All I can say is "You lucky sod". You did what I always dreamed of. I've got and read Bob Noakes's book several times and often dream. I had radios around the house tuned to Caroline 24 hours a day. I heard all the dramas and shut downs but nowadays I can't be bothered with radio it's so automatic. I do listen Arrow on mw from holland which has a Caroline type playlist. I listen to Caroline on Sky but its a bit anorakish I'm sorry to say. There's no "We are closing for a few minutes to change generators so we can change the oil on this one." That was real radio which made you think you were there. magic!
Martin Day <marti.day33@ntlworld.com>
Bingham,, Notts UK - Saturday, October 09, 2004 at 02:27:52 (CEST)

Hi Norman,
The other day I found your web site after hearing about the fortieth anniversary of Caroline. I have been out of the UK for almost twenty four years and live in Tijuana Mexico. I can remember as a teenager listening to 208 Radio Luxembourg in the evenings. Then came the pirates and was an avid listener to the music of the day. I started like a lot of other people with my tiny Benson or Benkson transistor. Then I got a car and installed a radio, and was able to travel and many times went and flashed at Frinton. Although its many years ago I can remember tuning in to hear you. Barrington was a village near to where I lived that's how I can remember your programs but as the memory fails after so many years I can't remember exactly what year. They were as every calls them 'The good times'.

Now having two teenagers? (17 and 20), I was trying to explain how we enjoyed ourselves and what we did in the old days. I found my son listening and enjoying music from those days. They just don't grasp what we went through, and the really good times we had. When I was able to download some of the info from your web site it was just like a real time flash back. It certainly bought back memories.

Thank you for all the info and keep up the good work.
Best regards from an ex-pat.
Paul Reeve

P.S. An extra thanks for the full version of Caroline by the Fortunes.

Paul Reeve on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 10:15:25

Listened to PIRATE BBC RADIO ESSEX last week.
What a great tribute to the pirates from THE BBC.
Have enjoyed exploring this site as 1st time visitor.I'm sure to return again and again.Anyone been listening to www.offshoremusicradio.com?

TREVOR McILVEEN on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 at 10:37:20
Grand trip back into time,

I loved the inside your cabin picture thing ... looked at the effects while Jimi Hendrix's Villanova Junction (demo version) was screaming out my pc-boxes ;-)

LA

Hans, Antwerp Hans van Genderen on Saturday, April 10, 2004 at 21:06:00

Hi Norman,

You have got a great website it brings back great memories of Caroline. When I was courting the young lady who has been my wife for nearly 30 years. Yes I said 30 years!! , I listened to CAROLINE into the wee small hours at her place in Orpington Kent. Then drive back to my home in Twickenham where I lived with my mum get a couple of hours sleep then off to work.

I had the old MK.1 Ford Cortina 1962 and as no radio was fitted had a portable one laying near the handbrake and still got a good reception. Me and Eileen ,my wife now, would go out for day trips frequently listening to Mi Amigo by day and of course Caroline at night. Hastings was and still is a favourite place of ours and a load of shops and restaurants would have Mi Amigo up loud during the day. In 1976 not long after I got married, that year I remember well because of the great weather. The summer that never seemed to end,I painted the outside of our house down in Chatham with Caroline on.

Playing a lot of E.L.O . Oh happy days. I remember the day the Mi Amigo sunk and a lot of people at the bus garage where I worked were making fun about the sinking . Saying something like Caroline GLUG GLUG, I didn't find it amusing and said the station would return. I welcomed the return of CAROLINE on the ROSS and still listen to the station either on the web or on my Worldspace receiver. Although I still like listening to Caroline you don't get the same vibes as you did in it's offshore days.

I'm still on the buses and live and work now in Bexleyheath,Kent. One other thing I remember doing is listening to Caroline on my trannie at the bus terminus at each end of my journeys.Not allowed to listen whilst driving. At the time Laser was on, one of my fellow collegues would listen to Laser on his bus. I remember thinking that Laser was a threat to Caroline.

