The Charming Story Of Radio Nord—A Pirate Radio Station Broadcast From A Ship In The Baltic Sea 1961-1962 To Swedes Who Were Starved For Commercial Radio
The Charming Story Of Radio Nord—A Pirate Radio Station Broadcast From A Ship In The Baltic Sea 1961-1962 To Swedes Who Were Starved For Commercial Radio
I couldn’t help but smile knowing how proud you must be of him and his fascinating life! God bless you and all of your loved ones as you hold your Dad’s memories close to your heart and mind forever. ❤️
Wow it's a long story, and Allan Crawford's Atlanta merged with Caroline though run seperately as North and South Caroline ships so in essence yes it ended up being one of the two operating under that name, but eventually when I was there was the only the original Caroline ship the Fredrica.
I didn't see your post as I made mine from the article and had to leave, but it only stated between 61 and 62. I didn't listen to the podcast yet, but are you saying this ship was Radio Caroline? I posted about knowing a DJ that worked on the ship back between 77-80 when stationed in England, and he told me it had been a revitalized ship that has washed up shore somewhere, and in the link it says this
"Of course, launching something like the Radio Caroline pirate ship wasn’t easy. For one thing – you needed a boat to get started. Fortunately, O’Rahilly’s father was the owner of a port in Northern Ireland, where they had access to a passenger ferry named the MV Frederica."
"With a little help from his record company and various investors, O’Rahilly raised the funds required to transform the MV Frederica into a pirate radio ship."
So I went further into the article and it leads to another link with far more information on several of these ships around the world at the time and includes Radio Nord, and quite an interesting story really.
"The Pilkington Committee had been set up by the British Government in 1960 to consider the future of broadcasting in the country. In 1962 it published its report. After long deliberation it had decided there was no demand for commercial radio in the UK. Having experienced the thriving Australian commercial radio scene at first-hand, Crawford was convinced that this was not the case. By 1962 he had raised some funding and, when the Scandinavian Governments jointly outlawed their offshore stations, he made an offer to buy the Radio Nord ship, mv Magda Maria (previously called mv Bon Jour). The vessel was moved to the UK coast ready for him to take over but, when the Danish authorities raided Radio Mercur and forced that station off the air, one of Crawford's main investors pulled out of the project. This scuppered the deal. Eventually the ship was taken to Texas where McLendon planned to use the equipment for his other radio stations. (Around this time, the ship's name was changed again. She became mv Mi Amigo.)"
"Offshore radio researchers Mervyn Hagger and Eric Gilder have discovered that Ronan O'Rahilly initially attempted to buy the same ship that Allan Crawford was after - the mv Mi Amigo - but, when his offer was turned down, was forced to look further afield. He obtained the former Danish ferry Fredericia. By December 1963 Project Atlanta finally had the funds to purchase the mv Mi Amigo. The ship was brought back across the Atlantic. Since its time as Radio Nord..."
This was a competitors project being set up by Allan Crawford. Great story.
Thank you, this reminds me of a similar Pirate radio ship that traversed the North Sea when I was stationed over there in the late 70's called Radio Caroline. They were about Music and the censorship of it by the BBC, but did put out alternative news which UK didn't appreciate too much. I was fortunate to have met one of the broadcasters who knew an Englishman I rented a room from to get off base Tim, quite the adventurist always being undercover. Apparently they've gone ashore now I just found out.
"A group of rock-loving disc jockeys refused to be held back by the legislation and regulations of the early 1960s. Many ambitious DJs decided that if they couldn’t do what they wanted with British broadcasting on land, they would take to the seas instead."
See additional updates that include some history on Radio Nord from a link inside the 2nd one above.
Oh I'm so glad you published this, Celia! This is classic classic Barry Farber and such an entertaining story of defiance and determination. It heartens and inspires us in our own defiance and determination.
found an observation in one of Sheldracks books that referenced bees.....I believe.... that they all uniformly worked with precision to create the hive.... but when damage was done to the hive... those doing the repairs solved the problem in unique and different ways
Thank you Celia for sharing this wonderful interesting information about you Dad!
In watching the video you posted from YouTube, next in the shuffle was a video of your Dad on, “To Tell the Truth!”
Here’s the link: https://youtu.be/3VJ1S6AoW6Y
I couldn’t help but smile knowing how proud you must be of him and his fascinating life! God bless you and all of your loved ones as you hold your Dad’s memories close to your heart and mind forever. ❤️
HOPEFULLY WE ARE ALL UNITING THIS IS NO JOKE WE ARE THE LAST LINE FOR DEFENSE TO SAVE OURSELVES AND COUNTRY
UNITE WITH GOD AND LIKE MINDED BROTHERS AND SISTERS
SELF DEFENSE DOES NOT SEND YOU TO HELL. SHARE UNITE PRAYAnd PREP EVILS AT OUR DOORSTEPS. AMERICANS LAST STAND
I am having Deja Vu...
but yeah, this time is different
f*ck em...
where do we end up...?
nobody knows, thank goodness...!
