!! Drop in for some egg nag or nog depending on your
mood!! And, Merry Xmas! Emperor R.'
A very
big
thank you to Rosko for these memories with Christmas, seen from
different angles. Above that memories this time not from Offshore Radio
but other radio days.
Earlier in the report I mentioned the e mail from Richard Sharpe, in
which he asked questions about the merger between Caroline and Atlanta
in 1964. Well I promised that maybe and answer could be expected from
Tom Lodge and so here we
go: ‘Dear Hans. Thank you for your question from Richard Sharpe. Yes, I
remember that time very well. Before Allan Crawford of Radio Atlanta and
Ronan O'Rahilly of Radio Caroline joined together as a co-advertising
co-operation, and Radio Atlanta became Radio Caroline South, our
programming on Radio Caroline was quite different from Radio Atlanta and
then Radio Caroline South. The fact that Allan Crawford was a music
publisher, his music business interests had an influence on their
programming. But we on the original Radio Caroline and then on Radio
Caroline North, were free from any business interests, or dictates. It
was our love of the current music scene that influenced what we played.
We played the music we loved, spontaneously, and with a freedom that
also inspired and stimulated our audience. Not only was there never any
simulcasting of the two radio stations, but we on Radio Caroline, felt
our programming was far more fun and in tune with the current British
rebellious music scene. We were ‘far out' and they were ‘square'. In
fact it was the ‘square' programming of Radio Caroline South, prior to
1965, in comparison to Radio London, from Texas, that was the cause of
Allan Crawford going broke and selling the radio station to Ronan in
1965. And then in 1965 we came down from Radio Caroline North and gave
Radio Caroline the ‘far out' sound of fun that we had on Radio Caroline
North, and by August of 1966, we on Radio Caroline South, had recaptured
the audience back from Radio London. Thanks and best wishes, Tom Lodge.
P.S. I have also attached a couple of photos from those days. This one
is: The deejay crew that brought Radio Caroline South back to being the
number one radio station in 1966: Mike Ahern, Dave Lee Travis, Tom Lodge,
Robbie Dale and Keith Hampshire. 2) Tom Lodge in 1966.’
Well Tom thank you for taking your time to write this answer with a lot
of info and I think Richard will now be happy that finally the question
he had is honestly answered.
Roland Beany sent us the internet address where many photo’s sorted
by
months can be found regarding the work many voluntary people are doing
during the weekend on the MV
Ross Revenge in Tillbury. Well done lads and ladies!
http://www.geocities.com/woodleyuk/index3.htm
From Caroline to Veronica and RNI in the seventies and an email from
Hans Hogendoorn, in those days
Hans ten Hooge newsreader and deejay on RNI. He did sent me a
photograph with the question if I knew the photograph. I must confess
that I hadn’t seen it as a day earlier on the update of the Norderney
site. It shows a delegation from RNI (MEBO II) visiting their neighbours
on the Norderney in
international waters in Scheveningen. For more on the history in 1971
written by Juul Geleick go to
http://www.norderney.nl/historie_1971_1.html
Photo: Ruud Doets / Foundation
Norderney
News from the Pirate Hall of Fame: On Monday 3rd December The Radio
Academy unveiled the latest inductees to its Hall Of Fame. This year
they included the former Radio City DJ
Adrian Love who
posthumously joined such legends of watery wireless as Tony Blackburn,
Kenny Everett, Stuart Henry, John Peel, Tommy Vance, Johnnie Walker and
Tony Windsor on the roll of honour. At the same event Radio Caroline's
founder Ronan O'Rahilly
was made a fellow of the Radio Academy. Tribute was paid to the part he
played in revolutionising UK radio.’ So congratulation to Ronan!
Another e mail, this time from Australia: Hans: ‘I finally got around to
skimming through this. Thanks for the nostalgia and photos. Anybody
doing anything personally (like a DJ answering a fan letter) seems a
thing of the past! :-( I was at grammar school in Manchester, UK from
1966 to 1973. And I hated every second of it! RNI was my relief at home
on an old Grundig valve radio.
Bryan in Canberra, Australia.’
Well thank you and for all other readers let your memories come too at
Hknot@home.nl
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Dear Radio Heritage
friends and supporters: The holiday season is fast approaching and it’s
time to say 'thanks' for your support during 2007, whether you used one
of our online radio guides, visited an online Art of Radio exhibition,
read an article about a radio station or person of interest, sent us
questions, gave us answers...we're glad we could be of service.... If
you're looking for your favorite radio books and more......our Christmas
2007 Gift
Catalog is now online at
www.radioheritage.net.
Unique specials this year include Radio Hauraki 40th Birthday Party
Souvenir Tickets and Art of Radio Japan postcard packs. World Radio TV
Handbook 2008, Passport to WorldBand Radio, Don't Touch That Dial and
other great gifts in the new easy to use catalogs....choose from the USA
& Rest of World, UK, European,
Australian and New Zealand versions. The entire catalog is a fund raiser
towards our operational costs, as protecting and promoting radio
heritage takes time, materials and money, and there's so much more we
will achieve with your help. If you buy through Amazon, use our online
bookshop to buy your Amazon gifts this year and every purchase
contributes a few pennies towards our work as well!
