From Radio Nord to Radio Atlanta
Radio Nord was a part of radio
history in Sweden when it beamed on 495 metres from international waters
a commercial radio program 24 hours a day from 8th of February 1961
till June 30th 1962. Always in publications it’s mentioned that the
radio ship Bon Jour, which was used by the Radio Nord organisation, left
the Baltic Sea and was next heading out for the North Sea. Also
mentioned is the the ship was arriving in El Ferrol in Spain, August 2nd
1962. But was there more to be told about the whereabouts of the radio
ship later that year?
The
answer is here and can be found in my own publication from 1993 which
was called: ‘History on Offshore Radio 1907-1973. About Pioneers,
Failures and Thumb suckers’ published by the Foundation for Media
Communication in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Early October 1962 Dutch newspapers mentioned there was another
radioship anchored not far away from the Borkum Riff, the then radioship
for Radio Veronica. It was painted with a new colour in soft green and
seemed to be the former Radio Nord vessel Bon Jour, which stopped her
programming off the Swedish coast, due to a law brought in against
'offshore radio'. Research done at the time brought also the news that a
new registration was made at Lloyds offices in London under the name
'Magda Maria'. One journalist was with a small ship near the Magda Maria
and wrote that there were nine persons on the ship, a Swedish radio
technician and 8 people from Poland. The captain told the newspaperman
the ship was only temporary anchored off the Dutch coast and would steam
up for New York soon. In no way, this Polish captain, wanted to give
information about the identity of those on the radio ship.
Rumours
were floating as another newspaper wrote that not only a party of
Belgian businesspeople were interested but also from Holland. The
transmitters on the former Radio Nord ship were not used off the Dutch
coast and the Dutch authority PTT announced that as long as not
transmitter was on not an official visit would be taken to the ship.
A few days later the newspapers mentioned that the vessel would probably
be used as a television ship for the Veronica organisation. Veronica
director Verwey however mentioned there was not any contact with the
Swedish owners and also no plans for television transmissions from the
North Sea. ' If we would like to start commercial television we would
need a far much bigger ship than the Bon Jour.
Reason he wanted to be ‘in silence’ was that he worked under a British
certificate and he disliked the idea to be in problems while working on
a former Offshore Radio Ship, from which the future was for him and many
more still a miracle. But the journalist was a professional one and went
on with a lot of questions. Captain X told him that at least one person
from Holland showed interested in the ship and had been aboard the Magda
Maria with the aim to purchase the former Bon Jour. “He hadn’t too much
information about the ideas his backers had to buy the ship and we kept
our mouth as much as possible, as we promised this to our bosses. Our
shipping agency is Mr. Dirkzwager at Maassluis and he can eventually
deal with people interested.”
More
news followed on October 18th 1962 some Dutch newspapers came with a
totally other story as it was mentioned that the ship was sold to the
government of Cuba with the aim to transmit propaganda programs off the
American coast. One of the newspapers asked the interested Dutch
interested and anonymous person for comment: “It’s ridiculous, I’ve been
on the ship just days ago and told the owners I’m very interested to buy
the ship, rebuilt it as a competitor to Radio Veronica. And if not
successful I would do a second try off the British Coast.’
The Dutchmen also told that he had contact, versus Mr. Dirkzwager, with
the owner of the former Bon Jour. I was mentioned a name of a person in
Germany and the guy told me the ship was for sale, completely with
transmitter and equipment, for 350.000 Dutch guilders. I told by phone
that this bid was too high and we were willing to start a cooperative
station with the owner. ‘
A day later, October 19th, owners gave the captain order to leave the
anchor position and to head for Spain. This as the radio ship got too
much attention in the press. But just two days later a local newspaper
from Ostend in Belgium mentioned that the Magda Maria entered the
harbour of the town. Also they told the ship had transmitted a few years
long radio programs to the people in ‘Denmark’ but the owners were too
afraid for Swedish authorities and a law became active to take action
against the station.
