Part Four: Eurosiege '85.

In March 1985 some new transmitter components were delivered to the Communicator which allowed Laser to increase its ouput power to almost the full 25 kilowatts for the first time since it moved onto 558 kHz.
 
The Communicator drifted again on 12th April but quick thinking by the Captain saved the day and the ship was soon back in position. This time the station was only off the air for three hours but, on 23rd April there were more problems when the aerial blew down. Rough seas delayed the repairs and it was 7th May before Laser was heard again.
 
One of the original DJs, David Lee Stone, left during April to join Radio Luxembourg. His place was taken on board by Craig Novak. Craig's arrival received some press attention thanks to his claim that he was distantly related to Princess Diana. Apparently they shared a great, great, great grandfather.

Craig Novak on Laser-558 on the morning of 13th May 1985, plugging the planned first birthday party - see below. This clip is taken from a recording shared on The Offshore Radio Club Forum by Hans Hendriks. Our thanks to him (duration 3 minutes 31 seconds)

As the weather improved, so did the station's fortunes. There were fewer interruptions caused by technical issues but financially things were still pretty sticky and Laser was reduced to accepting paid plays for particular records. Under pressure from the DJs, the management agreed that these should be identified on air as “Spotlight Sounds” rather than as just part of the programme (as they were on Caroline). The main problem with accepting paid plays was that they were for unfamiliar tracks which meant a dilution of the station's all hit policy but it did bring in much-needed revenue. There is no way of knowing if these were all paid for but among the labels appearing to support the Spotlight Sounds were Flair (Black Lace), Geffen (Don Henley), Island (Cashmere), Jive (Comsat Angels, Warren Mills, Billy Ocean, Richard Jon Smith, Precious Wilson), Legacy (Boys Don't Cry, Judy Tzuke, John Wilson), MCA (Dan Hartman, Kim Wilde), RCA (5 Star, Rick Springfield), Record Shack (Anita, Jeff Deane, Barbara Pennington, Evelyn Thomas, etc.), Safari (English Evenings, La Bouche), Sedition (Amii Stewart), Sonet (The Korgis) and Streetwave (Carl Anderson, Kenny Copeland, Rose Royce, etc.).

Liz West with the Eurohit Survey Top 40 chart show on Laser-558 from 8th May 1985. This is an edited version of a recording shared on the Internet Radiocafé, now known as the Radiotrefpunt (radio meeting point) forum by Vincent. Our thanks to him (duration 2 minutes 40 seconds).

Laser-558 had started full-time broadcasting on the previous 24th May and there were plans for a big party to mark its first birthday. The event, to be held at London's Hippodrome, was heavily promoted on air but sadly never took place. It had to be cancelled after the police visited venue owner Peter Stringfellow and threatened him with prosecution. The birthday was well celebrated in the DJs' programmes - but not at the Hippodrome.

Ric Harris on Laser-558's first birthday, 24th May 1985, giving away a ticket to a Club 18-30 Laser Birthday Bash event (duration 4 minutes 9 seconds)
Tommy Rivers is joined by Charlie Wolf on Laser's first birthday. Both this and the above recording courtesy of www.azanorak.com. Our thanks to Ray Robinson (duration 4 minutes 2 seconds)
Craig Novak, during the afternoon of Laser's first birthday, linking up with Charlie on deck at an imaginary star-studded party (duration 2 minutes 11 seconds)
Chris Carson, during the evening of the birthday, linking up with Charlie, Ric and Erin Kelly for the presentation of the 1985 Bertha Award. This and the previous clip are both courtesy of The Offshore Radio Club Forum. Our thanks to Hans Hendriks (duration 2 minutes 56 seconds)

During the summer Philip Smyth finally decided that he had poured enough money into the North Sea. At a rough estimate some three and a half million pounds had been spent on Laser and he had not seen a penny back. He was not going to pull out but, from now on, the station was going to have to pay its way and survive on its income. In an effort to save money the New York office was moved to a less costly address and John Moss departed. Laser was now run by John Catlett, the programme controller turned general manager, with assistance from Rob Day who had moved from roadshow entrepreneur to airtime salesman. There was a new postal address too: P.O Box 1828, Grand Central Station, New York City, New York 10163, USA. In an effort to attract more international advertisers, some of US radio's top syndicated shows were relayed: Mary Turner's Off The Record, Scott Shannon's Rockin' America Top 30 Countdown and a few programmes from the oddball Dr. Demento, all produced by the Westwood One company.