Our resources are increasingly used for educational and genealogy
research, for social history projects, for people wanting to know about
radio events from their lives, those looking for old recordings, and by
up to 1000 people daily searching for some information about radio in
the Pacific region. In the meantime, more old recordings are lost, radio
heritage documents destroyed, memories forgotten and connections gone......but
your donations and your support of the Christmas 2007 Gift Catalog will
help us continue to rescue and conserve what we can. Thanks for your
interest and support during 2007, and we hope you'll
enjoy our continued preservation efforts at
www.radioheritage.net in
2008. With your help, there'll be much more to enjoy.
*********************************************************************
Ingemar Lindqvist has a beautiful site filled with memories to his radio
hobby including KLIF Dallas, Zeezenders 20 Radiodays in 1978, Radio Nord
and a lot of other memories:
http://radiohistoria.jvnf.org/eng.htm
Almost forgot to mention that the first Christmas card came in on
November 29th and the first spoken one from California on December 3rd.
The walls in our living room are covered with many cards from all over
the world wishing us a Happy
Xmas and a Happy 2008! Thanks for all the cards and best wishes
from me and Jana too.
O yes, when you’re not on the radio with Christmas and you would like to
make a private station at home show this could be of help for some
traditional jingles and more at Canadian Christmas traditions:
http://www.canadianxmas.com/christmas.traditions.php
And for those who are in for really vintage radio related to Christmas I
suppose some fine things can be found here:
http://www.otrstreet.com/christmas_radio_show/xmas0188.html
And
if you have not enough you can always download the favorite Christmas
Radio Stories at:
http://www.christmasradionetwork.com/downloads.htm
Hmm look who we have here on the photo taken 27 years ago. Do you have
such a photo of a new years party on your (former) station please share
it with us
Ingo Paternoster sent me an e mail with news about forthcoming Christmas
programming on AFN, which he got from a AFN Newsgroup: ‘Gary Bautell,
Director, AFN-Europe, has sent me exciting news that he has completed
the editing and voicing of "The Soldier's Christmas Song," a Holiday
Special he wrote about "Christmas Eve In My Home Town," first recorded
for AFN during the Korean War by (then) Pfc Eddie Fisher. It appears now
that AFN Europe's ace TV reporter, Michelle Michael, is interested in
doing a TV story from the material as well. These Radio and TV Christmas
Specials will be sent to the Broadcast Center at Riverside for worldwide
AFN distribution to some 58 countries, and include recordings by Eddie
Fisher, Kate Smith, Jim Nabors, The Living Strings, Bobby Vinton. I hope
you get a chance to hear or view Gary or Michelle's broadcasts. As
co-writer of the song, I can hardly wait!
Happy Holidays one and all, Stan Zabka,’
And what about the possibility to listen too Christmas Radio for at
least 365 days a year, any moment you like? It’s possible so if you ever
in the mood for Christmas in July then you have a listen at:
http://www.merrychristmasradio.com
But there are many more stations on the air or on internet this months
to have a listen too. Like for instant the Sky Radio Christmas station
in Holland or Radio Rudolph or, well have a look in a long list now:
http://www.mikesradioworld.com/xmas.html
Ian Purshey from Canterbury Kent in England was an avid listener to
Radio Mi Amigo and Caroline in the seventies and has sent me some
details he remembered from 30 years ago regarding Christmas. ‘At first I
hadn’t planned to listen to the radio at all as in the family we would
have family visitors and it was not done at all to go to your own room
to relax and enjoy on yourself. But the recorder was there and so later
in the evening I could rewind the things which were recorded on my AKAI
tape machine. One of the things I liked were the two specials the late
Haike Dubois presented on Radio
Mi Amigo. First there was a children special and secondly the
program ‘Kerstfeest’ (Christmas Fest) , which was on in the mid
afternoon. Christmas Day was on a Sunday that year and normal programs
like the ‘Top 40’, ‘Belgian Top 15’, ‘Muziek Museum’ as well as ‘Disco
Show’ were dropped from the programming. I do recall also a special
‘Baken 16’ live from the Mi Amigo, a program which was normally not on
at ‘212’ on
Sundays.
It was the late Herman de Graaf who presented the show live from the
messroom, in which he was assisted by colleague Ferry Eden and some of
the Caroline deejays from those days.’
When receiving memories like the one sent in by Ian from Kent I always
try to have a dive into my archive to relive my own memories in sound as
well as the news from the magazines from those days. Radio Mi Amigo had
several drive in shows during the weekend in Belgium as well as in the
Netherlands. But also the Caroline drive in shows went on with Robb
Eden, Robbie Day and others. 30 Years ago there were several Caroline
show and let’s mention two venues: one in the Grashopper in Westerham
and in the second one in the Tudor in Maidstone – also in Kent. The last
one featured both Robb and Robbie. The first one was on December 1st and
had also a quest deejay in the person of Simon Dee, one of the first
deejays ever on Caroline in March 1964. After this gig the management
from the Grashopper got an official letter from the authorities in which
was mentioned that it could break the law as a pirate radio station
(Caroline) was mentioning that a party in the Grashopper was held.
