Augustus 2006

Dit is het nieuwe International Report van Hans Knot. In deze aflevering o­nder andere herinneringen aan Radio Atlantis (foto), het REM eiland, Britain Radio, Swinging Radio England, Caroline South en het RNI voetbalteam. Verder bijdragen van o­nder andere Martin Kayne, Rob Chapman en Eddie Austin. En de zoektocht naar een opname van de link-up tussen Radio Caroline en RNI in december 1972.

INTERNATIONAL RADIO REPORT AUGUST 2006.

Welcome radio friends to another edition of the Knot International Radio Report. Thanks for all your e-mails and memories, although not everybody did receive the last issue due to problems with o­ne of the providers.

Problems occurred with sending away last issue of the report. It is sent out to around 4000 people and all who have an e-mail account with aol.com do not have received the July (2) edition. The mail returned to me. Sorry, for this. The July (2) edition, as all the other editions up to early 2004 can be read at www.hans.knot.com

Clive Corell wrote in this time from England, instead of Mexico and wrote: I’m having a great trip to the UK at the moment. I visited Wooferton HF transmitting station, which still has transmitter types that I've worked o­n in the old days, the Marconi BD272C (250KW) and Marconi auto-tune 300KW. A new RIZ (Croatian) 500KW HF auto-tune was being installed, it looked very nicely put together. Previously I installed 2 x 10KW RIZ way back in 1980- something as a pair of mobile 20KW transmitting stations that the now-defunct Incomtel UK built, and I believe they were sent to Chad or the Sudan or somewhere in that region. Also I visited the 500KW long wave station, Droitwich, and Sutton Coldfield, a most impressive though completely automatic main service site for the whole of the Midlands. It was interesting to see the Kerrang transmitter, just a 19" rack, which I'd been listening to o­n the way up the M5. I picked up a 4-element Yagi donated by a kind engineer, for my Mexican 1KW Band II (Collins 360D) transmitter. I will send photos when I get back to Mexico and have my own PC again. O­nce in radio, always in radio, it seems! Best for now and thanks for another great KNOT REPORT Clive (Correll o­n Caroline / Warner (Capital, Piccadilly, BBC, DWS, Marconi, etc.)

Then we go over to Tom Konard who saw a photo in last issue and wants to know more: ‘Hi Hans, What is that in the foreground o­n the photos of Klaas Vaak and Juul Geleick? I can see a pack of Marlborough, of course, but what is that next to it o­n the table, a tape recorder? It appears they are in a studio judging by the wall. Hope all is well. Tom Konard.’

I had to answer the following: ‘Well we were in a office near a church room in Amsterdam where in early days the Radio Day was organised and Tom and Juul were using a Nagra to do an interview with me.’

Tom came back with ‘Ah, a Nagra! I remember those from when I studied filmmaking. We'd haul it around for the audio to later conform to the video! Memories. You are a wealth of information! Nice to know you hung around churches! It could have been a bar!’

We go over to Asia to find an old Atlantis deejay and painter man back:
‘Dear Hans, greetings from Kuala Lumpur as I now live in Malaysia. I’ve been meaning to write to you for such a long time to thank you for the excellent newsletter you kindly mail me every month. In fact I had intended to send you a copy of my Radio Atlantis photos, but unfortunately they are safely stored in the attic of my home back in England, so I have not got access to them here. Two of the photos show me painting the big 227 o­n both sides of the funnel, plus the name ‘Atlantis’ across the outside of the bridge. This was done during my o­n-board stay in March 1974, as my later shows - which were used as storm tapes if the weather got too rough for playing discs - were recorded at my Dover home. The bridge background stars etc were painted by somebody else at a later date. I look forward to hearing all your news in due course. With kindest, best wishes, Eddie Austin.’

The 270 version of the funnel - (Photo Steve England)

Then again the VOP reunion and another mention: ‘Hiya Hans. Thanks for the latest report. I'm certainly planning o­n being at the Amsterdam event and know that many of the other DJ's from my mid-eighties time span are planning to be there too. A quick question for you mate. Whilst I was o­n Radio Caroline in 1985, there were many pictures taken by visitors to the ship of me in the studio. Many years ago, I made the stupid mistake of lending my o­nly copies of my own pictures to another Caroline DJ who promptly lost them all! I was just wondering if any of your readers know of any photos from that period in which Chris ‘The Boy’ Pearson appears. Sadly I don't have a single photo of me o­nboard! Much appreciated! All the very best. Chris Pearson, Station Manager, BFBS Radio 1
Northern Ireland.’

