TWO GREAT OFFSHORE RADIO HISTORIES TO READ

THE WET AND WILD HISTORY OF RADIO CAROLINE

1964  - 2004

EDITOR HANS KNOT 

REVIEWED BY THE WIRELESS WAFFLER

I would like to assure my readers that all of the books etc which are reviewed on this site are purchased by the Waffler from his hard earned cash.  This will also account for us not covering every book or magazine on site.  I would also stress that I also have the greatest admiration and respect for Hans Knot and his work for and writings about Offshore Radio.  I cannot understand or speak Dutch so perhaps a few of my comments here would apply to me writing a review in Dutch and it being read in Hans country.

Firstly this book is in A4 format with a lovely picture of the Ross Revenge, Caroline's last and biggest ship, silhouetted with a sunset behind it. I purchased my copy from the excellent Pirate Radio Sales.  It is in a softback version and if you are ordering it through the post I advise you to ensure it is packed well for despatch. The UK Royal Mail seem to specialise in ruining books in the postal chain. This happens either in the sorting office, by being bent to fit into the postmans sack, or rammed into a letterbox when it does not fit.  Pirate Radio Sales charged me a few pounds more and it was worth it to receive a perfect book.  In the reading of the book, which is quite a heavy volume of 187 pages, I have caused a few creases myself.  It is a very essential and engrossing read.

Oh I hear you say, not another book about Radio Caroline!   This if anything is an oral history of the station. Well not quite oral but written by people close to the Caroline organisation, presenters and even listeners.  Reading this made me realise quite how addictive the station was and although I miss it how much it needs to go free to air again. There could be many more books to be written if all of the stations presenters come forward with their pieces. I have a feeling though that Hans has brought us the best of the batch.

In addition to the colour picture on the cover there are many personal black and white photos from contributors which are interspersed in the text etc.  Only Hans Knot could produce a book of this calibre. He has his own massive knowledge and personal involvement in offshore radio to draw on; also his own massive archive which adds to the overall production.

There is a good contents list to the book but it would have been useful if Hans had put the name of the contributor to each part of the book at the start of each part.  True enough some were quite evident as the person was introduced early in the piece. Some had me turning back to the contents in order to ascertain who had written the piece.

Tributes to presenters who have died in recent years are also made in the book. Jay Jackson/Howard Rose/Crispian St John, and the legendary Tony Allan.

A very interesting section is include giving the full story of Allan Crawford, the man who gave Ronan the ideas for legally starting the station. I do not want to spoil your reading but it does go on to tell what he went on to do after Caroline. Some of the information on his station Atlanta eventually become Radio Caroline North is new and very interesting.

Hans should have, or may indeed have, asked somebody to proof check the book.   The tense in several parts is wrong, but if you have heard somebody from Holland speaking in English you will realise it is the way they speak.  It made me chuckle and if you are a hardened anorak you will find this quite refreshing.  The font that Hans has used also is very attactive and pleasing to the eye.  Some of the spelling is wrong as well. Yes the kind of typographical errors the Waffler occasionally has dropped into his web writing. Some gems are "Roger Day on Swining Radio England" ,"Reel Ale"

I was pleased to read Hans last chapter in the book which expresses some concern about the way Radio Caroline operates today.   He points to the days when the station broadcast something like 124 adverts and was able to provide good free radio.  My own opinion is that I hope that the station one day comes to its senses and turns itself into more of a commercial operation with proper organisation. At the time of writing Caroline is a bedfellow of Worldspace who having made satellite radio work so well on a new digital platform want their listeners to pay for all their own radio stations.  I do not like commercial radio in general at the moment. I do not want Caroline to go too commercial but it would not hurt for them to take adverts and go free to air on Worldspace or get on to a dab channel.  There must be a loophole to persuade the greedy media controllers to allow Radio Caroline to put on its special blend of Rock and Pop out commercially, hopefully nationally,  It may need a new leader to effect this as well.

Back to the book - it is something I will certainly re-read in parts again and again. No index at all, but each section is a story in its own right.  I recommend that if you are an anorak that you add it to your collection.  

To my knowledge you cannot buy it from a bookshop.

I bought it from Pirate Radio Sales at £15.99 http://www.pirateradiosales.co.uk/acatalog/books.html

To my knowledge it is not available from bookshops and does not bear an ISBN number.  

You can sample the book on the internet at  http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/CAR/car_all.html

 In the authors words from the Radio London website:

The book 'The Wet and Wild History of Radio Caroline' can now be ordered from the publisher, The Foundation for Media Communication at PO Box 53121 1007 RC Amsterdam. The price of the book for people living in Holland and Belgium is 25 Euro. For outside those two countries the price is 20 Pounds.

For ordering from the Netherlands you can order by sending the money to giro account number 4065700 in name of SMC Amsterdam.

For ordering from outside Holland send your money in cash to The Foundation for Media Communication, P O Box 53121 1007 RC Amsterdam Holland.

Please DO NOT send any bank cheques as the exchange costs are too high.

I hope you've as much pleasure with reading the book as we had with the writing of it.

Yours in radio,

Hans Knot

 

Review by the Wireless Waffler 22nd May 2005

I sent off for this book some weeks ago now when the book was first published. This was with confidence, because I have purchased several books already from Bob Le Roi's website and every one has been excellent and well produced.

David Sinclair has written a full and revealing report on life on the offshore radio station that I received in Middx courtesy of an aerial wire in the back of my transistor portable.  Then i put the radio into my bookcase and left the glass doors open at each and got a filtered sound which was very good. The daytime signal was fine like this and in the evening it was possible to listen to the station without an aerial.

The only small criticisms I have is that I can see scanning lines on pictures pages 15, 77 and 78. These are on adjoining pages and it is possibly an error at the printers. Fortunately all of the others are perfect. I like the bold font that the book is printed in.  The book is soft covered, with a plastic cover on it - they have included a title on the spine so you can spot it on the bookshelf.  Mine has come detached from the front and back cover because the printer has bound the book into the adhesive cover and not stapled it to the spine - fortunately the main book is bound together ok - I am now trying to work out how to fix it back without using adhesive.  Inside the covers is the flyleaf which is not sufficient to hold the 90 page book inside the cover alone.

This is a great book though, well written,  and made me laugh many times whilst reading the text.  In saying this I will not be able to tell you too many specifics because this will spoil the book if you plan to buy and read it.  It  gave me a different image of Roy Bates as a boss and businessman than I had previously.  It also has pictures of and mentions Roy Bates son and daughter. His son features strongly now in the operation of Sealand as a principality.

88 pages of splendidly researched and illustrated writing. All photos and stickers are in black and white. The inclusion of station stickers and items like QSL cards make this a full and unique tribute to this splendid radio station.

They also include a plan of the Radio Essex Knock John Deck Plan. Bob Le Roi has also includes his own personal introduction to the text written by David Sinclair.  It also takes the story right up to Sealand on the Roughs Tower, never used for offshore radio.

The book is recommended by me. If you fancy a quick flick through it there are enough pictures to fill up at least ten minutes or more, all well captioned.  I hope that somebody will do a similar book about Radio Sutch and then City in due course

To my knowledge it is not for sale in a book shop.  I ordered mine direct from Bob Le Roi's site and paid by pay pal. This resulted in me receiving the book almost by return of post.  It was well packed and arrived through my letterbox in mint condition.  The cost is £7.50. Please do not let my experience with the book binding put you off enjoying this gem!

Available from Photoradio PO Box 299, Whitstable Kent CT5 2YA United Kingdom for £7.50 or at  www.bobleroi.co,uk