Radio Sovereign - Part 4
Issue: 2 Updated: 11th December 2012
Continued from Radio Sovereign Part 3 here's the concluding part of the Radio Sovereign Story from station owner John Kenning
This run down villa had previously been base of the French language station Radio Midi that broadcast to the French Riviera from Italy
It was investigated for Sovereign but had been badly vandalised, in addition there were ownership disputes so the idea was abandoned
After the first day on air the next morning, we set our clock alarm again to listen. Six o’clock came & went with no Sovereign. Pete phoned. “We can’t go on air, we’ve got interference problems.” I knew the guys at Radio Nova would be laughing up their sleeves. I spoke to Dave Bowman, the radio link from the studio to the transmitter was interfering with Rai the Italian TV company. We would have to think again, the answer was a microwave link. Unfortunately, it would take time, new equipment & more money. Dave pulled out all the stops working solidly throughout the day & well into the night. The following day, we were back with a vengeance. Later, we I drove around the coast listening to our signal, it belted out. I had to admit, the Elpro transmitter was doing such a fantastic job, that our powerful signal was actually traveling through the many motorway tunnels under the mountains. Even the back radiation from our antennas was going way past San Remo. We encountered many smaller problems over the next few days but all were solved and in the main, we managed to stay on the air without any serious hitches
Overgrown front gate of the Radio Midi abandoned villa
The original on-air line-up to start with was: Pete MacFarlane - Breakfast, I did mid-morning so John Kenning - Mid-Day, Tony Whale - Afternoon & Mark Dezzani - Evenings, after that it was pre-recorded material
Tony Whale was an interesting broadcaster with a distinctive original style. On air, he seemed to pronounced his surname "F-Whale". I originally heard him on Caroline & I met him during his shore leave. I had offered him a job on our forthcoming station, he’d accepted
The Antenna Farm at Bordighera Alta with Grant Benson's Mini & the ex-Radio Midi's antenna centre
The fact that the antenna was already there & in relatively good order Sovereign initially thought they might use it. However we soon discovered the rest of the site was fraught with problems
Each Jock on Sovereign would present a 4-hour shift, it was clear that we needed another Jock to help us out. I placed an advert in a British Broadcast magazine, then the tapes started flooding in. Virtually all were carefully filed under ‘B’ for bin. One tape caught my attention though. Stuart Clark's although he hadn't much radio experience, I liked his soft voice & style. On the phone, he was enthusiastic, so I took a chance on him. It’s funny how you build up a mental picture of someone you’ve spoken to on the phone but never met. My mental image of Clark was so utterly different to the reality of the guy who walked into our studio in Ventimiglia. I’d imagined a neatly dressed, clean-shaven guy. What I got was a cross between The Wild Man of Borneo & a Hell’s Angel. His image belied his gentleness though & he immediately got on with everyone. One of the great things about radio is the mental pictures a broadcaster can build in the theatre of a listener’s mind. It was a good job listeners could only imagine what Stuart looked like otherwise they might have had a fright
Stuart became one of my favourite Sovereign Jocks. His radio style was akin to a Norman Wisdom sketch, everything would go wrong but somehow, he managed to talk his way out of trouble. You couldn’t help but like him. If you read this, Stuart, I hope you’ll take my words in good heart, I’m sure you will
Radio Nova seemed to waver, then surprise it went off the air & stayed silent. Had they thrown in the towel already? Pete called Mark Dezzani who was still affiliated with Nova. I told him to offer them help & as Dave Bowman was still with us, we could lend him if needed. It might seem odd to offer help to a competitor but I'm a firm believer in the old saying. What goes around comes around
Mark Dezzani on Radio Nova before he joined Radio Sovereign
Then came dreadful news. Paul Raven, Radio Nova's owner, had suffered a fatal heart attack. I was shocked. Had I been responsible for Raven's death due to Sovereign going on the air? I had a mental picture of him switching on his radio, hearing our strong signal, & then keeling over. I immediately felt a pang of guilt, I relished a fair fight with Nova & was absolutely positive that we'd win, but I didn't want to win like this. Oddly, I lived with the guilt of Raven's death for many months. In fact, it wasn't until years later that a strange coincidence absolved me, as I'll reveal. Radio Nova did eventually return. This time, under the management of Raven's wife, Hazel & Mark Dezzani. However, it became unreliable being off the air more times than it was on. I felt for them, it was hard operating a radio station in this part of the world as I began to discover
Radio Nova's villa in Seborga
