Radio Caroline

Origins , Caroline and JFK Jr. in the photograph that is said to have inspired the name of Radio Caroline Radio Caroline was the brainchild of the Irish musician manager and businessman Ronan O'Rahilly, the idea being formulated following O'Rahilly's failure to obtain airplay for the records of one of his contracted artistes, Georgie Fame, on Radio Luxembourg or the BBC Light Programme. At this time it was Radio Luxembourg policy to only promote sponsored programmes funded by major record labels: EMI, Decca, Pye and Philips. Undeterred by this failure, and encouraged by Scandinavian and Dutch radio pirates, in February 1964 O'Rahilly obtained the former Danish passenger ferry which was subsequently taken to the Irish port of Greenore, which was under the ownership of O'Rahilly's father, Aodogán, in order for the vessel to be fitted out as a radio ship. This was a busy time at Greenore with the work to the Fredericia being carried out in tandem with Allan Crawford's "Project Atlanta", which saw a similar conversion undertaken on the . Financing Financial backing for the venture came from six investors, including John Sheffield (chairman of Norcros); Carl "Johnny" Ross (managing director of Ross Foods) and Jocelyn Stevens of Queen magazine, with which Radio Caroline shared its first office. Origin of name There are a multiplicity of stories with regard to how the station became known as Radio Caroline. One of these centres around O'Rahilly choosing the name on a trip to the United States, having seen a picture in Life of Caroline Kennedy, along with her brother, John F. Kennedy Jr., innocently playing in the Oval Office of the White House whilst their father, John F Kennedy, looks on. It is said that this activity was reportedly interpreted by O'Rahilly as a playful, jovial disruption of government. One particular image conveying unthreatening joy was the cheeky 4½-year-old Caroline hiding at President John F Kennedy's feet beneath the battered Resolute desk. A further theory is that the name was the choice of Jocelyn Stevens, who had played a prominent role in the planning stages of the offshore station. His editor of Queen, Beatrix Miller, is understood to have defined the profile of the target reader, being: "a twenty something, non intellectual who had left school at 16, and was a ‘good time’ girl called Caroline." Stevens believed that the same profile should be the target audience for the new offshore radio station, so the name Caroline was chosen. First transmissions Upon conclusion of her fitting out, the MV Fredericia was renamed MV Caroline with her port of registry changed to Panama. Caroline departed Greenore on March 23, 1964, to a supposed destination in Spain. She passed Land's End on 25 March, at which time she altered course and made passage through the English Channel and entered the North Sea where she anchored off Felixstowe, Suffolk. MV Caroline began test transmissions on 27 March 1964 at 6:00 pm GMT and 10:00 pm, and on 11:55 pm on 201 metres (). On 28 March, it began regular broadcasting at noon on (announced as 199 metres) with the opening conducted by Simon Dee. Merger with Radio Atlanta On 2 July 1964, Radio Atlanta and Radio Caroline's companies, Project Atlanta and Planet Productions, announced the stations were to merge, with Crawford and O'Rahilly as joint managing directors. Radio Atlanta closed at 8p.m. BST that day. It was renamed Radio Caroline South and MV Mi Amigo remained off Frinton-on-Sea, while MV Caroline broadcast as Radio Caroline North. Following the consolidation between the two companies, Caroline weighed anchor and sailed from Felixstowe en-route to the Isle of Man, broadcasting as she went. The only broadcast staff on board were Tom Lodge and Jerry Leighton. Caroline took up station at her new anchorage on the southern tip of the Bahama Bank, Ramsey Bay, on 6 July 1964, at a position formerly occupied by the Bahama Bank Lightship. The two Caroline stations were now able to cover most of the British Isles. Whilst the two Caroline stations transmitted separately, some programmes were pre-recorded on land and broadcast simultaneously from both ships. In October 1965, O'Rahilly bought Crawford's interest in the Mi Amigo and engaged Tom Lodge from Radio Caroline North to make programme changes and regain the audience from Radio London. Lodge hired new DJs and introduced free-form programming. When the US-backed Radio London arrived off the coast of England, there was an unsuccessful attempt to merge its sales operation with that of Caroline before Radio London started transmissions. The new station introduced British audiences to slick American-style top 40 radio with electronic jingles produced by Dallas-based PAMS, and was an immediate success. Broadcasting personnel was a Radio Caroline disc jockey from 1964 until his death in 2012 Radio Caroline's first programme, on 28 March 1964, was presented by Chris Moore. Presenters Tony Blackburn, Roger Gale, Ray Teret, Simon Dee, Tony Prince, Spangles Muldoon, Keith Skues, Johnnie Walker, Robbie Dale, Dave Lee Travis, Tommy Vance, Tom Edwards, Bob Stewart and Andy Archer became well known. Some DJs from the United States and Commonwealth countries, such as Graham Webb, Emperor Rosko and Keith Hampshire were also heard. DJ Jack Spector, of the WMCA "Good Guys" in New York, regularly recorded for Radio Caroline. Syndicated shows from the US and recorded religious programmes were also broadcast. BBC Radio 2 newsreader Colin Berry started his career reading the news on Radio Caroline South. In May 1965 Rick Wild, lead vocalist with The Overlanders, spent a week on board presenting mainstream pop and country music, and mid-September 1965, the crew and DJs on Mi Amigo were joined for the weekend by 1960s pop singer Sylvan Whittingham, who visited the ship to promote her single "We Don't Belong". Whittingham was unable to leave on the tender when a storm arose, and so spent the time helping present programmes, make jingles, and close the station at night. this transmitter was antiquated and failed to work. Smedley later withdrew from the deal. On 20 June 1966, Smedley boarded the Shivering Sands Fort with ten workmen to repossess a transmitter that he had supplied, but had not been paid for. The next day, Calvert visited Smedley's home in Saffron Walden, Essex, to demand the departure of the raiders and the return of vital transmitter parts. During a violent struggle, Calvert was shot dead. Smedley's men occupied the fort until 22 June. The Manx parliament, the Tynwald, attempted to exclude the North ship from the legislation, appealing to the European Court on the legality of the act being applied to the Isle of Man. Two (Radio 270 and Radio London) of the remaining four UK-based offshore stations closed, but the two Caroline ships continued with their supply operation moved to Netherlands waters, where unlicensed ship-based broadcasting was not outlawed until 1974. When the Marine Offences Act become law on 14 August 1967, Radio Caroline was renamed Radio Caroline International. Six weeks later, the BBC introduced its new national pop music station Radio 1, modelled largely on the successful offshore station Radio London, and employed many of the ex-pirate DJs. The BBC Light, Third, and Home programmes became Radios 2, 3 and 4 respectively. On 3 March 1968, the radio ships Mi Amigo and Caroline were boarded and seized before the day's broadcasting began. They were towed to Amsterdam by a salvage company to secure unpaid bills for servicing by the Dutch tender company Wijsmuller Transport. Because of the rise of land-based pirate stations after the Marine Offences Act became law (usually stations run from bedrooms or outdoor sheds with small wattage transmitters), at least two stations later broadcast using the Caroline name, one based in Dublin. Those broadcasts took place between 1970 and 1973. == 1970: Radio North Sea International ==

On 24 March 1970, a radio ship named anchored off the east coast of England during the UK general election campaign, broadcasting as Radio North Sea International (RNI). RNI operated on medium wave, short wave and FM. Its medium wave transmission was jammed by the UK authorities and on 13 June, RNI changed its name to Radio Caroline International with co-operation from Ronan O'Rahilly. Radio Caroline lobbied against the Labour Party, for the Conservative Party and for the introduction of licensed commercial radio in the United Kingdom. Following the election, RNI resumed its original name but jamming continued under the newly elected Conservative government. It was not until RNI returned to its original anchorage off the Netherlands that the jamming ceased. == Caroline Television ==

News stories appeared in Europe announcing the start of Caroline Television from two Super Constellation aircraft using Stratovision technology. One would circle over the North Sea in international air space near the United Kingdom, while the other remained on standby. Presentations were made to US advertising agencies. These stories continued and included supposed co-operation by a former member of The Beatles and a sign-on date of 1 July; the station failed to appear. ==1972–1980: Mi Amigo rescued==

In 1972, was bought for her scrap value at auction by enthusiast Gerard van Dam, who intended to use her as a free radio museum. O'Rahilly promised financial backing if van Dam could return the ship to broadcasting condition. The ship anchored off the Dutch coastal resort of Scheveningen and was serviced and operated from the Netherlands. That autumn various tests, consisting of continuous music, were made on 259 metres. The station restarted just before Christmas as Radio 199 but soon became Radio Caroline, with a Top 40 format. DJs Chris Cary, broadcasting as Spangles Muldoon (who was also station manager), Andy Archer, Paul Alexander, Norman Barrington, Steve England, Johnny Jason and Peter Chicago (real name Peter Murtha) The station's offices and studios were in Brakel, Belgium, but moved to Castell-Platja d'Aro, Costa Brava, Spain in March 1975 after a raid by Belgian police. Here they produced programmes for Dutch-speaking holidaymakers, mostly Europop, Top 40, MOR and Dutch language popular music presented by Belgian, Dutch and occasionally English DJs with frequent commercials. Because commercial radio was prohibited in Belgium, Radio Mi Amigo had little competition from the former BRT State Radio and TV (now VRT Flemish State radio and TV) and became very popular in Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK. For the first years, advertising on the station was in