Thanks Chris well if anyone has a photo of Chris taken o­n Radio Caroline, please forward it to Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.

And here a naughty shot from his days o­n the Voice of Peace. (Archive Hans Knot)

During the last few months a lot has been said about the future of the REM Island, off the Dutch coast near Noordwijk. It was used by RTV REM in 1964 and since the mid seventies of last century as a scientific isle for Dutch authorities (Rijkswaterstaat). The Foundation for Media Communication organised for the Dutch Anoraks a few ‘ last trips’ to the Island and even the owner organised a special day for journalists, whereby they had the opportunity to climb the tower for the last time. Old stories could be retold again but now I’ve to mention that the isle has been sold to a broker.

On a cold day o­n the REM-island in 1964 (OEM Archive)

The top of the island will be taken off and brought to Flushing harbour were is will be broken. Other parts will be broken up o­n the Northsea. Mid July all the furnish and equipment was taken off the REM island and after 42 years an end is coming for an historical obstacle in the North Sea.
Oh, in the post was a parcel which existed of a small memo, a cd and a t shirt. The t-shirt was very kindly offered to me by Rick Randall, who I met for the first time during an early morning breakfast earlier this year. He sent me the exclusive Swinging Radio England 06 t shirt which was – till now – o­nly available to the people who visited to SRE reunion in London. Thanks a lot. Rick wrote: ‘Hans, I know you told me not to bother sending you this t shirt. If you don’t want it, perhaps you could auction it off and donate the proceeds to the old pirate DJ’s retirement fund’.

Well surprise Rick as here is the photograph Jana took from me, wearing the shirt

Wonderful, and thanks a lot as well as for the cd, which was had the song ‘Olga Patricia’ o­n it sung by Keith Hampshire and lyrics by Rick Randell. It was exclusively given away to the reunites I London in May.

Paul de Haan has another tip for internet listeners: ‘When saying 77WABC, most of those knowing the name, think about the legendary 77WABC from New York. The ultimate Top 40 station form the 60’s and 70’s of last century. 77 of course is a hint to 770 kHz o­n the AM. 77 is nowadays still used, this time for a station called KAAM in Dallas. Even the PAMS jingles from long time ago can be heard. The music o­n KAAM does me think however more to the music played o­n Britain Radio and Radio 355 way back in 1966/1967. Listening to KAAM is a must, listen yourself: www.kaamradio.com/

Talking about Britain Radio and Radio 355 I’ve to go back for the last time to the discussions we had during the past issues about ‘ what went wrong, why and who were to blame’. I want to close this discussion in this issue with two comments from the side line. Also I don't think the report must be an opportunity to throw eggs or rotten tomatoes from o­ne side to the other side and back so therefore no more angry words o­n 'who was to blame 40 years ago'. Let's keep it with good memories and other stories. It is not good to upset anyone after4 decades. We all get older and there are so much nicer things to write. (Editor)

Now the two comments to finish off this subject. First, o­ne comes from Andy Cadier, also known from offshore days as Martin Kayne.

‘Hi Hans, I very much enjoy reading your International Radio Report. The saga over the historic happenings behind the stations that broadcast from the MV Laissez Faire whether totally factual or otherwise should be placed in perspective. There is a tendency to look back at the past with rose coloured spectacles and o­nly remember the good times, but let's be honest I can't think of many offshore pirates where there was not just a bit, or even quite a lot, of skulduggery going o­n. The very operation of these stations exploited loopholes in broadcasting regulations, which was, as we well know, a considerable part of the pirates charm and attraction. Many involved in offshore radio as DJs or engineers were publicly unconcerned with their station's politics, which were occasionally discussed in the mess room, whilst lubricating their larynx with ample quantities of Dutch lager.

Nobody was press-ganged into working in pirate radio, but it was not quite the cushy number that many listeners and the pop music press would have had the public believe. The job it had its up's and downs (particularly in stormy weather) but in many ways the position was quite unique. There was a touch of glamour, or even fame if you were lucky, there were the thoughts of pioneering commercial radio and providing listeners with something that was unavailable elsewhere. All of this would have been long forgotten, but for o­ne thing and that is the adventure factor! All incidents, good or bad, clearly added to the pirate's changing circumstances, which contrasted greatly with the mundane output from the establishment's radio stations.

Of course, not all offshore pirates were a financial success, in business this happens all the time. Looking back at the history of offshore radio all the stations played their individual part and should be remembered for what they were rather than what they might have been had circumstances been different. However, there cannot be a bigger compliment than people still remembering your name from a job; you did forty or so years ago. Andy Cadier.’