Scott Shannon ending the Rockin' America Top 30 Countdown on Laser-558 at about 00:40am on 29th July 1985. The station then played non-stop music until the normal closedown time of 1am. This clip is from a recording available on www.azanorak.com. Our thanks to Ray Robinson (duration 2 minutes 11 seconds)

On 23rd June the normal evening programmes were replaced by non-stop music and an earlier than usual closedown. A recorded announcement went out saying that the break in proceedings was because of “contract negotiations between Eurad SA and Mr. (Charlie) Wolf”. There was obviously some staff dissatisfaction but no further mention of it was made on air and things were back to normal the next day. Around the same time another of the original DJs departed. Ric Harris moved to Ireland to join Radio Nova. His place on board was taken by Jonell Pernula who had been booked as summer fill-in, covering for the jocks as they took their vacations. A former colleague of Tommy Rivers, she just used her first name on air.

Jonell from her first show on Laser-558, 2nd July 1985. This clip is taken from a recording shared on The Offshore Radio Club Forum by Hans Hendriks. Our thanks to him (duration 2 minutes 33 seconds)

Craig Novak.	Jonell.
Photos from the Rob Olthof collection. More of his pictures here.

At the beginning of August 1985 the offshore stations' battle with the authorities entered a new phase. On the evening of the 8th DJ Charlie Wolf commented that a helicopter was shining a searchlight onto the Communicator's deck. The following day the offshore ships were joined by another vessel in the Knock Deep, The Dioptric Surveyor. This was an ocean-going launch chartered by the Department of Trade and Industry (D.T.I) to keep a constant eye on the Caroline and Laser ships in the hope of preventing any supplies reaching them. The DTI appeared to be trying to starve the offshore stations into silence. Despite claims that the station was tendered from Spain, most of Laser's supplies came from much closer to home and it looked like the spy ship was going to cause them some problems. The ever-imaginative Charlie Wolf named the Government's campaign “Eurosiege '85”. (Some of the Eurosiege press coverage is here.)

Charlie Wolf and Liz West discuss the Government's surveillance operation on Laser-558, 14th August 1985. This is an edited version of a recording shared on www.azanorak.com by Matt at The Pirate Archive. Many thanks to Ray Robinson and Matt (duration 2 minutes 39 seconds)

In an effort to counter Eurosiege, on the 21st August the Communicator raised her anchor and sailed north about ten miles. Now the Dioptric Surveyor could not keep an eye on both the Caroline and Laser ships simultaneously, giving the occasional opportunity for a tender to slip in undetected. It seemed like a good idea until the crew realised that the Communicator was now anchored in a spot totally unprotected from the North Sea gales, and close to a shipping lane. With a force eight storm forecast, the ship soon returned to the usual anchorage.

Charlie Wolf on Laser-558, 23rd August 1985. The Communicator is back at its old anchorage in the Knock Deep. This recording kindly provided by Hans Knot (duration 3 minutes 53 seconds)

The £50,000 a month spying campaign certainly caused problems for Laser but it also had the effect of boosting its programmes. Three months was the usual length of a DJ stint on board - a long time to be working seven days a week, constantly trying to come up with something new and original to say. Now the presenters had an ongoing drama to talk about. The spy ship was renamed the “Moronic...” or “Myopic Surveyor” and a lot of fun was had at the authorities' expense. The publicity on land and the activities at sea had the effect of turning the DJs into heroes, battling against the forces of a controlling government, and the DJs, especially Charlie, milked it for all it was worth.

Two clips from day 23 of Eurosiege '85. On the Breakfast Show, Jonell has an update, then Charlie reports into Tommy Rivers' programme “from his vantage point on the poop deck”. Recording from SMC Audio Tape No. 4, issued by De Stichting Media Communicatie (duration 4 minutes 57 seconds)

Charlie Wolf on Laser-558, 26th August 1985. Apparently he is joining Chipping Sodbury Sound! This recording kindly provided by Brian Nichols (duration 3 minutes 43 seconds)

Official government papers, released under the 30 year rule and published in Offshore Echos magazine in 2019, show that the initial cost of hiring the Dioptric Surveyor was paid by the Independent Broadcasting Authority, the regulatory body responsible for commercial radio and television in the UK.
 
As part of Laser's fight back, the station began playing a track called I Spy for the DTI credited to the Moronic Surveyors. The song was an adaptation, with new lyrics, of I Spy For The FBI, a soul hit from the sixties by Jamo Thomas. Laserettes Liz West and Erin Kelly supplied backing vocals - recording them while on shore leave - and the lead vocal came from Paul Young, formerly of the group Sad Café. Rob Day provided the voice of the “man from Whitehall”.

A short clip from “I Spy for the DTI” by the Moronic Surveyors (duration 30 seconds).

Many thanks to Radio Adventures of the mv Communicator by Paul Rusling, Laser 558: All Europe Radio by Hans Knot, Monitor magazine and Offshore Echos.
 
Press cuttings from this period here.
 
Back to part three.
 
To be continued.