With our incredibly powerful signal, Sovereign became a force to be reckoned with on the coast. Slowly but surely we began attracting listeners with a seemingly magnetic power. With a great presenter line-up & tremendous, non-stop music policy with a formulated music clock which Howard Rose had taught me how to design. I scheduled the best of the current chart hits, a good mix of gold, plus the cream of adult rock standards from Elton John, Dire Straits, The Eagles etc. Songs such as Golden Brown (Stranglers), 1999 (Prince), Abracadabra (Steve Miller), Jump (Van Halen) & Radio Ga Ga (Queen), were played frequently. After playing the Queen song, & if Radio Nova was on the air, we'd poke fun at our competitor but it was all done in the best possible taste! We also catered for older listeners with Frank Sinatra & some easy listening songs, the music we played was quality & the mix proved extremely popular, together with the all-important news from home on the hour every hour
Radio Nova, the oppositions's transmitter site antenna mast, TX Cabinet & Processing
I mentioned to the Jocks that I had no objection to them having fun on the air. It came across I was regularly told me that they loved the fact that the Jocks were always fooling around. One incident really cracked me up. Stevie Wonder's song I Just Called To Say I Love You had just been released. Pete played it, then live on air, he dialed up a random, Italian phone number. An unsuspecting old woman answered & in English, Pete said I've Just Called To Say I Love You. Pete understood Italian but the old woman obviously didn't understand English. The result was hilarious as she tried to comprehend what was happening! You had to be there to appreciate it, but it was fabulous radio
Full view of the Radio Nova mast which was at Passa del Bandito (Bandit's Pass) in mountains above Seborga
Another Jock who was always good fun was Dave Windsor. He was a complete eccentric & a born mimic. Before becoming a DJ, he used to travel to work in London every day from his home in Sevenoaks. Whilst waiting for his train, he'd listen to the British Rail Tannoy announcements. The next train will call at … will be” The voice would then state every station between Sevenoaks & London Waterloo. One day, listeners to Radio Sovereign International were somewhat bemused to hear Dave recite, news style, the scheduled train times plus names of all the stations from Sevenoaks to Waterloo. It was such an original thing to do & obviously, completely nonsensical in the South of France. Anyway, I asked Dave to turn it into a programme feature every day. He did and listeners loved it. Again, you had to be living in that part of the world to appreciate the joke really
Radio Nova Diesel Truck arrives at TX site. Kevin Turner with Signor B Moraglia, owner of a diesel oil distribution company in Bordighera. He supplied the fuel for Nova's generators, but was eventually forced to drive the truck himself, as one by one all his drivers said the un-made road to Bandit's Pass was too dangerous so refused to make the trip
Sovereign International continued to suffer many setbacks. Without warning, we began getting visits by various Italian authorities, not the same as a bang on the door from the UK's Radio Authority (Ofcom) but was never the less extremely disconcerting. First, we were told our signal was too powerful, then we would have to cease broadcasting. Being an obstinate cuss I refused to accede in to their demands, although we did turn down our power for a while. The harassment continued but it just didn’t make sense. We were completely legal, there were no restrictions on the amount of power that we could radiate so I just couldn’t figure it. Someone somewhere had it in for us. At times, I wondered whether palms might have been crossed to try & force us off the air. I also seriously considered that we might have been targeted by the Mafia, I became very worried & a little scared
Andy Howard at Nova TX site also helped out on Radio Sovereign
I made various discreet enquiries & unofficially, I was given a clue that the French government were ‘unhappy’ with us. In a way, it was probably the lesser of the two evils, at least Jilly wouldn't wake to find a dead horse's head on my pillow one morning. We managed to survive numerous attempts by the French to get us to cease our across border broadcasting activities. Although we were a legal, Italian station, our powerful signal was always a bone of contention for the French due to the fact that, as they saw it, we were stealing a valuable frequency which was blasting through their broadcast spectrum. I couldn't really blame the French for trying to oust us, but it caused me great anxiety & distress. Eventually, the harassment stopped & we turned our power back up so that the needles on our Elpro rammed as far over to the right as we dare without causing any distortion to our signal. That'll give the Frogs something to think about I grinned
Radio Nova Diesel Generators at TX site
