Pirate Radio Caroline
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This site is dedicated to the pirate radio ships and crew of the 1960's and 1970's. It is not affiliated with the current Radio Caroline which broadcasts on Sky Radio 0199. If you are looking for the Satellite Radio station please click here. http://www.radiocaroline.co.uk/ The Ships - Mi Amigo The ship know worldwide as the ‘M.V. Mi Amigo’ has a history dating back to 1921 where she was built as a 98 foot schooner named the 'SS Margarethe' by 'Deutsche Werke AG'. In 1927 her length was increased to 134 feet, engines were installed and she was renamed the ‘MS Olga’. She started her life as a broadcast ship in 1960 for Sweden’s Radio Nord. In March 1961 she was renamed ‘M.V. Magda Maria’. On August 2nd 1961 she was given the name ‘M.V. Mi Amigo’ while undergoing repairs in Spain. On May 12th 1964 she became the broadcast ship for Caroline rival Radio Atlanta. This rivalry was short lived as the two stations merged on July 2nd 1964 at which time she became the home of Radio Caroline South. During January 1966 the ship ran aground at Finton-on Sea. She returned the following April with increased broadcasting power and continued as Caroline South until 1968. The ‘M.V. Mi Amigo’ returned with the launch of a new Radio Caroline album rock format in 1972. Despite a parting of ways with Radio Caroline in 1974 the ship continued broadcasting until she sank in a North Sea storm on March 20th 1980. Her 160 foot mast remained visible for the next six years pointing up out of the sea in a last defiant gesture. .. 
..The Ships - MV Caroline (Fredericia) The ship that gained fame for broadcasting Caroline North to Great Britain began life in 1929 as the 188-foot passenger and cargo ship ‘M. V. Fredericia’. From 1930 until 1963 she was operated primarily out of Copenhagen Denmark. On December 30th 1963, the vessel was sold to Cross Channel container Services Limited (Ronan O’Rahilly) for the sum of 20,000 pounds and re-christened the ‘M. V. Caroline’. She began service on March 28th 1964 off the Suffolk coast of Southeast England. In July 1964, the ship was moved to Ramsey Bay off the Isle of Man to become Caroline North. On January 13th 1965 a severe storm tore away the starboard anchor and the she lay adrift for a week. During August 1967, the British Government enacted legislation preventing supplies being delivered to any radio ship from British Ports. The Caroline vessels continued broadcasting with supplies from the Netherlands. This arrangement led to monetary disputes between Caroline and her Dutch suppliers. In 1968 the ‘M. V. Caroline’ was towed to Amsterdam after a dispute over non-payment for supplies. In June 1972 she was sold at auction for demolition. .. 
..The Ships - Ross Revenge Built in Bremerhaven, Germany, in 1960 as one of three similar vessels and christened "Freyr", registration "RE1", she was originally owned and operated by an Icelandic fishing company. After just 3 years she was sold to Grimsby based Ross Fisheries and re-named "Ross Revenge", where she became one of the most successful vessels to ever fish from the UK. By the late 70's the fishing industry was in sharp decline and along with many of her contemporaries she became surplus to requirements. For a while she was operated as a salvage and recovery vessel but in the early 80's she was sitting in a breakers yard almost inevitably facing the cutters torch. However, Radio Caroline was searching for a new ship, and in August 1983 she became home to the legendary radio station. For a period of over 8 years she was kept at anchor outside territorial waters broadcasting to up to 23 million people. Finally, beaten and battered, and in very poor condition she was shipwrecked onto the Goodwin Sands off the Kent coast from where she was eventually towed into Dover and arrested. Since 1991 she has been cared for and maintained by an enthusiastic voluntary support group with the aim of preserving and restoring her to her former glory. .. 
..Music
PRESS THE SQUARE BUTTON TO STOP THE MUSIC BEFORE PLAYING A VIDEO
Jonny Dongel - A Fifth of Nowhere Is Available At CD from CDBaby.com 
MP3 Download from Amazon.com Movies
Radio Caroline Video - (Circa 1965) Another History Lesson Jonny Dongel - Sorry Simon Modern Tribute to Radio Caroline Radio Caroline Book By Former DJ Tom Lodge Jonny Dongel - A Fifth of Nowhere Is Available At CD from CDBaby.com MP3 Download from Amazon.com Television
Books
The Ship That Rocked The World book by presenter Tom Lodge. Also featured here is his exclusive interview with The Beatles! 
Heroes
The Time Line of Swinging Sixties England and Radio Caroline
1963 - 1966
(More Years Coming Soon)
Help Us Fill It In!