It lasted almost a month before again the newspaper in Belgium wrote
about the project. November 16th it was mentioned that a mysterious
phone call came in that within four weeks the Magda Maria would be the
house for transmissions aimed at a Flemish public and TV transmissions
would follow in February 1963. The journalist from the newspaper found
out that versus shipping agency Ruys and Company in Zeebrugge the owner
became known as Deco Company from Liechtenstein. A spokesman from this
mentioned that no proposed plans would be mentioned to the press and
that the Polish captain as well as the crewmembers got the order to be
silence as much as possible.
Again days later Dutch press brought the news that a Dutch and two
American people got interested in buying the ship whereby two names,
‘Weaver’ and ‘De Jong’ were published. The later one mentioned that the
ship’s papers would be ready in a foreign country within weeks and the
ship would anchored off the Flemish coast. Transmissions would start at
FM as well as AM with 605 on the dial as the first to start. ‘The
radioship is in a very good condition and it can find a position off the
coast on own power. We have a lot of American money involved and the new
station can be a hugh European success.’
Two days later an other Flemish newspapers denied the report and stated:
‘An international agreement tells that every ship, whether it is a radio
or normal cargo ship, should get an overall maintenance every two years.
Therefore this was the only reason the Magda Maria was in Ostend. ‘First
it was tried to get the maintenance in Hamburg. There was no place then
in the harbour and above that the prices were too high.’ Strange enough
Dutch newspaper Telegraaf mentioned that due to financial problems the
owners would possible go for the option scrap in Spain, as the future
was economically to unsafe.
Going
more and more in depth regarding what had happened to the former Radio
Nord ship I can tell you that next early December is was written that
the former Bon Jour, then Magda Maria, would be heading for America
where the radio ship would be used as a base for a radio station called
KRKU in Houston. But a day later ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’ (The latest news)
mentioned the radio ship would be anchored off the French coast to start
transmissions on December 18th. ‘The station can be received within a
radius of 360 kilometres. The ship has now 2 AM transmitters, each 10 kW
and the aerial system is 42 metres while the Magda Maria is now
registrated in Panama.’
Earlier
mentioned company Deco from Liechtenstein was run by Mr. Thompson from
Texas USA (see picture). When a journalist contacted the company
a spokesman once again brought the journalist in astonishment by telling
him the ship was sold to a very rich Englishman, Mr. Burmann, who had
paid 15 million Belgian Francs for the radio ship, including the
equipment. It would be the same guy who was co owner of Radio Normandy
in the thirties of last century. He has signed the Convention of
Kopenhagen in those days, which – so wrote the journalist from
newspaper, was enough for him still to use legally a frequency.
From that last message it all felt silence and no more news was brought
about the ship off the Dutch coast. It appeared later that the ship had
left to sail the Atlantic to the USA. It took almost a year before more
was heard about the radio ship. Late 1963 the first short messages about
the Bon Jour (Magda Maria), renamed MV Mi Amigo appeared in which was
told the ship would go to the harbour of Greenore as it was bought by a
British organisation, headed by Alan Crawford. After rebuilding the ship
would became Radio Atlanta.’
Of course there are in my archive several newspaper cuts and an official
rate card regarding Radio Atlanta. On April 28th 1964 is was the
Newcastle Evening Chronicle, which mentioned: ‘Radio Atlanta, the new
commercial radio ship which has taken up station off Frinton-on-Sea
Essex, expects its transmissions on 197 metre band to reach as far north
as Durham and New Castle. It will be beamed particularly on an area from
Bournemouth to the Wash. The ship, the MV Mi Amigo, has a Dutch skipper.
She was fitted out in Greenore Ireland and has a Panamanian flag. She is
in fact the old Radio Nord, which was banned by the Swedish government
under a law which say the sponsors of the present venture has since been
deemed unconstitutional. Soon a team of disc jockeys will be
broadcasting to 14.000.000 listeners in Great Britain, it is claimed.
Eventually transmissions throughout 24 hours a day are planned. ‘We have
talked to lawyers here and abroad’ said Alan Crawford, managing director
of the company. ‘And they also say isn’t not illegal to listen to us and
that, in their opinion we are not unauthorised.’ The Bon Jour made it
from Magda Maria to MV Mi Amigo and housed for some months Radio
Atlanta. Then a merger took place with the Caroline organisation and the
rest is history.