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The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame needs your
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Brian Marshall had previously worked on London landbased pirates, Irish and continental stations and British forces radio before joining Radio Caroline in April 1985
as a newsreader and occasional DJ. Although he only stayed a short time (last heard on 4th May), he has gone on to have a long career in broadcasting. Brian tells us: “I was friends with Grant
Benson (we had worked together on Radio Nova in Italy) and I ‘bunked off’ from BFBS for a while to go out to the Ross. I started in radio in the late 70s running land-based pirate stations in London, after
hearing ELR (East London Radio) broadcasting from Knighton Woods near where I lived on the borders of East London. I ran Phoenix Radio and helped set up Alice's Restaurant, before forming a broadcast radio engineering company,
Phoenix Communications, which ran the first ever freely radiating licensed broadcasting services operated in the UK outside the BBC/IBA. Phoenix Comms later became Radica Broadcast Systems which still exists today. I worked
for Ofcom between 2004 and 2012 and now teach radio and journalism at the University of Bedfordshire in Luton.” (Thanks to Brian for his assistance and to John Burch for the photo which shows Brian, right, with engineer
Mike Barrington.)
Cherry Marshall joined Radio Caroline in April 1989. We don't know much about her but Arthur Burton tells us that “Cherry
was an absolute delight to be there with - very friendly (unlike some others!).” Can anyone supply more information? (Photo from Robert Brain's collection, kindly provided by
Richard Brain.)
Caroline Martin must be one of the few DJs in the world to work on a station after which she had been named. Her father had been a fan of Radio Caroline in a previous
era and named his daughter after it. Birthday 22nd December, she was born and brought up near Cambridge. After hearing tales about the legendary offshore broadcaster from her dad, Caroline decided to become involved. She was
first heard playing non-stop music and making the occasional announcement on Radio Caroline in May 1986. In August she returned to the ship as a fully-fledged DJ and stayed for a long time, becoming an integral part of the team
during its last few years of broadcasting from the ship. Caroline was part of the crew air-lifted off the Ross Revenge by RAF helicopter in December 1990. She married fellow Caroline DJ Dave Asher
(since divorced) and went on to work for Contact-94, broadcasting to the Channel Islands from France, Chiltern Supergold, Invicta, Magic, Rock-FM, BRMB, Free and BBC local radio. She can currently be heard on BBC Radios
Somerset, Wiltshire, Bristol and Gloucestershire, as well as twice a week on community station WCR FM in Wolverhampton. Caroline says: “The
best years ever were spent on that ship. Through it I of course met Dave (who is still one of my very best friends) and together we had a son Joshua so, all in all, a lot of good came out of it. Also it gave me a
knowledge/appreciation of music that I would never have found anywhere else. Thanks for remembering me. Good times.” (This photo of Caroline with Johnny Lewis, shared on Facebook by Peter
Herring. Our thanks to him. Some of Caroline's own photos are here and here, and she also features in Chris Cooper's photo album.)
Steve Martin was a former landbased pirate DJ from London station RFM who was heard on Radio Caroline for a couple of weeks in May 1989. Can anyone provide more information?
Steve Masters (Laser-558) There were three broadcasters called Steve Masters involved in offshore radio during the eighties. The first was part of the original DJ team
for Laser-558 but he quit before the station made it onto the air. A replacement was urgently needed so an experienced air-time salesman called Dan Crafton took his name and his late night slot on the first programme schedule.
He was there for the launch of Laser-558 in May 1984 and stayed for one stint (last show on 17th June 1984). He signed off each night with “it's been a business doing pleasure with you” - a phrase which could be seen
as encapsulating the difference beween the commercial outlook of Laser and the more idealistic one of Radio Caroline. Since his time on Laser, Dan/Steve has been a media consultant in the US, Europe and North Africa. (Photo
of the first Laser-558 on air team, left to right: Jessie Brandon, Ric Harris, Paul Dean, Steve Masters and
David Lee Stone, courtesy of Offshore Echo's magazine. There is another photo of Steve in Michael Dean's photo
album.)
Steve Masters (Caroline) The third Steve Masters was a former landbased pirate DJ from Kent, no relation to Laser's Steve Masters, above. This Steve joined Radio Caroline
on Christmas Day 1987 but left the station to go to college. He has since participated in some of the various Caroline RSL broadcasts on land and, according to a posting on an internet forum, is now a lecturer at a technical
college in Kent. Can anyone provide more information? (Photo kindly provided by François Lhote of Offshore Echo's
magazine. There is another photo of Steve in Caroline Martin's album.)
