July 2002 (last month's is here...)

Howard Rose

Following Howard's untimely death, his friend, Paul Rusling, writes about the funeral service:

It was warming to see such a wonderful turn out for Howard's funeral yesterday (26th) – I know he would have been so proud to have brought so many old friends together, from the whole gamut of the radio industry.

ILR, offshore and the BBC were all well represented, and by such major characters too; from Ronan O'Rahilly, to Paul Brown, the Chief Executive of the CRCA. Ron Coles of Saga, Nigel Reeve from Fusion and Robert Stiby from Capital and Radio Investments were present too, not to mention dozens of Howard's former colleagues – including Tony Allen, Steve England and Carl Kingston.

Roger Day read a superb eulogy chronicling Howard's periods afloat, while Colonel Colin Mason reminded us of Howard's ILR days at Swansea Sound.

I'm proud to say that Howard and I were fellow anoraks for over thirty years and I shall forever cherish those long hours we spent discussing radio.

While he is totally irreplaceable, let's ensure his name is remembered in some form of memorial within the radio world.

Paul Rusling

Howard was most recently founder and Editor of The RADIO Magazine, which became the leading news weekly for the UK radio industry.

He began his broadcasting career with Radio North Sea International in 1971 and worked at Radio Caroline, Radio 199, Atlantis, Swansea Sound, Radio Aire, Viking, and many other stations. He was also instrumental in launching Radio Sovereign, the UK's first all-gold station.

Howard Rose was 49 and leaves a wife, Patricia, and three children.

Radio Caroline North's Tender Operator Passes Away

Chris Payne reports

Peel, in the Isle of Man, a close-knit community famous for being the home of Manx kippers, is my birthplace. The death of Harry Maddrell brings home to me yet again how the island is inextricably linked to radio.

The people of Peel have been mourning the death of one its most popular personalities, fishmonger Harry Madrell, who died at the age of 64.

Born and bred in Peel, Harry worked on the Radio Caroline North tender, which serviced the Fredericia from Ramsey in the north of the island. In honour of Harry's involvement with the station, the original Caroline ship's bell, which is still housed on the island, was rung during his funeral service.

After Caroline closed down, Harry bought Moore's fish shop in Michael Street, Peel. I well remember the shop, but sadly was unaware of Harry's Caroline connection at the time during my teens when I was spending holidays in Peel.

Harry's boat was called "Essex Girl". Was this a nod to the southern Caroline ship, or just another of those coincidences? We'll probably never know.
Manx Independent
Bad Luck, Bob!
Bob Le-Roi has suffered a hard disk crash, resulting in the loss of a great deal of site work. We have recommended to Bob that he 'does a Basil Fawlty' and gives the PC a good thrashing with a bush!

Despite the set-back, Bob has managed to complete his site update, which includes some 'treasures' in the Scrapbook section, in the form of pictures of Radios Sutch and City, plus audio,
When John Met Johnnie
Hilarious micro-star, John Otway, guested on the Johnnie Walker show on Monday, 22nd July.

With a bit of luck, the interview will be retained on JW's Replay section of the Radio Two Website.
RNI Shows to Download
Peter Ford informs Radio Northsea International fans that they can now download original RNI programmes at www.rni220.nl As might be expected, painstaking restoration work on ancient reels of tape has been required to provide this new service.
A Day in the Life
Peter Young has alerted us to an item on a site dedicated to the group Pentangle, called: 'A Day In The Life Of John Peel' As PY says, the item, penned by Peelie himself, is very funny!
Quote: "In the Spring of 1967, he returned to England, disguised as a four-mile section of the East Lancs Road and went to work for Radio London until they left the air."
Fooled by Kenny and Cash
Dave from Vintage Broadcasting has added a clip of Kenny and Cash to the site, from the day in 1974 when Capital Radio suddenly hit a timewarp and turned into Big L, in 1966! The clue is the date – April Fools' Day! Hearing the recording out of context, you could be fooled, (and we know some people have) but of course the show is full of anomalies, such as Tommy Vance making an appearance. Not only had Tommy not joined Radio London by April 1966, but by he time he had done so, on July 25th 1967, both Kenny and Dave had already left.

There's also a clip of Ian 'Wombat' Damon on the Capital section. Ian has recently enjoyed a trip 'Down Under', where he met up with old pals like Norm St John and tickled a real wombat! Ian was very surprised to find a clip of himself on the Vintage Broadcasting site, saying farewell to Ken Guy, LBC's first newsreader, at the time when Ken was leaving LBC to return to Oz.

Dave also mentions that his other website, Flashback Sales, now sells high-quality DIN connecting leads as well as offshore radio CDs

Keep on Surfing
Since the recent decision by the Librarian of Congress, (see item 'Smothering Webcasting', below), many of our favourite US Internet stations have been forced to cease their Net feeds. 949thesurf.com broadcasting to the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina, has made the brave decision to continue, but will be obliged to charge on-line listeners to join the 'Surf Club'.