I still believe if Laser had'nt come along the outcome for the Ross might have been different. I know I am getting lost in the past but what a wonderful one thanks to Caroline.I send the odd e-mail to Peter Moore at Caroline and also am in touch with Roger Day. I hope you have enjoyed my personal memories of the Caroline era and still hope one day the great station will get back on to the A.M Band again.

Best wishes,

Mick Coren. MicCoren@aol.com on Sunday, April 4, 2004 at 16:32:34

Dear Mr.Barrington,

there was interesting radio universe in ex-Yugoslavia. Especially the beggining of private broadcasting including radios oriented against war brings a new sounding history.I have many jingle, promo,...packages including airchecks of this kind of bradcasters. Do anybody collect this?

Best regards,

prof.Milan K. Pesich - www.ghettofm.cz yunostalgia@quick.cz on Sunday, February 1, 2004 at 19:42:37

Dear Norman,

I was delighted to find your website and have enjoyed exploring it. I have always had a keen interest in radio. As a schoolboy and student in the 1960s, I gradually progressed from being 'the only kid with a tape recorder' at the local church youth club, through running the Tannoy system at Oxford Polytechnic and working on the UK's first true quadrophonic broadcast quality mobile disco to involvement with 'proper' radio stations.

In England most of what I did was anonymous, such as a large proportion of music programme jingles/voiceovers for BBC Radio London c. 1972-4. I was, however, also the England pop music stringer for Belgische Radio en Televisie's BRT2 FM Omroep Brabant during that period. I had a weekly feature on Zaki's show, Jamazaki, on BRT2 for two years and a monthly feature on their Maxi Club evening show, where I did in-depth interviews with British rock and pop artistes. I did a voiceover in Flemish for a Wranglers jeans cinema advert (and accidentally negotiated 10 times what I thought I was asking for it!) and I co-presented an all-British edition of BRT TV's Slalom show, featuring Queen, Geordie, Middle of the Road, Colin Blunstone, Barry Blue and Medicine Head. I also did a bit of stand-in work for Radio Oxford - on one occasion they gave me their whole 5 hours of needletime for Monday to Friday of one week! All this was done while working as an architectural assistant for Barclays Bank....

I was runner-up a job on RNI but was pipped to the post by somebody who had previously worked on Caroline North. Oh, and I won a Capital radio tee-shirt in a disco jingle competition in Record Mirror, judged by Kenny Everett. I still have that somewhat faded tee-shirt, which shows what a sad old git I am.

I have some recordings of bits and pieces from those times and some early bits of commercial radio, such as snippets of LBC's first day. I'd happily put them on a CD for you, if you are interested.

Having managed to escape from 'the day job' a few years ago and paid off the mortgage, I'd quite like to get back into radio but I expect that at age 54 the chances are remote to say the least.

Thanks again for a great site.

Yours,

Tony Hadland
UK mail@hadland.net on Sunday, February 1, 2004 at 17:32:17

Hi Norman,

just a few words to express my gratitude for people like your selves who keep the spirit of Caroline alive, and still retain the magic and position that Caroline deserves.
Have seen the Ross Revenge at Chatham, and to say it is disappointing to see the name rusting away, is an understatement
Once again, thanks for the memory
Les
UK Foxlaing@aol.com on Saturday, January 31, 2004 at 19:42:17

Hi Norman,

I've had a good look around your website, very impressive indeed. I downloaded the 237 pages and have decided that you win the award for "The Biggest Anorak in the world ever"

It was neat to read the Record Mirror article from 1973 when you were 21 ( I am a mere 6 years your junior) that was probably the year I started buying Sounds, Record Mirror, Melody Maker or the NME with my pocket money. I enjoyed reading the article it most interesting.

I have been a huge devoted Caroline listener since I was about 11 when my late Aunt Annette from Muswell Hill in London send me a tiny transistor for my birthday and I was able to receive Caroline. I've enjoed its various re-incarnations including Radio Segull in 72 with Andy Archer at the helm. I have fond memories of Mike Hagler and Yourself too and all that music that none else was playing: Babe Ruth, Barclay James Harvest, Pretty Things, Free, Bad Company,Manfred Mann's Earthband, Bruce Springsteen and Eric Clapton to mention but a few. There was nothing like Caroline for me anyway. In 1974 I got hold of a copy of GYPSY COWBOY by NRPS on CBS Records 65003 was the catalogue no. I recall (sad!)

