Radio Caroline

[Daddy-o]

I read with interest yesterday on the fate of one of the old '60's pop pirate stations - Radio Caroline. My earliest memories of listening to pop music was tuned into Radio Caroline on my cheap transistor radio. No wonder I never slept as a youth! They gave us DJ's Johnnie Walker and Tony Blackburn! But times change, according to a report in yesterday's Independent newspaper: The pirates were outlawed in '67 and inspired BBC Radio 1 the same year. They hijacked the Radio Caroline crew too, like Messrs Walker & Blackburn. They carried on and off over the years and were finally scuppered in 1990 by a storm. Now the owners have negotiated a deal with World Space Corporation, an international media company. They'll transmit 24 hours a day and transmit contemporary and classic album tracks. They'll broadcast from Maidstone in Kent and charge a subscription fee of £4.99 a month!

They're not so rebellious these days! No stripey t-shirts and eye patches this time around!!?

[Chris]

George interesting your youthful radio station is still alive and kicking so to speak.

Funny how you remember that one magical radio station that makes your eyes sparkle when you think of it. The radio station I remember from my youth was 'WHLO' out of Canton, Ohio. I remember listening to it for hours on my transister radio, though it was still an AM station when everyone else was switching to FM, it brought to me such classics as Cat Stevens Wild World and many other songs of the the day. I remember it being a very anti - war radio station playing such songs as 'Eve of Distruction', 'Whats Happening Here' I forget the real name of the song by Buffalo Springfield, 'Two Hangmen' by Mason Profit, 'Peace Train' It was my first taste of really listening to a music station that played music primarly aimed to kids and what was happening in our world at the time. It lost it's audience after Cleveland started Broadcasting WMMS first underground , then above ground and took this area by storm, it not only played what would be considered 45's bu onee of the first radio station that I recall that played whole LP's. There was another great radio station I would listen to in the early 70's that I could only get in the wee hours of the night, it was an underground radio station out of Chicago, but I can not recall it's call letters any more.

Those were the days when radio stations were more of a statement than just a place to hear the music of the day.

The funny thing is, I was driving down the free way a few days ago , heading up to Canton to do the usual female thing *SHOPPING*:-), there was a HUGE Billboard advertizing WHLO Radio station. I hadn't heard it's call letters in decades and there they were. It almost took me back to a time of my youth. Though now it is a 'All Talk' radio station, not quite the same, but it is still nice to know it is still around even if it is in a different format.

[DJ]

Chris, the Buffalo Springfield song you mentioned was called 'For what it's worth', as the line isn't in the song itself, it's not surprising you didn't remember it. I love that band, and that was a great single.

[Daddy-o]

Great days Chris, the summer's were long and no pressures! They were more innocent times...that or I'm blinded by nostalgia!? The image of the generous buccaneers making use of a little radio space for free entertainment has long since gone! In the '70's Radio Caroline adopted the hippie ethos of love and peace with their own philosophy of "Loving Awareness" and I quote:

'Our brain has both loving energy and defensive energy. We have tapped and used the defensive one but we haven't explored in any serious way the loving one. L.A. is about developing a loving habit. Love is our most natural emotion but is the one we abuse most. Life has become a daily survival of looking after number one. Caroline is showing people that there is another way. Quite simply, if you love people, they will love you in return'.

They even had a band called "Loving Awareness" and they played tracks incessantly between others by Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Cat Stevens, The Beatles etc. Some cynics would say the whole project was purely for financial gain, but at the time it seemed sincere.

Love & peace (man),

George