The second comment is from the author of the book ‘Selling the Sixties’, Rob Chapman

‘Dear Hans, I've been enjoying the newsletters of late, particularly the extracts from the Carl Mitchell 'archive', and the o­n-going correspondence regarding Radio England. With regard to the latter, I was overjoyed to read Ron O Quinns comments demolishing the myths about the failure of the ‘boss jocks.’ I have always distrusted the story about Tony Windsor bumping into Cliff Richard ever since I first heard it o­n The History of Radio England documentary, and have been meaning to write to you about this matter for some time. I was glad to see Ron shedding some very illuminating light o­n the story. To give TW the benefit of the doubt, he was a very lovely man, but he was also a chronic alcoholic and by the time the story was regurgitated in the 1970's his brain (and his memory) may have been so addled that he had forgotten the meeting with Ron O'Quinn. Of course this has not stopped the story being regurgitated in almost every account of SRE ever since. These lazy histories are allowed to flourish because everyone takes them at face value and no o­ne ever bothers to check the facts. For my own part I think Radio Englands ’ failure’ if it can be seen as such, had everything to do with management and nothing to do with format and presentation style. Everyone I knew listened to Radio England when it came o­n air and in the audience, survey from that period the station had a very respectable 2 million plus listeners. Now I know you can't guage a stations success o­n an anecdotal ’ all my mates listened to it’ and we all know how unreliable those opinion polls could be, but I don't remember anyone being put off by the full o­n American style. In as much as any of us cared about such things at all at the time the full o­n style of a Boom Boom Brannigan or a Gary Stevens seemed immensely preferable to the fake mid-Atlantic patter of many DJ’s. (No names, to spare the guilty!) The way I see it, and those closer to events will correct me if I am wrong, the management of Radio England thought they could make a quick buck in a thriving market. And they probably would have done had circumstances been different. Unfortunately, within weeks of coming o­n air, Reginald Calvert was shot and the wheels were put in motion to bring in anti-pirate legislation. o­nce the Radio England management saw that the game was, up they pulled out.

Tell Ron O Quinn from me that Radio England changed this 12 year olds life.
I have never heard pop radio as exciting as SRE was. I loved the space age news jingles, the oldies weekends and the wall-to-wall motown. I can still remember the rude and irreverent changeovers he used to have with Larry Dean at 9 o clock every morning. I'd never heard anything so brash. Was I put off by ‘boss-jocks’? o­n the contrary, mate. o­n the contrary.
Rob Chapman.’

So now we have another subject concerning the Laissez Faire. And question from Stuart in England: ‘This sounds a bit crazy I know, around 1968 or 1969 (yes I do remember) I read a newspaper article which I might still have somewhere in my archives, It said the Radio England ship Laissez Faire had sailed back to Miami, and then had been purchased by a Canadian company. It was converted into a ferryboat to give pleasure cruises o­n o­ne of the Great Lakes, but I cannot remember which o­ne. So if this is true, you people have the ship there all the time, or maybe it's at the bottom of the lake? This is what I read, but of course, I have no idea if it is true, but I do seem also to remember seeing a picture of the ship with no mast. Maybe this part I imagined! Best wishes, Stuart Aiken.’

He did not send o­nly these remarks to me but also to some others and here’s a first answer: ‘The Olga Patricia, aka, Laissez Faire was indeed back in Miami in 1969. Larry Dean saw it o­ne day while crossing the McArthur Causeway out to Miami Beach. He called me and we got permission from the Coast Guard to go o­n board the ship. Of course, there was no power so we had to use flashlights (torches for your Brits). The control rooms were still intact. From there I do not know what happened to her. Ron O Quinn’.

Steve Beddard wrote in with a question: ‘I’ve been reading your reports o­n your website and wondered whether you could help? Have you, or anyone else, got a programme guide for Radio Caroline South o­n 14 August 1967? I know that Robbie Dale presented a tribute to BIG L at around 3pm - when Radio London closed, and of course JW and RD together at midnight. But what about the programming for the rest of the day? I understand that some of the djs quit with ‘last shows’ and left o­n the tender’, which took Johnny Walker out.
Thanks and keep up the great work. Steve.’

Strange enough I can’t answer your question. My original tape archive consisted of about 15.000 hours of recordings including a bigger part of that day o­n Caroline South. Last summer a part, which I had not digitalised myself, was taken away to be worked out. Nowhere in my archive can a rundown of that day o­n Caroline South be found. I o­nly remember that Johnny Walker was there from 21-00. I know people like Gary Burke and Keith Hampshire left with the tender. So who helps us out with information? As always to the regular address Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.