(Message Us With Your Memories)
1963
August
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August 23 - The Beatles release "She Loves You" in Great Britain. It becomes the biggest selling single in pop music history.
September
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September 13 – The Beatles, “She Loves You” is the #1 pop single.
October
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October 11 – Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, “Do You Love Me” is the #1 pop single.
November
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November 1 – Gerry & the Pacemakers, “You'll Never Walk Alone” is the #1 pop single.
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November 22 - U.S. President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas TX. Radio Caroline will be named after President Kennedy’s daughter Caroline.
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November 29 – The Beatles, “She Loves You” returns as the #1 pop single.
December
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December 13 – The Beatles, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” is the #1 pop single.
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December 30 - Ronan O’Rahilly purchases the ‘M. V. Caroline’ for the sum of 20,000 pounds. Pirate Radio is just around the corner.
1964
January
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January 1 – Top of the Pops premiers on BBC television.
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January 3 – The Beatles, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” is the #1 pop single.
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January 17 – The Dave Clark 5, “Glad All Over” is the #1 pop single.
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January 31 – The Searchers, “Needles & Pins” is the #1 pop single.
February
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February 9 - The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, which breaks television ratings records.
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February 21 – The Bachelors, “Diane” is the #1 pop single.
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February 28 – Cilla Black, “Anyone Who Had A Heart” is the #1 pop single.
March
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March 20 – Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, “Little Children” is the #1 pop single.
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March 20 - For the first time in history, all Top Ten singles on the UK chart are by British acts.
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March 27 - The M.V. Caroline drops anchor five miles off Harwich in international waters. At 9 p.m. that night Radio Caroline put out her first test signal.
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March 28 – Chris Moore introduces, as the first record, the Beatles recording of "Can't Buy Me Love". Britain's first commercial radio station is on the air. Other sources claim the first record played was The Rolling Stones Not Fade Away, dedicated to Ronan O'Rahilly.
April
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April 3 – The Beatles, “Can't Buy Me Love” is the #1 pop single.
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April 20 - Gallup Poll shows that Radio Caroline has gained nearly seven million listeners in just three weeks of broadcasting. This doesn't include listeners under the age of seventeen, and the total was from a potential audience of only twenty million people.
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April 24 – Peter & Gordon, “World Without Love” is the #1 pop single.
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April 26 - The Rolling Stones release their eponymous debut album
May
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May 8 – The Searchers, “Don't Throw Your Love Away” is the #1 pop single.
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May 22 – The Four Pennies, “Juliet” is the #1 pop single.
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May 29 – Cilla Black, “You're My World” is the #1 pop single.
June
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June 26 – Roy Orbison, “It's Over” is the #1 pop single.
July
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July 2 - Radio Caroline and Radio Atlanta merge under the Caroline logo. It is agreed that MV Caroline, the larger, heavier and stronger vessel, should go North to a position off the coast of the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.
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July 3 - Caroline sails north. Keeping outside territorial waters, she continues to broadcast all the way around the tip of England to her new position three and a half miles off Ramsey, Isle of Man.
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July 10 – The Animals, “House Of The Rising Sun” is the #1 pop single.
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July 17 – Rolling Stones, “It's All Over Now” is the #1 pop single.
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July 24 – The Beatles, “A Hard Day's Night” is the #1 pop single.
August
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August 14 – Manfred Mann, “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” is the #1 pop single.
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August 28 – The Honeycombs, “Have I The Right” is the #1 pop single.
September
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September 11 – The Kinks, “You Really Got Me” is the #1 pop single.
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September 25 – Herman's Hermits, “I'm Into Something Good” is the #1 pop single.
October
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October 9 – Roy Orbison, “Oh Pretty Woman” is the #1 pop single.
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October 15 – Harold Wilson elected British Prime Minister.
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October 23 – Sandie Shaw, “(There's) Always Something To Remind Me” is the #1 pop single.
November
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November 3 - Lyndon B. Johnson re-elected President of the United States.
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November 13 – Roy Orbison, “Oh Pretty Woman” returns as the #1 pop single.
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November 20 – The Supremes, “Baby Love” is the #1 pop single.
December
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December 4 – Rolling Stones, “Little Red Rooster” is the #1 pop single.
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December 11 - Sam Cooke is killed under mysterious circumstances in Los Angeles, California. Shortly thereafter, "A Change Is Gonna Come," a song considered by many to be his best, is released.
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December 11 – The Beatles, “I Feel Fine” is the #1 pop single.
