Radio Caroline: The Pirate Radio

It’s hard to believe, given the wide choice of music available today, that the BBC held a monopoly on UK radio broadcasting until 1973. Celebrating its sixtieth anniversary this year, Radio Caroline was the first of a new wave of pirate radio stations to challenge and disrupt the state-owned service

ready to rock

In the early 1960s, as rock music exploded across the airwaves, the BBC allocated just six hours a week to popular music on its UK network. The only competition came from Radio Luxembourg, which played hits from the major record labels. But how could anyone hear new, independent artists?

OFFSHORE

In 1961, Ronan O’Rahilly, an Irish entrepreneur, arrived in London full of ideas for music promotion. He decided to set up his own radio station, on a boat, knowing that the British broadcasting laws only extended to a three-mile limit offshore. O’Rahilly named his new station Radio Caroline, after the daughter of US President John F. Kennedy. 

ANCHORED

Together with businessman Alan Crawford, O’Rahilly prepared two ships for broadcasting. On 28 March 1964, the MVCaroline anchored legally in international waters off the Suffolk coast and announced: “This is Radio Caroline on 199, your all day music station”. Radio Caroline was on air...

PIRATES

By autumn that year, Radio Caroline had seven million listeners. Inspired by O’Rahilly’s example, other pirate radio stations took to the airwaves. The British government quickly introduced new legislation to outlawthe stations, which were forced to close. Radio Caroline went off air for several years but was relaunched in the early 1970s. 

LOVING AWARENESS

With its eclectic mix of album tracks and concept of Loving Awareness, a form of peaceful eastern philosophy promoted by O’Rahilly, Radio Caroline had a strong new identity. Through the following decades, thanks to O’Rahilly, the crew, DJs and supporters, Radio Caroline stayed on air despite storms, an armed raid by Dutch and British officials, breakdowns, a sinking, and, always, a lack of money. When Ronan O’Rahilly died in April 2020, he left a lasting legacy: Radio Caroline was an act of musical rebellion, a philosophy, and a family of broadcast pioneers remaining on air against all the odds.