I did my best to hide all our difficulties from the Jocks, but they must have sensed problems. The toll of everything now began to make me feel unwell. Then, to cap it all, in the height of the summer of 1985, Sovereign went off the air without warning. We checked our studio link but it was OK. I drove like a maniac up to the transmitter shed, we figured that the Elpro had detected a problem & tripped out. The trip switches were reset & we were back on the air. It was obviously just a glitch, or so we thought. The following day, at the same time, we went off the air again. Trips re-set we reckoned the problem might be due to the intense heat in the transmitter shed. On the third day, we realised we had a serious problem when yet again, we went off the air. The Elpro was definitely overheating. The short term fix was to douse the shed with cold water. When it comes to things technical, I have to admit I know absolutely nothing. However, I put forward the theory that if we painted the shed white, it might help deflect the sun’s rays. Doubtful that it would work, it was worth a shot. Tony Whale thought silver would be a better option & so did Pete. I was outvoted but as the station's owner, I bought white paint. The Elpro never overheated again, maybe silver paint would have worked just as well but at least one more problem had been overcome
Steve Silby
The financial side of things were a nightmare too. One minute we were swimming in funds, the next minute it was all gone paying the huge bills that accrued on a daily basis. Life wasn't easy it had to be said. We employed one sales guy, Tony Fisher, who did a great job under difficult circumstances. Tony lived with a wealthy woman in Monaco, in his spare time, he went out on a commission-only basis. Although he was a lovely chap, you could never quite see eye to eye with Tony. This was mainly due to the fact that his right eye was always focused on something way over to his right while his left eye was seemingly glued to something on his extreme left. It was a bit strange having a conversation with him but he did manage to sell a lot of advertising for us. Businesses on the Cote d azur were going through a difficult time, money was short & advertising on the radio was just something that did not fit in with their mentality. It was really odd but it seemed that at times you couldn't even give advertising away. I was working all hours & when I wasn’t broadcasting, I was out trying to sell advertising time, making advertising promos, writing scripts & generally panicking about revenue. I felt more & more unwell
Andy Howard working on transmitter coverage patterns in Radio Nova's villa. The hard wired pads on the wall are meters for the 4 outside telephone lines. To stop the DJ's running up huge bills at the company's expense
Another problem reared, Tony Whale called the on-air studio from Monaco one Sunday. I was just nearing the end of my shift having been on air for nearly four hours. Hi John, it Tony F-Wale; sorry, I've got food poisoning. He said. I heard a female giggling in the background. At this late stage, there was no one I could call to stand in for him, so I just had to do another 4-hour shift. After a marathon eight hours of being on air, I took a rather dim view. Then Whale made it clear that he didn't approve of Sovereign's music policy. Suddenly, he wanted to play strange stuff that no one had ever heard of. I tried to compromise & moved him from daytime programming to the 8 till midnight shift. He seemed happy with the arrangement for a time but then he started criticising the music everyone else was happy to play. Disenchantment spread rapidly & I had to let him go. Whale was the only person on Sovereign who was ever fired. It was a shame because he was actually a very good broadcaster, the one thing I was grateful to him though was for turning me on to Talking Heads
1. Ian Hurrian makes adjustment to transmitter
2. The Antenna Farm at
Bordighera Alta with, from Right to left:
Radio Sovereign, Canale 5, Tele Genova, TV San Remo
Commercial Broadcasters were restricted to a mast height of 15mtrs, with a potential of 20mtrs Sovereign's tower had a habit of going up & down!
Eventualy site owners would realise & staff commanded to drop the tower, once they'd gone the tower was hoised until their next visit, when the process began all over again
Suddenly, I collapsed & was diagnosed with ulcers. The pain in my stomach was unbelievable. Jilly nursed me but at times, I began hallucinating. I had been prescribed drugs, on one occasion, I remember flying round the room with a giant butterfly. I'm not sure what I was on, but I really enjoyed the trip. The next day, I asked for more of whatever I'd had but the doctor refused. It made me realise how drugs can be so addictive. I eventually recovered but I had had a wake-up call, maybe it was all just too much for me. Jilly was also getting increasingly homesick. Due to my illness, money ran very, very short & I began to scrape the bottom of the barrel. However, all the Sovereign Jocks were always paid, but I sometimes had to use my Barclaycard to withdraw money for their wages. I considered selling the station & placed an advert in The Sunday Times. It read: Successful FM Radio Station broadcasting to the French/Italian Riviera's for sale. Offers around £1m. There were plenty of dreamers but no buyers
Pizzeria Vicenzino in
Bordighera, still trading. Left to right: Jilly Nicholson, Dave Bowman, Joan
Porfirio & Kevin Turner Celebrating the first day's transmissions.