Earl Taylor, GM/GEO of owners of the station, Broadcast Inc., says:
In order for 949thesurf.com to continue to bring you a piece of the beach – "Myrtle Beach and The Grand Strand" – we will have to charge a small fee. This fee will be used to pay the royalties that 949thesurf.com will incur. Otherwise 949thesurf.com will have to discontinue the Worldwide Broadcast. Your membership in the Surf Club will come with perks like discounts from our local advertisers.

LONG LIVE BEACH MUSIC and thank you all for keeping Beach Music WORLDWIDE!!
Listed by Warp Radio as one of the Top Ten most listened-to stations on the Net, 949thesurf.com has been logging 150,000 listener hours per month.

949 The Surf is a rarity, in that the station remains independent from any huge broadcasting conglomerate. We wish Earl and the station every success with the Surf Club and hope that listener support will enable the Net feed to continue.
Ian Makes Radio Waves

Ian MacRae's Radio Wave newsletter, Issue Six, warns anyone using a Hotmail account of problems they are likely to experience.

Ian asks: "Did you know that, if you take more than five minutes or longer to read your newsletter, any active links go dead?"

He goes on to explain that if someone leaves a message open for more than a few minutes, (i.e. while trying to read The Radio Wave on screen) the following message appears:

"Your email message has been idle and this link has become inactive. To access the link, close this window and return to your MSN Hotmail Message. Then click the browser's Refresh button or close your message and reopen it."

Having tested this, Ian ended up with dead links everywhere – with the exception of the message from Hotmail Member Services trying to sell the company's paid service.

Ian has also received complaints from some subscribers that, due to the increased use of anti-spam filters, the newsletter has been dumped straight in their Hotmail junk folder. Continuing in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek vein, Ian says:

Obviously I am extra-offended by The Radio Wave being classified as junk and am looking at some way to litigate against Hotmail so I can make lots of money and retire to some pleasant coastal resort.

Well, everybody else is suing somebody somewhere, so I might as well be in it!

The Radio Wave also contains Ian's opinion on the lack of credibility of the American charts, where out of last week's Top Ten only five of the singles were commercially available.

Ian also reacts to the news that Radio Caroline will commence test transmissions on the Worldspace Afristar satellite at midnight on Monday, July 22. We suspect his views on the subject will provoke plenty of feedback.

To subscribe to The Radio Wave, visit: www.allaboutradio.net

Scrap the Ross Revenge?

Caroline website radiocaroline.org reports:

The once proud radioship Ross Revenge, home to Radio Caroline during the 1980s, might be facing the final indignity. In what has been described as purely a 'logistical evaluation', experts have been drawn in to give a scrap value for the ship and its contents.

...There are three options for the Ross Revenge:

1) Do nothing

2) Sell it for scrap for an instant lump sum

3) Slowly dismantle and sell the contents individually.

The full report, posted July 11th 02, can be read on the website.

(Photo: courtesy of John Sales)

Smothering Webcasting

"The apparent irony is that Webcasting seems like something that the record labels would want to nurture, not smother in the cradle...

...It's the exact opposite of broadcast radio, where the vast majority of stations are owned by a few media giants, who restrict playlists to the lowest-common-denominator ears." Steven Levy, Newsweek.

John Schneider of Radiopoly, who refuses to give up the cause of Internet broadcasting, urges all US citizens to 'Send another FREE fax to Congress' here.

John also recommends the Newsweek feature (July 15th 2002), 'Labels to Net Radio: Die Now' by Steven Levy, from which the above quotes are taken. John says this feature "has been described as the most concise, descriptive article yet on the webcasting fee issue."
Retrosellers
 David 'Digger' Barnes, who runs the successful Sixties Pop site, www.sixtiespop.com tells us he is now also running www.retrosellers.com 'the definitive site for retro and nostalgia'. David continues:

From Pop Culture to Victoriana, from jukeboxes to dinosaurs' eggs, www.retrosellers.com has it all.

Browse our directory of retailers or visit our on-line shop with several hundred retro items. www.retrosellers.com contains exclusive features on all aspects of retro and nostalgia, and interviews with the experts and stars.

This is a great concept and we wish David all the best with the venture.
Mi Amigo recalled in Calais
Euroradio 2002, the Offshore Echoes/France Radio Club annual event, took place in Calais on Saturday 6th July.

This year's theme was the MV Mi Amigo, the home of Radio Caroline during the 1960's and 70's. Guests were Steve England, Paul Rusling and Fred Bolland.

Steve England related a number of anecdotes, as well as recounting how some of the Caroline jingles came together, while Paul Rusling told how George Harrison had given a several sums of money to help Caroline. Fred Bolland spoke about providing finance for the Dutch service on Caroline, and a number of other offshore stations.

A full report with pictures will appear in Offshore Echoes. Features in the current edition of the magazine include an interview with Pete Brady about his time on Big L and Rosko's memories of Christmas '73.

Offshore Echoes costs £4.50 per issue, or annual subscription (5 issues) for £20.00 within the European community.