demand. When Radio Veronica closed in 1974, some presenters moved to Radio Mi Amigo. Loving Awareness Caroline's album format meant that, although the station served a gap in the market, its audience was smaller than in the 1960s. Caroline also promoted O'Rahilly's concept of Loving Awareness (LA), a far-eastern philosophy of love and peace. Some DJs were embarrassed but some were fascinated by the challenge of an abstract concept. In 1974, O'Rahilly set up a pop group called The Loving Awareness Band, comprising John Turnbull (guitar) and Mick Gallagher (keyboards) both formerly of Skip Bifferty and two session musicians, Norman Watt-Roy (bass) and Charlie Charles (drums). In 1976, The Loving Awareness Band released their only album, Loving Awareness on More Love Records (ML001), a label set up by O'Rahilly. The album was reissued on CD on Ross Records, c.1992, and in a "30th Anniversary Edition" with bonus material on SMC Records in 2005. The band broke up in 1977; Watt-Roy and Charles played on Ian Dury's New Boots and Panties!! album, and Turnbull and Gallagher joined them on the Stiff's tour, becoming The Blockheads. Dutch legislation The Dutch government banned unlicensed offshore radio on 1 September 1974. Radio Caroline continued, moving its headquarters and servicing operation to Spain. On 30 August 1974 Mi Amigo moved from the Dutch coast to the Knock Deep Channel, approximately from the British coast. After 31 August, shows for Radio Mi Amigo were delivered on cassettes rather than reel-to-reel tapes. Beginning in 1975, the cassettes were transported from Playa d'Aro on the Europa Bus service, which carried people from Amsterdam to Madrid at low prices. The tapes were picked up in Belgium at a bus stop, taken to a small aircraft and dropped in the sea close to the radio ship. The "Top 50" tapes were flown over by helicopter to get them on board more quickly. The Mi Amigo was tendered clandestinely from Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Tenders and boat owners were warned, and some were prosecuted for ferrying staff and provisions to the ship. Belgium had outlawed offshore radio in 1962 and prosecuted advertisers, cutting the station's revenue. Belgian courts sentenced Tack and some DJs to fines and jail in absentia, although the prison terms were later cancelled. Wavelength changes The two stations experimented with different frequencies. After a short test on in late 1975, in May 1976, Radio Caroline began a daytime service on (192 m) using a 10 kW transmitter, while its overnight service continued to share the 50 kW transmitter with Radio Mi Amigo's daytime programming on (253 metres, announced as 259). In December 1976, Radio Mi Amigo moved to on the 50 kW transmitter, leaving Caroline on 24 hours a day on the 10 kW. Radio Caroline had greater night-time interference, and it was decided to move Caroline to a new frequency. On 3 March 1977, Caroline closed, announcing that it would return six days later on 319 metres. To allow Radio Mi Amigo to continue broadcasting by day, the engineering work for Caroline's move had to be carried out over six nights, after the 50 kW transmitter was switched off. Caroline returned on 9 March 1977 on , actually 315 metres but announced as 319. This gave reasonable reception by day, but strong heterodyne interference at night because the transmitter crystal was off-channel. In July Caroline moved to the adjacent channel, (312 metres but still called 319) and reception in the UK improved. Meanwhile, Radio Mi Amigo had interference on and changed to (212 m). Finally, Radio Mi Amigo moved to on 1 December. Due to generator trouble, the two services could no longer be broadcast simultaneously and Radio Caroline again broadcast at night with both stations using the 50 kW transmitter and Radio Caroline began to receive more mail from the continent. At times, a 10 kW transmitter was used to save fuel and relieve the generators. The 10 kW transmitters could run on the Henschel generator beside the two main MAN units and also a Cummins unit on the aft deck behind the wheelhouse. In late 1977, Radio Caroline began sponsored evangelical programmes, and music programmes began at 9pm On 20 October 1978, technical and financial problems put the Mi Amigo off the air. Unhappy at the loss of advertising, Radio Mi Amigo terminated its contract with Caroline in November 1978 and broadcast from its own ship, the later that year, but this was short-lived. Broadcasting was in Dutch and English by day and in English at night, although for the first few months broadcasting finished at 10pm. On 19 January 1979, the ageing ship took in water and a lifeboat was called to rescue the crew members. Radio Caroline returned to the air on 15 April 1979. The first record played was "Fool (If You Think It's Over)", by Chris Rea, dedicated to the British Home Office. During this period each night transmission of Radio Caroline started with "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" by the progressive rock band Klaatu, issued in 1976 on their album 3:47 EST. Mi Amigo sinks Just after midnight GMT on 20 March 1980, the foundered in a storm after losing its anchor and drifting. It began taking in water and the crew was rescued by lifeboat. The crew of the Sheerness lifeboat Helen Turnbull were commended for the rescue of broadcasters Tom Anderson, Stevie Gordon, Nick Richards and Hans Verlaan from Mi Amigo while it was sinking in the Black Deep near Long Sand Bank. Having to manoeuvre the lifeboat alongside the stricken vessel 13 times in high seas and a north-easterly gale earned Coxswain Charles Bowry an RNLI Silver Medal. Each of his crew was awarded The Thanks of the Institution on vellum. The Mi Amigos mast remained erect for six years. ==1983–1991: MV Ross Revenge==