1965
January
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January 15 – Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, “Yeh Yeh” is the #1 pop single.
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January 20 - Alan Freed, DJ who first used the phrase Rock and Roll dies at the age of 43.
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January 22 - Britain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Luxembourg and Sweden sign a Council of Europe Agreement to ban pirate radio broadcasts 'on board ships, aircraft or any other floating or airborne objects'. The agreement bans not only the broadcasts themselves but also bans anyone from providing the stations with supplies, equipment or broadcasting material.
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January 29 – The Moody Blues, “Go Now” is the #1 pop single.
February
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February 5 – The Righteous Brothers, “You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling” is the #1 pop single.
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February 19 – The Kinks, “Tired Of Waiting For You” is the #1 pop single.
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February 26 – The Seekers, “I'll Never Find Another You” is the #1 pop single.
March
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March 12 – Tom Jones, “It's Not Unusual” is the #1 pop single.
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March 18 - Rolling Stones Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Bill Wyman are fined five pounds for urinating on the wall of a London gas station. The band had asked to use the restroom, but it was out of order.
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March 19 – Rolling Stones, “The Last Time” is the #1 pop single.
April
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April 9 – Unit Four Plus Two, “Concrete and Clay” is the #1 pop single.
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April 16 – Cliff Richard, “The Minute You're Gone” is the #1 pop single.
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April 23 – The Beatles, “Ticket To Ride” is the #1 pop single.
May
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May 9 - Bob Dylan performs the first of two concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall, concluding his tour of Europe. Audience members include The Beatles, and Donovan.
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May 14 – Roger Miller, “King Of The Road” is the #1 pop single.
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May 21 – Jackie Trent, “Where Are You Now (My Love)” is the #1 pop single.
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May 28 – Sandie Shaw, “Long Live Love” is the #1 pop single.
June
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June 12- The Beatles were appointed Members of the British Empire (MBE) by the Queen. Since it was unusual for rock stars to be appointed as MBEs, a number of previous recipients complained and protested.
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June 18 – Elvis Presley, “Crying In The Chapel” is the #1 pop single.
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June 25 – The Hollies, “I'm Alive” is the #1 pop single.
July
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July 2 – Elvis Presley, “Crying In The Chapel” returns as the #1 pop single.
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July 9 – The Hollies, “I'm Alive” returns as the #1 pop single.
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July 23 – The Byrds, “Mr. Tambourine Man” is the #1 pop single.
August
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August 6 – The Beatles, “Help!” is the #1 pop single.
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August 27 - The Beatles visit Elvis Presley at his home in Bel-Air. It is the first and only time the band and the singer met.
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August 27 – Sonny and Cher, “I Got You Babe” is the #1 pop single.
September
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September 10 – Rolling Stones, “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction” is the #1 pop single.
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September 24 – The Walker Brothers, Make It Easy on Yourself” is the #1 pop single.
October
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October 1 – Ken Dodd, “Tears” is the #1 pop single.
November
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November 5 – Rolling Stones, “Get Off My Cloud” is the #1 pop single.
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November 26 – The Seekers, “The Carnival Is Over” is the #1 pop single.
December
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December 17 – The Beatles, “Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out” is the #1 pop single.
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December 21 - Radio Caroline Club Ball at the New Brighton Tower Ballroom. It is a major event . Top line artists, including the Searchers, the Yardbirds, the Four Pennies, Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, Paul and Barry Ryan, the Honeycombs and Twinkle, are booked to appear and it is a complete sell out.
1966
January
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January 8 - Shindig! Airs for the last time in the USA, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who.
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January 21 – The Spencer Davis Group, “Keep On Running” is the #1 pop single.
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January 21 - Beatle George Harrison marries fashion model Pattie Boyd. The couple met on the set of the Beatles' first movie, A Hard Day's Night.
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January 28 – The Overlanders, “Michelle” is the #1 pop single.
February
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February 18 – Nancy Sinatra, “These Boots Are Made For Walkin” is the #1 pop single.
March
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March 4 - The Beatles' John Lennon is quoted in the London newspaper, The Evening Standard as saying that the band was now more popular than Jesus. Beatles protests and record burnings follow in the Southern US's "Bible Belt".
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March 18 – Walker Brothers, “The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore” is the #1 pop single.
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March 31 - The Labour Party under Harold Wilson win the general election.
April
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April 15 – The Spencer Davis Group, “Somebody Help Me” is the #1 pop single.
May
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May 3 - Swinging Radio England and Britain Radio commence broadcasting on AM with a combined potential 100,000 watts from the same ship anchored off the south coast of England in international waters.