Contacts: Offshore Echoes, PO Box 1514, London W7 2LL, England. oem@offshoreechos.com www.offshoreechos.com
Download Club
Chris Visser reminds us that August 2002 not only sees the 35th anniversary of the Marine Offences Act, but, "It's 28 years ago, when the last programmes by Radio Northsea and Radio Veronica at 31 Augustus 1974 from sea were transmitted."

Chris explains:

At the newsgroup nl.media.radio.zeezenders a lot people are writing about their experiences in their youth.

That's the reason why some people have decided to set up a downloadclub where the members can download old tapes! Everyone pays Fl 10,00, for a year, and the membership runs from June till June. From money received, we have set up a download server, where the members can download the tapes. The members get at least 4 hours of offshore radio a week for their money. We bring you the memories of Laser, Radio London, SRE, Radio Veronica, Radio Mi Amigo, Radio Northsea International, Radio Caroline, Radio England, Radio City and all the other station there were in the Northsea.

All the recordings are given by other members, so do you have recording that you want to share with the club? To hear what you may expect click on this link.
For information to become a member, contact: Hans van Dijk: download@thevandijks.nl
If you have recordings you want to share: Chris Visser: downloadclub@xs4all.nl : ICQ # 118891853

Webby sends us a great picture for the Web...

Radio Caroline's Graham Webb has sent us a current picture of himself 'sockin' it to them' on the airwaves of Australia. Thanks Graham!

(We wonder if every time he looks at those audio waves on the computer it brings back memories of the North Sea!)

You can read much more about Graham's career here.

Much More Tartan on Yer Trannie
Alan Beech has borrowed a few bales of our Official Radio London Tartan to enhance his great new Radio Scotland page. Bob Donnelly, the former transmitter engineer on the Comet, has kindly lent Alan his marvellous collection of pictures and memorabilia which were previously unpublished.
Blues-Rock Explosion
Blue Storm Music has books and CDs that will be of interest to Radio London visitors.

Blues-Rock Explosion is the first volume of a series covering Sixties rock, profiling 42 artists, including Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers. Other books are devoted to Manfred Mann the Yardbirds and the Zombies. The site also sells photographs and currently has limited edition prints of the Who.
Son, This is He – John Leyton as a Jukebox Hero
Monday, July 1st, saw the return of the 'Jukebox Heroes' TV series to BBC 1. The first of six programmes profiled the pioneering Aristocrat of the Airways, Screaming Lord Sutch, and lived up to expectations, with some wonderful archive film of the unforgettable eccentric. The half-hour programme included rare footage of Radio City, and of his Lordship's legendary producer, Joe Meek. Among the 'ex-Savages' – appearing both in scratchy monochrome and in recent interviews, in living colour, were Jackie Lynton and Paul Nicholas. Jackie will be remembered as having kindly recorded some good luck messages for Big L 2001, and Paul appeared in the 19th June 66 Fab Forty and subsequent charts, under the guise of 'Oscar'. It's unforgiveable that such a well-made series containing a wealth of rare material is relegated to a time slot after midnight. Another Meek protégé, John Leyton, is the subject of this week's programme, which airs on Tuesday, 9th July, 00.10 to 00.40, BBC 1.
SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, eggs rice and SPAM
With McDonald's in Hawaii introducing a 'Spam, eggs and rice' breakfast to its menu and the recent opening of a 6,500-square-foot Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota, surely it's high time to reissue Monty Python's Spam Song?
Hul-lo! Hall of Fame Spotlights TW

Jonathan of The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame writes about the exciting site updates for July and appeals for a Tom Lodge 'Wigan Pier oil well share':

The spotlight falls on the great Tony Windsor as we celebrate the career of one of the sixties legends of offshore radio; there are three more chapters from Tom Lodge's Radio Caroline story. This fascinating tale is also now available to buy as a limited edition book, autographed by the author. Details are on the web-site. And we also discover who Radio 270's Steve Taylor really was. He is mentioned in the reference books but he only spent two weeks on the station. However he had a long offshore career under a different name... All is revealed in the Hall of Fame!

Incidentally, I am searching for an original Tom Lodge Wigan Pier oil well share. Does anyone have one I can borrow. or could someone scan one for me? I would one like to illustrate next month's instalment of Tom's story.

Also coming next month: Radio London engineer Dave Hawkins opens his photo album. The hot news is that a pair of Big L DJ's knees are exposed. But you are going to have to wait a month to see them!

The Knees Club Founder and Club Official 381 can barely contain themselves!
Pipe Dreams
Bob Le-Roi has updated his 'One Subject – One Link' to include a batch of interesting photos, which he has titled 'Pipe Dreams'. The pictures relate to a story on Martin Van der Ven's Offshore Radio website, called 'Deja Vu or When Will They Ever Learn or It's A Small World', which appeared originally in April 2002, on the Radio Caroline UK site.
Piracy in the Potteries
Last month Pete Hobson asked: Can anyone shed any light on the workings of BOSS RADIO?

Paul Rusling believes he might have the answer:

I think you might find that the Potteries pirate of the 60s has a Chris Cary connection: His brother Barry (known universally as Barmy Barry) was certainly involved in such activities as well as club DJing.
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