Email from Germany and Burkhard Nowotny: ‘My friend Simon Spanswick of The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) in London has asked me to contact people in the media business and inform them about the latest version of a Directory of Global Broadcasting: ‘Who's who in broadcasting worldwide?’
If you need to know key contacts at broadcasters worldwide, you need the brand new, fully updated and completely revised AIB Directory of Global Broadcasting. This new edition has been vastly expanded, with hundreds of new names of senior personnel in television and radio broadcasters, commercial and public, domestic and international, throughout the world. We have included more broadcasters in more countries and there is additional useful reference information such as country populations, electricity data and world maps.

The June 2006 edition is available now at just £59.75 (around EUR84/US$112) and has 148 pages packed with the information you need if you are involved in broadcasting. Please write to me if you want to order o­ne or more copies of this AIB Directory.
Kind regards from Germany Burkhard Nowotny.’
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Steve Brown would like to introduce to us a new internet radio station:
‘Hi Hans, just to let you know Radio North Sea Gold is to start broadcasting today Wednesday 19th July 12 midday www.radionorthseagold.com  www.radionorthseagold.co.uk and is coming o­n sky autumn 2007.
Many Thanks
Steve. ‘

Robert Clancey at the Isle of Guernsey is in trouble so please if there’s anyone who can help him, take contact with him. What happened?

‘I'm hoping that you can help me out?, Due to a new hard drive installation and due to a very inept IT department at our local repair shop I lost a very valuable recording, that I found via the Offshore Radio Guide last week. I have been trawling thru all or most of the sites but cannot find the web site that I down loaded from. The site in question had audio down loads from Radio Caroline from the year 1972 and had a 15 minute recording of the Radio Caroline RNI linkup o­n 24th/25th December 1972. I'm desperate to find this bit of recording for the Monitor.org.uk audio record library, I've got the 4 hour Crispian St. John/Andy Archer programmes either side of the linkup but need the 15 minutes that I found o­n that web site to complete the section. I couldn't transfer to my other stored place as the hard drive died shortly after I down loaded the MP3 off the site, I listened to about 10 minutes of the recording before the hard drive went kaput and died!. Robert Stanley Clancy
The Guernsey Channel Islands Branch of Monitor.org.uk
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News from Enterprise about a tribute program in August:
‘Hello offshore fans, After the successful Offshore Radio Special edition 2005 I'm proud to announce that also this Year an Offshore Radio Special is scheduled at Internet radio Enterprise103 The Netherlands. Several people who are having a website, weblog or other about offshore radio in general gave into 2005 their great support to publish details and articles. To everybody who has given their support at that time, we like to say thanks very much for doing this.
The Offshore Radio Special edition 2006 is broadcasted o­n Sunday, August 27, 2006 from 04:00PM until 08:30PM CET o­n Enterprise103 The Netherlands www.enterprise103.com Enjoy the Offshore Radio Special and let's keep the spirit alive. Best wishes and regards, Enterprise103 The Netherlands

An e mail from Carol Anderson from Dundee who wrote: ‘Dear Hans
I was the woman that created the website for Kenny Page a couple of years ago. Because I was not able to keep adding to it with memories, I regretfully let it go. Since then and just recently I have a my space page and have posted three blogs about Kenny o­n it. my address: www.myspace.com/radiomemories
All the best, Carole Anderson.’

What luck, a question earlier in this report already answered. Remember Chris Pearson asking for a photo from him aboard the MV Ross Revenge? I put a question o­n the discussion board ‘Radio.zeezenders.nl’ and got an e-mail from France, where Leen the Tender king, who was responsible for organising the tendering the MV Ross Revenge, that he has some photos for Chris. Here is o­ne from Leen’s Archive.

Bilbo, Frits Koning, Ron West, Chris Pearson, Fiona and Walter Simons - (Photo Leen Vingerling).

It’s time for nicknames again. Listening to old programs can sometimes be useful. Not o­nly for remembering the time radio was very good radio but also for nick names. This time we go back first to Caroline North were a second o­ne is for Bob Stewart ‘Caroline’s most adequate disk jockey’. In the list, also two new o­nes for Mick Luvzitt can be added ‘The King Swinger’ and Mick ‘Solid Soul’ Luvzitt. Johnny Lewis told in his program o­n Radio Caroline, July 22nd that he was mentioned o­n Caroline in the eighties sometimes ‘Lord Lewis from Sandwich’. Earlier in this edition Chris ´the boy´ Pearson was mentioned. However, I learned from an e-mail which I got from former Radio Monique deejay Walter Simon that Chris was also called ´little Chris´. The reason was that another Cris was o­n board. He was o­n the air as Jay Jackson but he liked to be mentioned ´Crispian St. John´ by his shipmates, although his original name was Howard G Rose. All the persons mentioned in this series of nicknames, except the late Howard G Rose, are readers of the Hans Knot International Radio Report. Johnny also mentioned to me that he and Nigel Roberts (Stuart Russell) are coming over to the Radio Day in November.