Taking this letter seriously the manager decided to cancel all the
contract they had for further Caroline Road Shows.
From Canada Ben Healy
round the corner with a nice wish too, headed with ‘242 Christmas’:
Hans, you outdid yourself this past year. You have remained loyal to the
offshore cause for so many years. I for one appreciate al the work and
effort that goes into your report. Thank you for everything. All the
best for Christmas, Ben. ‘
Well Ben, like all those other Christmas wishes coming in, most
appreciated to get such nice wishes by e mail as well by snail mail.
Bob Le-Roi, radiofriend
for decades, even included Offshore Radio into his Christmas Card.
Thanks Bob and also a beautiful Christmas to you and Sandra.
.jpg)
Update
time and we announce that three beautiful new series of photos can be
found on Martin’s site
www.offshore-radio.de
First of all Robbie Dale’s
Scrapbook has been updated with a nice serie of photographs,
newspaper cuts and other memories from the Dale’s Archive. New is a
serie of very beautiful photographs taken by Marcel Poelman and Paul
Krooshof, both with the same subject:
Radio Waddenzee and their
lightship which lies in the harbour of Harlingen. Earlier on in another
issue I showed already a photo which was found back on the loft of
Wouter Verbaan. All the other ones which he sent me are to be found back
on Martin’s or on my site:
www.hansknot.com
On www.mediapages.nl also during
the last weeks several updates with the nicest one photographs taken 28
years ago. It was July 1st 1979 that, after a series of testprogrammes,
the official start of Radio Mi
Amigo 272 was celebrated. A new radio ship which only lasted on
international waters for some months. September the 18th the ship came
in trouble in a heavy storm and three days later it was confisticated in
national waters off the Dutch coast. Dutch ‘Rijkspolitie ter Water’ (Water
Police) was there. Elly Slager, daughter of one of the policemen, found
an envelope filled with photos in her fathers inheritance. They now can
be found back on Mediapages.
An e mail from Ian Smith about one of the re-published cartoons: ‘Hans,
In the Cartoon in December 2007 Radio Report, the picture depicts the
Caroline ship (in the style of MV Fredericia) as having an anchor at the
Stern and another at the Bow. Remembering how many times radio ships
dragged or lost anchors, was it ever the case that any radio ship was
sited with two anchors? Was it feasible? Love, Light and Peace, Ian.’
Well thanks Ian, I must honestly say that I’ve never seen a radioship
using two anchor chains at the same time. But of course I also don’t
know everything. So anyone who has a answer on this question please
don’t hesitate to send it in to me at
hknot@home.nl
Formerly living in the USA and now in Belgium one of the world’s
greatest radio recordings collector writes is: ‘Hi Hans, Just a note, I
really wanted to make it to Radio Day, as it would have been able to be
my first one since arriving in Europe in December, 2006. However, with
house hunting, I did not make it to Amsterdam. So I was glad to read
that you plan one next year too. For some reason I thought they were
every two years. The Emperor Rosko is one of my favorite talents. That
he learned French, as well, sort of makes him someone to look up to! I
was glad to see that photo in your last radio report. Well, excuses. I
think I saw Tony Jay on a Guiness tour in Dublin. You have a good one,
and may I say thank you for all the wonderful reports you send. This
obviously is a labour of love for you. Tom Konard.’
Thanks Tom, well the Radio Day
is every year since 1978 and so this coming November 8th 2008 it will be
30 years on. I think you was misled a bit by the mentioning that the
Radio Day Awards is a biannual event. Good to hear Rosko is one of your
favourites. As you’ve seen he was twice in the report this time and who
knows he will be at the Radio Day in November too. So Rosko you’ve
another fan again, take your agenda and make it to Amsterdam too! Maybe
your manager can organise some gigs in Europe to make the circle round.
In last issue I mentioned the plans with the
Norderney, former
radioship for Veronica. One idea was to bring the ship back to Holland,
after it is in Antwerp harbour for many years. It was planned to get the
ship to the harbour of Zwolle. However, RTV Oost, a regional television
station, mentioned on December 12th that people in the neighborhood of
the quaysides, as well as skippers for the inland navigation have
protested to the city government that they don’t want the ship. Through
the years since the early nineties of last century the Veronicavessel,
which has been rebuilt into a partyship, has been in several harbours
and always – in one way or another – problems with the youth occurred. A
pity as many of the former Veronica fans would love to see the ship back
where it belongs: in the Netherlands.
Well, this is all for this issue, the last one for 2007. Have all a
Happy Christmas and a very good 2008. Next report in January and as
usual you can send your memories, photographs and other funnies to
Hknot@home.nl and if the files are
bigger than 100kB please send them to
hans.knot@gmail.com
More from me next year with greetings from Groningen,
Hans Knot
Offshore Radio Programme Names - Programmanamen Zeezenders 1958-1990
Read Hans Knot's former report