At one point, things were so bad that Jilly & I ran out of food. We were reduced to eating boiled eggs & wild spinach which I managed to find in an abandoned allotment. I had to climb over a fence to get it so I'd do this in the middle of the night! Living in this part of the world had its compensations though. The weather was nearly always sunny & warm, the cost of living was absurdly low, especially if you ate eggs & wild spinach. Often, a fiesta would be held in the mountain village of Seborga where Pete, Mark and some of the other jocks lived. Seborga is a very interesting place, not least because the locals tried to turn it into a Principality. At one stage, they even drew a line across the road (I think it's still there) then they stopped paying their taxes. A fiesta is a great party where all the locals sing, dance, eat & drink. We discovered a very cheap red wine, only 50 pence a bottle. It made your lips turn purple, & your tongue glow in the dark. Goodness knows what was in it, but it never did us any harm, unless of course you count the fact that it made the locals so rampant that they all started interbreeding
Turi fooling around, was the man who dug the hole which was then filled with concrete to be the antenna base. It was meant to be 1m x 1m x 1m, but Turi got carried away. So much so cement ran out with the hole filled in with boulders, tree-trunks & any other rubbish
Jilly and I would often get invited to celebrity parties in Monaco where we'd meet various luminaries. However, after a while, the excitement of these began to wane. There was also the Open Air Cinema in Monaco & Sovereign staff would always be admitted free. I remember Jilly & I going to watch the new blockbuster Ghostbusters. It was during one particularly tense moment in the film that a rather large rat ran over Jilly's feet & scampered up her leg. Her screams Raaaaaaaaaaats set off the whole audience. In seconds, sheer panic seized everyone in attendance. People ran for their lives screaming in hysterics. Unfortunately, we didn't get free tickets after that. Oh well
Gigi & Turi, Gigi's van was used on many occasions to transport bits of equipment that wouldn't fit into the fleet of Mini's. He never once asked for payment. Just as well
Gigi & Turi both still live in Seborga
It was late one night, whilst I was on air, that I took a call from someone claiming to be in Australia. He asked if he could speak to the station's owner. I thought it was a wind-up when he asked if I'd consider selling the station. I told him I'd think about it & he said he'd call back the next day. He did. I asked for £1m. One week later, a team from an Australian TV company arrived on our doorstep. I called a local hotel, hired their boardroom so that we might discuss a deal. When we arrived at the hotel, an old Italian woman was sloshing buckets of water around the boardroom, she knew nothing about us wanting to hire it. That's Italy for you I laughed. So we diverted to a local hostelry. Sitting down, one of the xecutives asked what station was playing on the bars public address system. I listened for a moment & informed him that it was Sovereign. Do you mean to tell me that even the Italians listen to your station? he asked. I replied that virtually every bar along the coast was tuned in to us. The Suits were visibly impressed. A few beers later & a deal was on the table. I agreed to sell 75% of my shareholding in Sovereign in return for a lump sum plus a lucrative employment package to remain on as a consultant. They also wanted to hire my extensive record collection. I signed the documents and we had a deal. John Wellington, the programme director for Radio Mercury in Sussex also arrived on the scene together with Aiden Day from Capital Radio in London. Very soon, Sovereign International was turned into Radio Riviera, coincidentally, the same name I'd originally mooted before naming it Sovereign International
Ian Hurrian with Grant Benson at the Trattoria San Bernardo bar in Seborga, Sovereign's favourite haunt
Beers were 600 lire, that's about 30p & a glass of wine 300 lire or 15p, hardly surprising the Sovereign boys enjoy a tipple or two