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May 6 – Manfred Mann, “Pretty Flamingo” is the #1 pop single.
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May 16 - Legendary album Pet Sounds by Beach Boys released.
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May 17 - Bob Dylan and the Hawks (later The Band) play their legendary show at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England, during which Dylan is booed by the audience due to his decision to tour with an electric band; the booing culminates in the famous "Judas" shout.
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May 27 – Rolling Stones, “Paint It Black” is the #1 pop single.
June
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June 3 – Frank Sinatra, “Strangers In The Night” is the #1 pop single.
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June 24 – The Beatles, “Paperback Writer” is the #1 pop single.
July
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July 2 - The Government publishes The Marine etc., Broadcasting (Offences) Bill, under which broadcasts from ships and marine structures will be unlawful. It will be unlawful to instigate, finance, provide goods or in any way aid a pirate radio. The maximum penalties are to be two years imprisonment, or a fine, or both.
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July 8 – The Kinks, “Sunny Afternoon” is the #1 pop single.
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July 22 – Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, “Get Away” is the #1 pop single.
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July 29 – Chris Farlowe, “Out Of Time” is the #1 pop single.
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July 30 - England beat West Germany 4-2 to win the 1966 World Cup at Wembley.
August
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August 5 – The Troggs, “With A Girl Like You” is the #1 pop single.
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August 5 - The Beatles released Revolver album.
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August 19 – The Beatles, “Yellow Submarine"/"Eleanor Rigby” is the #1 pop single.
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August 29 - The Beatles perform their last official concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California.
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September
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September 16 – Small Faces, “All Or Nothing” is the #1 pop single.
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September 21 - Radio Caroline North DJ Mick Luvzit and Janet Teret (Sister of DJ "Ugly" Ray Teret are married on board the M.V. Caroline by the ship's captain and the Panamanian consul.
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September 23 – Jim Reeves, “Distant Drums” is the #1 pop single.
October
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October 7 - Johnny Kidd, writer of 'Shakin All Over' dies in a car accident.
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October 28 – Four Tops, “Reach Out - I'll Be There” is the #1 pop single.
November
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November 18 – Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations” is the #1 pop single.
December
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December 2 – Tom Jones, “Green Green Grass Of Home” is the #1 pop single.
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Friends (20)
Music
Blurbs
About me:
Who I'd like to meet:
It was March 1964. Ronan O'Rahilly had an idea, a vision, and a way to break the BBC monopoly of playing no more than an hour a week of the music that millions of British kids were dying to hear. This is in fact the start of swinging London, The British invasion and the counter cultural revolution that forever changed the world.
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The idea of taking a ship offshore into international waters and beaming back music that youth of England craved, broke the careers of The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Eric Burdon and the Animals, the Yardbirds, Steve Winwood and countless other working class British upstarts. The historical importance of Radio Caroline and the pirate radio phenomenon that followed is the last great untold rock and roll story. A group of rogue radio pirates hijacked the airwaves, braved the perils of the North Sea, the British Government, and the wrath of Victorian culture only to emerge with an audience that was close to half the population of the country.
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Without the story of Radio Caroline and the other pirate radio stations the world would not have been blessed with some of the greatest artistic achievements of the following decades. Presented here are the memories and historical artifacts that make this one of the most colorful and important times in the history of rock and roll.