Bob Matthews got his start on hospital radio and was heard on the London landbased pirate Radio Jackie but, when that station closed down to apply for a community radio
license in 1985, he joined Radio Caroline. His first show was on 16th February that year and he stayed a month. Since then he has broadcast on Coast-AM, Invicta Supergold and was programme controller of satellite station EKR.
This was followed by stints at CTFM, TLR, KMFM, RFM Maidstone, Academy FM and others, using the name Bob Mower. (Photo ©Peter Harmsen. There are more of Peter's Caroline pictures on
Flickr.)
Mark Matthews Previously a DJ on a landbased short wave pirate, Mark joined Radio Caroline in February 1986 and became an integral part of the team over the
next couple of years, working both as a broadcaster and helping to run the station on land. Since then he has been on Invicta in Kent, Contact-94 in France, spent five years at SGR-FM, a couple of years as a freelance sports
journalist for IRN, a decade as sports producer for BBC Radio Suffolk and is now a freelance presenter and director of Splice Creative, a media and marketing agency
providing video, radio, graphic design, marketing and PR services from Diss, Norfolk. (Photo of Mark in the Caroline Overdrive studio kindly provided by John Burch.).
Melanie McArthur joined Radio Caroline in 1989 as a cook and occasional DJ (first show 12th August 1989). She left to study law. Andy Bradgate tells us “Mel holds a place in broadcasting history as the last voice heard on Caroline's ‘Overnight Alternative’ rock service on 819 before it was illegally shut down in an act of piracy by the Dutch authorities in August 1989. She now works in the rail industry and lives in Bristol where her hobbies include keeping guinea pigs, collecting soda siphons, drinking and demodernising her Bedminster home. An expert on the indie scene, her favourite bands include Pavement, Radiohead, Gallon Drunk, Pimp, Nick Cave, Breathless and The Fall.” (Our thanks to Andy for his assistance. We have recently discovered that the photo we thought was of Melanie, and published on The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame, is actually someone else. Our apologies. Can anyone provide a photo of the real Melanie McArthur?).
Paul McKenna Born on 8th November 1963, Paul made his radio debut at the age of 12 when he appeared on the ‘young DJ’ spot on Capital Radio's kids' programme
Hullabaloo. Before joining Radio Caroline in October 1984, Paul had worked for the in-store radio station at Top Shop Oxford Circus and at Wood Green Shopping City in north London, the south London pirates Radio Jackie
and Radio Sovereign. He was only on Caroline for one stint (October/November 1984) before joining Chiltern Radio in Dunstable. From there he moved to Capital Radio then Radio One and the Music Box TV channel before making a very
sucessful career switch to become a hypnotist and hypnotherapist. He is now a best-selling author whose self-help books have sold more than seven million copies and been translated into 32 languages. For more details, see
paulmckenna.com. Despite his thriving hypnotherapy career, Paul is still interested in his old station. He attended both Radio Caroline's 40th and
45th birthday parties, and has also made occasional appearances on air. (This photo of Paul, right, with Dave Windsor courtesy of John Burch. There are more photos
in Caroline Martin's album and Paul has very kindly provided some himself.)
Jenny McKenzie A cook on the mv Ross Revenge, Jenny was occasionally heard presenting late night shows on Radio Caroline and reading the English news bulletins on Dutch
service Radio Monique. The Night Owl showed her how to operate the equipment. He writes: “I remember her asking me if I could teach her how to work the desk. She started to sit in on my
programme to see how it was done and, as the best way to learn is to do it, I suggested she did part of my show so she did a few links under my watchful eye.” Jenny's first show was in August 1985, her last in November 1986.
On 5th July 2023 Leendert Vingerling brought us this sad news: “It was announced this week that Jenny McKenzie recently passed away after a three-month illness. Her real name was Jenny Parnell. I think she was 66 years old.”
(Photo from Offshore Echo's magazine. Thanks to Hans Hendriks for his assistance.)
Fergie McNeal from East Anglia, he originally joined Radio Caroline as a cook just before Christmas 1984 but was also heard on air, presenting occasional late night shows
in January 1985 using the name Jimmy Bond. In February he became known as ‘Fergie the cook’, later acquiring a surname as well when he became a full-time presenter. His shows on the
late night Caroline Overdrive rock service were particularly well-received. Fergie left Radio Caroline in April 1986 to move to Holland and marry his Dutch girlfriend Mariella but he returned for a brief stint in September 1988.
