The man who changed the face of popular music broadcasting when he founded the pirate station Radio Caroline in 1964 has died at the age of 76.
www.theguardian.com/music/2020/apr/21/ronan-orahilly-radio-caroline-founder-uk-pop-pirate-radio-dies-aged-79-james-bond-george-lazenby
Most of us here are of the age when we went round with a transistor radio glued to our ear listening to one of the many pirate radio stations. It got me the cane once when the earplug jack pulled out of my pocket radio during a boring lesson and one of the latest fab tunes started blaring all over the classroom, much to everyone's amusement (The teacher excepted).
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I was probably a tad too young for independent listening pirate radio in its pre Marine Broadcasting Offences Act iteration. It wasn't part on my parents' listening either.
Mrs B OTOH is a year or so older than me and had parents who were very much into the Beatles and other groups of the time. They also lived on the coast at Crosby (Merseyside). She has clear memories of her father driving down to the beach, listening to Caroline North and flashing the car's headlights at the ship.
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Going back in the sounds of time, its a Caroline Flashback
Living near the east coast, and being 10 when the MV Mia Amigo was moored off Frinton, Radio Caroline became the station of choice, trips on Sunday afternoons in my old mans Ford Consol 375 to Clacton then Frinton for the evening so everyone could flash their headlights at the ship.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqidy5OHol8&list=RDYuEZCnebecQ&index=2
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuEZCnebecQ&list=RDYuEZCnebecQ&index=1
Then of course Big L - Wonderful Radio London muscled in
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqjrIhMwU8U
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlagGjNGkzk
Its no exaggeration to say Radio Caroline and Radio London changed the face of radio pop music, forever* And in a way it peaked my interest in the mechanics of radio, when the Jamming by the GPO started. And with the youth rebellion it changed the way in the way Radio, TV and comms in general was governed
RIP Ronan, you really left a legacy. You provided the reason for having a Japanese transistor radio.
*(And Bolo to the old whingers who will now say "bah it was better before")
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 21 Apr 20 at 15:59
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At my (boarding) school we had some bloke turn up into our year when we were about 14. He wanted us to buy into a pirate radio station, small amounts of money really, and we did. He used to go out on his bike to the local park to broadcast for an hour before breakfast - 07:00 I think, using a really limited range set up.
Radio Julia International, remember it well.
He definitely had "connections" somewhere over Chalk Farm way, who helped with gear and music AFAIR.
The local rag was quite interested in it and we made front page news for a number of weeks (not consecutive), though I can't find any reference to it on the net. They once contacted the guy somehow and requested an interview. He met with them somewhere and they published a front page article. They made it really cloak and dagger though, that they were blindfolded and driven for a number of miles then put in a room to do the interview etc, when ion actual fact it was an open face to face meeting. They had undertaken not to identify anyone.
We did make a little money from advertising. Radio Julia (or was it Juliet or Juliette) International.
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Ronan O'Rahilly - Bromptonaut