Radio Caroline
Wow it's a long story, and Allan Crawford's Atlanta merged with Caroline though run seperately as North and South Caroline ships so in essence yes it ended up being one of the two operating under that name, but eventually when I was there was the only the original Caroline ship the Fredrica.
I didn't see your post as I made mine from the article and had to leave, but it only stated between 61 and 62. I didn't listen to the podcast yet, but are you saying this ship was Radio Caroline? I posted about knowing a DJ that worked on the ship back between 77-80 when stationed in England, and he told me it had been a revitalized ship that has washed up shore somewhere, and in the link it says this
https://radiofidelity.com/history-of-radio-caroline/
"Of course, launching something like the Radio Caroline pirate ship wasn’t easy. For one thing – you needed a boat to get started. Fortunately, O’Rahilly’s father was the owner of a port in Northern Ireland, where they had access to a passenger ferry named the MV Frederica."
"With a little help from his record company and various investors, O’Rahilly raised the funds required to transform the MV Frederica into a pirate radio ship."
So I went further into the article and it leads to another link with far more information on several of these ships around the world at the time and includes Radio Nord, and quite an interesting story really.
https://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/car61.htm
"The Pilkington Committee had been set up by the British Government in 1960 to consider the future of broadcasting in the country. In 1962 it published its report. After long deliberation it had decided there was no demand for commercial radio in the UK. Having experienced the thriving Australian commercial radio scene at first-hand, Crawford was convinced that this was not the case. By 1962 he had raised some funding and, when the Scandinavian Governments jointly outlawed their offshore stations, he made an offer to buy the Radio Nord ship, mv Magda Maria (previously called mv Bon Jour). The vessel was moved to the UK coast ready for him to take over but, when the Danish authorities raided Radio Mercur and forced that station off the air, one of Crawford's main investors pulled out of the project. This scuppered the deal. Eventually the ship was taken to Texas where McLendon planned to use the equipment for his other radio stations. (Around this time, the ship's name was changed again. She became mv Mi Amigo.)"
"Offshore radio researchers Mervyn Hagger and Eric Gilder have discovered that Ronan O'Rahilly initially attempted to buy the same ship that Allan Crawford was after - the mv Mi Amigo - but, when his offer was turned down, was forced to look further afield. He obtained the former Danish ferry Fredericia. By December 1963 Project Atlanta finally had the funds to purchase the mv Mi Amigo. The ship was brought back across the Atlantic. Since its time as Radio Nord..."
This was a competitors project being set up by Allan Crawford. Great story.
https://nypost.com/2023/04/26/carmakers-unsafe-un-american-push-to-eliminate-am-radio/
swedes probably had more free speech when the nazis ruled them... could they have had less?
Thank you, this reminds me of a similar Pirate radio ship that traversed the North Sea when I was stationed over there in the late 70's called Radio Caroline. They were about Music and the censorship of it by the BBC, but did put out alternative news which UK didn't appreciate too much. I was fortunate to have met one of the broadcasters who knew an Englishman I rented a room from to get off base Tim, quite the adventurist always being undercover. Apparently they've gone ashore now I just found out.
https://www.radiocaroline.co.uk/#home.html
History is quite interesting
https://radiofidelity.com/history-of-radio-caroline/
"A group of rock-loving disc jockeys refused to be held back by the legislation and regulations of the early 1960s. Many ambitious DJs decided that if they couldn’t do what they wanted with British broadcasting on land, they would take to the seas instead."
See additional updates that include some history on Radio Nord from a link inside the 2nd one above.
Oh I'm so glad you published this, Celia! This is classic classic Barry Farber and such an entertaining story of defiance and determination. It heartens and inspires us in our own defiance and determination.
What a wonderful piece. I loved the commercials as well ! Such clarity and politeness.
I am in the UK and i had no idea that Sweden was so incredibly authoritarian in the 60s.
Wow. 60 years. That's dedication.
This story is great.
https://www.lobster-magazine.co.uk/article/issue/58/the-devil-has-all-the-best-songs-reflections-on-the-life-and-times-of-simon-dee/
You'll recognize the name Clint Murchison from JFK research but this is Murchison Jr.
Charming is right! I so enjoyed that interview. Two amazing men. Thank you. I needed that.
wonder how much free speech there is in an ant colony or a bee colony? but lots of production
orders from above, wafting, like fair pheromones downward, oh, the circuitry of love...
( ant and bee , by angela banner, btw...)
found an observation in one of Sheldracks books that referenced bees.....I believe.... that they all uniformly worked with precision to create the hive.... but when damage was done to the hive... those doing the repairs solved the problem in unique and different ways
i remember listening to your father when i was a kid growing up in NJ. or more accurately, my parents listened to him and i listened along
This is so interesting! Thanks for sharing.
'The Boat That Rocked' (2009), it's a great movie.