Jilly & I stayed for another three or four months but Jilly was, by now, desperate to go home. I eventually conceded & handed in my resignation. As we were about to leave, John Wellington offered me a job on Radio Mercury. I took up his offer & spent the next few months working alongside the likes of Tony Myatt. Then Mike Powell, boss of County Sound in Guildford, offered me a job. A year or so later, I was also recruited for Richard Branson's Superstation’ by Mike Ahern who was originally a jock on Caroline in the Sixties. Mike was the programme director for the Superstation & a lovely guy to work with. I spent a very enjoyable time broadcasting from Air Studios just off London's Carnaby Street. Two more funny things happened. After a few months, I had a call from the Ausies. Capital Radio in London wants to buy Radio Riviera; was I interested in selling my 25% shareholding? I sold out & washed my hands of the station. It had been fun not to mention fairly lucrative
BBC engineer, Ian Trill at Sovereign's tx site in Bordighera Alta with Grant Benson & Kevin Turner
A couple of years later, Jilly and I were sitting in a restaurant in Hampton Court with a group of friends. At the next table was an attractive woman whom I was sure I vaguely recognised. After a while, she approached our table. I'm sure I know you from somewhere she said. She was Hazel, wife of the late Paul Raven (Novas owner).We chatted for a while & I asked her a burning question. I wonder if you’d mind putting my mind at rest, but I've always felt guilty over the fact that Paul suffered a heart attack immediately after Sovereign went on air. Hazel laughed. Paul had a history of heart problems, I'm positive it was just a complete coincidence. I was relieved. At least now I could rest with a clear conscience
Radio Nova Sticker
In the summer of 2003, with my new wife, Elaine, (Jilly and I split in 1989) we attended a Sovereign International reunion in Seborga. I learned that Radio Riviera had recently been sold again. This time for … $5.3m. If only I'd held on. Oh well, it's only money!
'Flashback'
to Twickenham Christmas Day afternoon Hits & Headlines from
1973 with Chris Elliott 25th December 1983 |
Grant Benson, Stuart Clarke, Steve Colman, Mark Dezzani, Roger Eastwood, John Kenning, Kevin Turner (Peter MacFarlane) Tony F-Whale, Dave Windsor
* Tony
Christian, ** Mike Mendoza, *** Steve Silby, **** Pete Twist
* Tony
Christian broadcast for 2 weeks before stating he needed to go back to the
UK on urgent business. We bought him a ticket home & he promised to return
two weeks later … we never saw him again!
** Mike Mendoza was contracted to Sovereign but he got fed up with the delays prior to getting the station on air; so he went back to Mum!
*** Steve
Silby did some holiday relief for us. A very professional Jock, he was also
heard on Caroline
**** Pete Twist stood in on a few occasions
In addition to the Jocks, Roger Collis broadcast regular features
If I've forgotten anyone, please accept my apologies
Where are the Solid Gold Sovereigns now?
Grant Benson - Broadcasts weekend programmes in Italian on Italy’s RTL 102.5
Dave Bowman - Unfortunately, current whereabouts unknown. Any info welcome
Chris Carey - Operated Radio Nova in Eire & Radio Nova (satellite station) in Camberley. His company Hi-Tec was found to be selling pirate software enabling Sky TV viewers to beat Sky’s encryption. Carey was jailed in 1995 as a result. Whilst in prison, staged audacious jail-break & headed for Spain clutching huge suitcase stuffed with tenners. Freedom was short-lived; he was caught and re-jailed. Suffering ill health following a stroke Chris died on February 29th 2008
See our Chris Carey Tribute
Tony Christian - Currently a presenter with TNI Classic Rock (Internet radio station)
Stuart Clark - Went on to be a newsreader on Caroline. Now a well respected journalist for Hot Press magazine, Ireland’s equivalent to the NME
Steve Colman - Was with Sovereign in Twickenham from the start. In 1984 went to the launch of Viking Radio in Hull & did a one month stint on BBC Radio 2. Joined Metro Radio in Newcastle in 1985 as well as National BBC TV Kids Show "Knock Knock" left Metro in 1993. Returned for Magic in 1997 then moved to Dubai in 2000 Controlling Channel 4 there before going to the National Station Emirates Radio 2. Returned to the UK to do Breakfast at Magic in Newcastle July 2007. I always had faith in John Kenning and knew that one day I'd get my wages for my hard work in the early days!