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| PROFILES OF TOP RADIO CAROLINE PRESENTERS | |
| Johhny Walker | Roger Day |
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| Tony Blackburn | Don Allen |
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| Tommy Vance | Tony Allan |
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| Tom Lodge | |
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| Thanks to the The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame | |
Radio Caroline Offshore Presenters - Click On Name For Picture |
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| PRESENTER | DATE OF BIRTH | PLACE OF BIRTH | YEARS |
| MIKE AHEARN |
September 30th, 1942 |
Liverpool, England |
1965 - 1967 |
| TONY ALLAN |
September 22nd, 1949 |
London, England |
1970's |
| DON ALLEN |
March 8th, 1939 |
Winnipeg, Canada |
1966 - 1968 |
| ANDY ARCHER |
January 22nd, 1946 |
Terrington, England |
1967 - 1968 |
| BUD BALLOU |
Unknown |
Syracuse, NY USA |
1967 - 1968 |
| COLIN BERRY |
January 29th, 1946 |
Welwyn, England |
1965 - 1966 |
| TONY BLACKBURN |
January 29th, 1943 |
Guilford, England |
1964 - 1966 |
| ROSS BROWN |
Unknown |
Queensland, Australia |
1967 - 1968 |
| ERROL BRUCE |
October, 1942 |
Alexandria, Egypt |
1964 - 1966 |
| GERRY BURKE |
1930 |
London, England |
1966 - 1967 |
| CARL CONWAY |
Unknown |
Ramsgate, England |
1964 |
| GORDON CRUSE |
1942 |
Calgary, Canada |
1966 - 1967 |
| ROBBIE DALE |
April 21st, 1940 |
Littleborough, England |
1966 - 1968 |
| RICK DANE |
February 22nd, 1941 |
Cape Town, South Africa |
1966 |
| ROGER DAY |
March 29th, 1945 |
Cheltenham, England |
1967 - 1968 |
| GERRY DUNCAN |
1937 |
London, England |
1964 - 1967 |
| TOM EDWARDS |
March 20th, 1945 |
Norwich, England |
1967 |
| ROGER GALE |
August 20th, 1943 |
Poole, England |
1964 - 1965 |
| JIMMY GORDON |
1944 | Australia | 1967 |
| KEITH HAMPSHIRE |
November 23rd, 1945 | London, England |
1966 - 1967 |
| DEE HARRISON |
1946 | Brighton, England |
1967 |
| BILL HEARNE |
August 6th, 1927 |
London, England |
1965 - 1966 |
| RIC JOHNS |
January 26th, 1943 | Thorpe, England |
1964 - 1965 |
| MARTIN KAYNE |
October 27th, 1943 |
Gravesend, England |
1967 - 1968 |
| GARRY KEMP |
August 28th, 1934 |
London, England |
1964 - 1965 |
| DOUG KERR |
Unknown |
Alberta, Canada |
1964 - 1965 |
| JERRY KING |
May 2nd, 1941 |
Ontario, Canada |
1967 |
| JERRY LEIGHTON | 1936 |
London, England |
1964 - 1967 |
| TOM LODGE |
1936 |
Surry, England |
1964 - 1967 |
| MICK LUVZIT | February 24th, 1944 |
Manitoba, Canada |
1966 - 1967 |
| MIKE MARRIOTT | 1941 |
Leicester, England |
1964 |
| STEVI MERIKE | October 23rd, 1945 |
London, England |
1967 |
| CHRIS MOORE | 1941 |
Washington, DC USA |
1964 |
| SPANGLES MULDOON | October 5th, 1946 |
Chester, England |
1967 - 1968 |
| JIM MURPHY | March 24th, 1940 |
Beeville, Texas USA |
1965 - 1966 |
| COLIN NICOL | December 29th, 1936 |
Perth, Australia |
1964 - 1966 |
| PAUL NOBLE | April 10th, 1941 |
Gosport, England |
1964 - 1965 |
| TONY PRINCE | May 9th, 1944 |
Oldham, England |
1965 - 1967 |
| EMPEROR ROSKO | December 26th, 1942 |
U. S. A. |
1966 - 1967 |
| MARK SLOAN | March 7th, 1942 |
Somerset, England |
1965 - 1966 |
| NORMAN ST.JOHN | May 12th, 1943 |
Healsville, Australia |
1965 - 1966 |
| BOB STEWART | July 3rd, 1939 |
Liverpool, England |
1965 - 1967 |
| JON SYDNEY | December 12th, 1939 |
Clare, Australia |
1965 |
| RAY TERET | Unknown |
Salisbury, England |
1965 - 1966 |
| DAVE LEE TRAVIS |
May 25th, 1945 |
Buxton, England |
1965 - 1967 |
| ALAN TURNER |
March 29th, 1939 |
London, England |
1964 - 1966 |
| TOMMY VANCE |
July 11th 1940 |
Oxford, England |
1966 |
| BRYAN VAUGHAN |
February 23rd, 1941 |
Sydney, Australia |
1964 - 1965 |
| JOHNNIE WALKER |
March 30th, 1945 |
Hampton-in-Arden, UK |
1966 - 1968 |
| GRAHAM WEBB |
April 19th, 1936 |
Parramatta, Australia |
1965 - 1967 |
| DAVID WILLIAMS |
Unknown |
Oswestry, Shropshire |
1966 - 1967 |
| JASON WOLFE |
1942 |
South Africa |
1967 - 1968 |
| STEVE YOUNG |
1943 |
Penarth, Wales |
1966 - 1967 |
| TIM YALE |
1945 |
Putney, London |
1966 |
Details
- Status: Single
- Zodiac Sign: Aries
- Occupation: Pirate Radio