The couple had a daughter, Valerie, but sadly the marriage ended in divorce. Fergie worked as an English teacher in Thailand but, following his arrest and imprisonment for cannabis possession, was deported back to the UK. He spent
time as a TEFL (English as a foreign language) teacher in London before moving to China where he died in his sleep on 4th October 2008. Real name Fergus Nial Penman, he was 51 years old. (Photo taken by Leendert Vingerling and
kindly provided by Keith King. We previously spelt Fergie's surname incorrectly. Thanks to Vincent Schriel for pointing out the mistake.)
Holly Michaels was the second female broadcaster to join Laser-558, coming aboard in June 1984. She left in January 1985 and married the ship's captain
Tim Levensaler. The couple moved to Florida. Asked on Facebook what Holly is doing now, Laser colleague Ric Harris said: “My info is second hand but I hear she
is in nursing.” (Photo from Offshore Echo's magazine. There are more photos of Holly in Michael Dean's and
Mark Stuart's photo albums.)
Chris Miles Relief transmitter engineer on the mv Ross Revenge, Chris presented a couple of late night shows on Radio Caroline in August 1985. He now has a company supplying radio systems to the film, broadcast and entertainment industries. (There is a photo of Chris in Caroline Martin's album.)
Dave Miller was heard presenting late-night shows on Radio Caroline in July 1988. Aged 17 at the time, he arrived on board the Ross Revenge alongside Judy
Murphy on the day the Dutch service of Radio 558 took over Caroline's frequency during the daytime hours. From Radio Caroline, Dave went on to Radio City in Liverpool, Key 103, Rock FM, Real Radio, BRMB and was responsible for launching
Belfast CityBeat as its first Programme Controller and Breakfast Show presenter in 1996. He returned to Radio Caroline when it went legal and presented drivetime on its RSL (Restricted Service License) broadcast from Rochester.
He later went on to create The Super Station which was the last radio station to broadcast from the old Laser ship mv Communicator. After an initial trial run, the station was granted a full license to serve Orkney and
Caithness, although not from the ship - the Communicator was scrapped. After seven years on air, The Super Station closed in November 2014. (Photo kindly provided by Dave. It was taken during the Radio Caroline RSL broadcast in
Rochester.)
Andy Moorcock Born 13th August 1954, Andy had worked on the Voice of Peace off the coast of Israel before joining Radio Caroline. He was mainly employed as an engineer
but, from December 1983, also found time to broadcast his somewhat esoteric choice of music. He used a number of different DJ names. As well as Andy Moorcock, he was ‘Andy the engineer’, Roland
Butter, Billy Dukes, Rex Barker, Bilbo Baggins, Maurice Dancer and Hertz van
Rental! His final show on the station was in April 1985. He later worked as an engineer for Laser-558, Radio Nova on the Riviera, helped to fit out the mv Nanell for an abortive offshore radio project and was then with
Kiss-100 in London. Real name Andy Howard, he sadly passed away as a result of a brain haemorrhage in Hayward's Heath Hospital on 28th December 2008. (Thanks to Kevin Turner for the photo of Andy,
taken while they were both working at Radio Nova in Seborga. There is another picture of Andy in Stevie Lane's photo album.)
Jeff Morris joined Radio Caroline in June 1987 but only stayed a short time, including his birthday on 15th June. His stay was cut short by a dose of food poisoning. His
last programme was on 21st June 1987. Paul Graham tells us “he applied via the New York office for the job on Caroline. Most of us didn't use that route. He was a really nice guy from
Nottingham. He ran a successful mobile disco in that area and great fun to be with.” Jeff was on board when the Ross Revenge was moved to a new anchorage at the Falls Head in June 1987, following the extension of UK
territorial limits to 12 miles. Some of his photos from that period are on the Offshore Radio Guide. Although he used the Jeff Morris name on Caroline, he
is better known as Freddie Belmont, having worked on a number of stations in America under that name, including WTDK 107-1 Cambridge MD., WKAZ Charleston WV., B102 Rapid City SD., KAML Gillette WY. He can currently be heard on
the internet reincarnation of Radio Northsea International. (Our thanks to Jeff/Freddie for his assistance. Photo courtesy of Paul Graham. More of Paul's photos are
here.)
Judy Murphy A Canadian DJ, she had studied Radio and TV in Toronto. While travelling in Europe, a chance meeting with former Radio Monique DJ Herbie Visser led to her joining Radio Caroline. Her first show was on 19th July 1988. She left the station before Christmas but, before departing, made a taped show to be broadcast on New Year’s Eve. She then joined Radio Luxembourg where she broadcast as Jodie
Scott. She later worked on Sunshine Radio in Luxembourg but is now back in the UK where she works as an actress, voice-over and singer. (Photo by B.Dom courtesy of ‘Offshore Echo's Photo Gallery’.)