Aiden Day - Whereabouts unknown but believed to be in a Home. We wish you well
Mark Dezzani - Still lives in Seborga broadcasts, mainly on Caroline where he presents a weekly programme
Roger Eastwood - Sadly died earlier this year (2006) RIP
Tony Fisher - Believed still living in Monaco but an update would be great
Greg Scott - Broadcaster at Kost. Current whereabouts unknown
Ian Hurrian - Sadly died from cancer
John Kenning - Finally settled down (ish) & married Elaine five years ago. Currently flits between homes in London, Paris & Geneva whilst struggling to finish a children’s TV series he’s been writing for fifteen years
Paul Leaper (aka Paul James) presented occasional programmes. Now Editor at BBC Radio Kent
Peter MacFarlane - Currently, TV continuity announcer with BFBS 2. Also does the Voice Overs for TV shop, TV Warehouse & Smart Shop TV
Mike Mendoza - Currently broadcasts weekend slot on Talk Sport
Ron Myers - Kost’s owner. Believed to be in Geneva operating a religious station there
Jilly Nicholson - Sadly, Jilly & I split four years after we left the South of France. Currently teaches children in dance & drama, she lives happily with her partner & my daughter, Nikita, near Guildford
Oscar & Joan Porfirio - Believed to be still living in Ventimiglia
Howard Rose - Sadly died July 2002. RIP
Steve Silby - Lives in Ireland & is a European Sales Representative
Pete Twist - Currently living in Swansea; doing voice-over work
John Wellington - Believed retired, whereabouts unknown
Tony Whale - last seen heading back to Oz. Current whereabouts unknown
Dave Windsor - Was a former presenter on BFBS Radio 2 daily oldies show & a weekend programme
John & Jilly do their Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers routine on the Promenade in Cannes
John Kenning, Mike Barrington & Steve Silby meet again in Frinton outside EAP for the Commemorative Broadcast from the Yeoman Rose of Radio London in August 1997
In 1985 the Australian Lintel Group purchased Radio Sovereign, making a name change to Riviera Radio which broadcasts to this day from Monaco
Grateful thanks to John Kenning for sharing the facts & history of Radio Sovereign
Radio Sovereign came about as Laser 558 was being planned to broadcast from a ship off the South East England Coast
The full & honest story has never been told before but you can read it here first begining in Radio Laser - Part 1
Thanks to Kevin Turner for the pictures & Dave Porter for his technical contribution
Been omitted, add a Picture?
Were you left out, do you have photographs of Radio Sovereign, a story or a recording to share?
Send them to us & we'll add the detail for completeness with credit, origin, & copyright
Thanks again for the fantastic site the Sovereign
item is particularly interesting for me, as I spent a great deal of time in
the area visiting old Voice of Peace (VoP) friends who by then were working
there. I was often roped in to help engineering & did some presenting
on Nova as Ian Stewart a name I'd had on the VoP & used on landbased Pirates
in London
I was first offered a presenting job at Nova in April '83, the same week I
accepted a job at the beeb. Then when Sovereign started, John Kenning kept
offering me a permanent engineering job & I have to say I was quite tempted
by the fantastic lifestyle, no wonder so many settled there, I often wonder
where I would be now if?
I read the previous parts of the Sovereign story, & was sad that my small
contribution had been forgotten but then at last in the final part I appear
in a photo
I continued to do work for Riviera 104 (it didn't become Riviera Radio till Capital bought it) into 1985 when I finally replaced the Dave Bowman link with a bit of professional kit - Great times - Ian Trill
29/6/07 - I thought that you might like to know that Peter Twist is very much alive and well and still recording! When we needed some new sweepers for my radio station [Celtica Radio] it was Pete Twist we approached. Pete & I first got to know each other when we worked together at Swansea Sound during the late eighties & early nineties. One of the stations I also broadcast on prior to joining Swansea Sound was ABC Radio from Waterford when I also worked with Steve Silby. Best regards - Bill Everatt
09/12/12:
Enjoyed your Radio Sovereign history. Update on Greg Scott who you mentioned
from Radio KOST. Greg is an executive for a religious broadcaster headquartered
in Washington DC - Vice President of Adventist World Radio. I enjoyed
many nights listening to Riviera 104 while I was working with Greg at KOST
in 1985 - John Kenning