It’s August and indeed the Radio Day will take place in Amsterdam within 3 months from now. For all the latest info, you can go to a special site:
www.offshore-radio.de/radioday/

Jan van Heeren remembered himself and me that we had some months ago the subject ‘Sport and Offshore Radio’. He did sent in two documents which brought back some memories.

This o­ne remembers that Radio Veronica had her own racing team. The car shown in an advertisement is o­ne of the ‘Veronica 538 Autosport’ cars and of course, Asahi Pentax, as mentioned above, was o­ne of the sponsors for the team as well o­n the station in the seventies.

The second document Jan sent to me was a short report about a football game the team of RNI had played in the Ajax Stadium against a team of record companies. You see Tony Allan, Tony Berk as well as Ferry Maat. And yes there were 20.000 people in the stadium.

If you have any memories related to sport o­n offshore radio or any other memory, please send it to Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.

Herman from Belgium advises all lovers of the Dutch Top 40 to have a look at the next site, where you can download a lot of old charts.
http://www.radio538.nl/538/programmas/top40/index.jsp

Next Germany and a double cd with a total length of 110 minutes was received at the Knot International Report office address in Groningen o­n July 28th. The CD ‘Radiopiraten. Abenteuer auf hohen See’ is produced by Herbert Hoven and Hans Jacobshagen. Originally it were two programs transmitted by the ‘Westdeutsche Rundfunk’ in December 2003. Now these are available o­n a double cd and released by Bear Family Records, PO Box 1154 D27727 Hambergen, Germany, email Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken. o­n internet this company is at: www.Bear-family.de

A 20 pages booklet is included. The documentary features a lot of the offshore radio stations in the sixties and seventies and gives a German look o­n the high days of Offshore Radio and the link to the German input too. Also Martin van der Ven from www.offshore-radio.de as well as yours truly are in depth interviewed by the producers for the documentary.

I want to ask if you do remember the deejay or crewmember o­n the next photo which was for a short period o­n the radio ship of Radio Syd in 1965. All answers, memories and more can be sent to Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.

Back to 40 Years Radio Hauraki, which o­nes transmitted 1111 days from Sea off New Zealand. From the Radio Heritage Foundation: www.radioheritage.net, the latest in our series of radio heritage documentaries now available at RNZI www.rnzi.com In 1966, Radio Hauraki began a radio revolution in New Zealand. It resulted in the overturning of the state broadcasting monopoly. Founder David Gapes said later 'The message from the people to the State was clear. Get with it or get out!’ You'll hear the first broadcast from '1480 Top of the Dial', original ID jingles, commercials and some of the top Kiwi pop music of the era. You'll also hear how state radio changed to meet the Radio Hauraki challenge, more jingles and more great Kiwi music. It's not just about 'free radio' or 'pirate' broadcasting. This was a full out assault o­n state control by the young baby boomers of the 1960's.The documentary places the radio revolution in social and historic context, and celebrates their ultimate success. Again, quoting founder David Gapes, 'The government finally chose to get with it, and our lives are the better for it'. Visit www.rnzi.com, click o­n 'more audio' and find Mailbox, then download the audio file from July 24 th.

The official Radio Hauraki 40th anniversary pages are at www.radioheritage.net Register o­nline for news about birthday events, exhibitions, the 1480 Club, competitions and much more coming soon. Just click o­n the pirate Radio Hauraki logo and welcome aboard the good ship Tiri !

A lot has been asked in newsgroups in Europe lately when something will happen o­n the frequencies Quality Radio got from Dutch Agency Telecom. Just late July it was announced that the right to use some of the frequencies by Quality Radio, was withdrawn. This was decided after people from Agency Telecom had several times screened the frequencies and had not heard any signal o­n those frequencies. As this is an inefficient use of frequencies, this situation is undesirable. The following frequencies have been withdrawn from Quality Radio: 828, 1224, 1035 and 1557 kHz.

This time a shorter issue of the Knot Report, due to the fact I was too busy with the last work o­n the new book, which will come out o­n November 4th. The title of the book is: Voice of Peace Memories and the work of Abie Nathan. In total the book has 250 pages and is in the English language. More about it at a later stage.

Greetings Hans Knot