Caroline was very much a major part of my life, it was like having a best friend on tap, Caroline jocks talked "to you" NOT "at you", I can recall being in bed with the 'flu in '72 and listening to Seagull, what memories. I haven't heard a lot of Caroline since Medium Wave transmissions ended and Satelite took over in recent years.

In 74 whilst at school I got a casual job in a record store that sold mainly albums which was fantastic. The manager of the shop was very impressed with my knowledge and even more impressed when I told him of my weekly purchases of Sounds and NME! I eventually became a Purchasing Manager for the Golden Disc Group and then a Shop Manager of my own Branch. All along I was interested in Radio in the spirit of Caroline and in 1978 when Pirate Radio was blooming here I sent a demo tape to BIG D here in Dublin and got on air. I have continued thru' the years to work on air. Back in 89 when we finally got ILR stations in Ireland I held down a six day week Breakfast Shift on CKR FM in Carlow for 3 years followed by a 5 year stink as Breky jock o nSouth East Radio in South East Radio in South East Ireland before moving to Dublin where I'm from.These days I am at Lite FM Dublin's Only Lite Music Station on 102.2 FM on Saturday and Sundays plus fill ins for hols. Format Radio is not anything as enjoyable as I am sure you'll agree, bring back something like Loving Awaress anyday and real people playing music not programmed by a Selector computer.

Hope I haven't bored you too much, I don't qualify as a real anorak or I'd have written to you years ago? I recently bought the new Caroline compilation with the purple cover which contains your 70s photo and nice sleeve notes, having purchased the other 60s and 70s ones in Virgin Megastore when they were issued. Nice memories too.

Very Best Regards,

Bryan Lambert

Bryan Lambert bryanjlambert@hotmail.com on Sunday, January 25, 2004 at 19:44:17
Does Radio Caroline ever intend to recommence broadcasting on AM or FM to give a chance for a larger audience to listen to an all time great who was one of the first to entertain the public?.

Caroline and Big L bring back many happy memories of the 60s to so many of us.

Lee Hammond elaineandlee@aol.com
UK - Monday, January 19, 2004 at 21:16:57
[Norman Comments: Lee although I am an optimist, I think those stations were right for their time, and were created by the imagination of those with original ideas. Plus the daring to put it into action. I doubt we will ever see the likes of it again. It would need someone from the current generation to have the drive, imagination & guts to get such a thing going. Is it my imagination or are today's young people, soooo conventional and busy toeing the establishment's line? Judging by the sound of radio today, there certainly ain't much creativity around there. It's all run by accountants!]

Hi Norman

Just writing to say what a great website you have. I am proud to say I am a true 'anorak' having followed off shore radio since the 1060's. I remember well an uncle telling me in 1964 that a new radio station had started and it played pop music ALL day. This was of course Radio Caroline. It is hard to explain now to people the shear magic of having pop music whenever you wanted to listen instead of taking whatever morsels the Beeb offered on a weekly basis!

I listened to Caroline/London and my best memories of the early 70's is listening to the great stuff Caroline played - in particular Johnny Jason who was on air I believe early evening.

The jingles are of course an integral part of off shore radio and I bore my family playing various CD's of jingles of that period. Since the demise of offshore radio including 'Laser' radio really is bland in this country. But pirate radio not only supplied a wider choice of music, but we listened because despite sometimes poor reception we loved the music and the closeness of radio. We all felt it was 'our' radio. With Dj's like yourself stuck in the north sea providing us with a true music alternative. I think it time to have a national rock radio service that will remain independent and totally free in its music policy instead of the same old tired format- even 'oldie' stations play what appears to be a set play list!

Anyway I am waffling!

Once again- thanks for the site- keep up the good work and if you get a chance to reply would be good to hear from you.

Thanks again All the best Roger - Meridian Broadcasting Ltd
Roger Hewett
UK - Wednesday, January 13, 2004 at 12:22:09 (BST)