Radio Caroline restarted in August 1983 from a new radio ship, the , an ex-North Sea factory fishing trawler used during the Anglo-Icelandic Cod War by Ross Fisheries. It had an antenna system radiating from a high mast, the tallest on any ship in the world. It left Spain with an incomplete studio, to avoid legal entanglements. Radio Caroline began to broadcast from the ship on 19 August 1983, with unwanted mechanical sounds on speech. The station was opened by DJ Tom Anderson, who had said "goodbye" from the sinking Mi Amigo in 1980. The Ross Revenge was larger than Mi Amigo and with more elaborate transmitting equipment: in 1983, two 5 kW RCA transmitters and a RCA 50 kW unit. One 5 kW transmitter was initially not serviceable. When Radio Monique hired the main transmitter, spare parts were taken from a fourth transmitter to convert the 5 kW into a 10 kW unit, the RCA 5 and 10 kW transmitters having similar designs. The remaining 5 kW transmitter was later converted for short wave use. The Ross Revenge also featured powerful generators. O'Rahilly wanted Radio Caroline to become an oldies station. He was opposed by some DJs and crew who had worked on the Mi Amigo and the album format stayed along with presenters such as Andy Archer, Samantha Dubois, Grant Benson, Robin Ross and Simon Barrett. Officially, Radio Caroline was managed from offices in North America, with advertising from the US and Canada. In practice, day-to-day servicing was carried from France and the UK. From the anchorage in the Knock Deep the Mi Amigos mast could be seen on the horizon. Four studios were on board, enabling other broadcasting services. Radio Caroline tried several frequencies, among them , , (only from 25 March 1985 till 28 March 1985), (after Laser 558 closed) and later . European medium wave channels had been reallocated to multiples of nine. In the evenings on , some alternative music programmes were tried, including the reggae "Jamming 963", and in 1986 and early 1987, a progressive and indie rock programme called Caroline Overdrive. On 9 August 1985, an official vessel anchored from the Ross Revenge. The UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) put a permanent watch on movements around the Ross Revenge and the , Laser 558s ship. On 3 September 1985 at 00:00 hours the departed in a storm. Radio Monique From December 1984 the Ross Revenge broadcast Radio Monique, recorded and live Dutch-language programmes of a Dutch music radio production company using the 50 kW transmitter during daytime. They were pop and Europop aimed at the mainstream Dutch audience. Radio Monique was popular throughout Benelux. In the evenings, Radio Caroline transmitted Dutch and American religious evangelist broadcasters such as Johan Maasbach and Roy Masters on medium wave, and later on short wave, under the name Viewpoint 963/819, or World Mission Radio (WMR) on short wave. In November 1985, the competing offshore station, Laser 558, closed after electrical problems and Caroline moved from to Laser's frequency, with a Top 40 music format similar to Laser's under the name Caroline 558. When Laser returned as Laser Hot Hits, it used Caroline's former and inferior frequency of . Mast collapse The Territorial Sea Act 1987 extended the UK maritime limit from to . To remain in international waters, the ship moved to a new, less-sheltered anchorage. Initially this was a minor inconvenience as the mast was thought sturdy enough. However in October 1987, a massive storm hit southern England, causing deaths and severe damage. MV Ross Revenge weathered the storm in the North Sea. The following day, Caroline was one of few stations in the South East still broadcasting. However, the storm had weakened the mast, which collapsed in another storm later. Caroline returned to the air using a makeshift aerial with a less powerful signal. This was replaced by a twin-mast T-antenna. For several months only one transmitter could be used, leading to the loss of the income-generating Radio Monique, although a substitute Dutch daytime service, Radio 558 (later Radio 819), was eventually established. 1989 Anglo-Dutch raid During mid-August 1989, authorities in several European countries carried out coordinated raids on houses, recording studios and offices believed to be used by Caroline. On 18 August, a British government chartered ship pulled up alongside the Ross Revenge and asked to board to "discuss the future" of the Ross Revenge and the stations operating from it. This request, and one to stop transmissions on (Radio 819), was refused. A request to stop broadcasting on short wave (World Mission Radio) which interfered with the emergency frequency . was complied with, and then from 59:00. After several hours the government ship returned to port. On 19 August 1989, James Murphy, an investigator for the UK Office of the Official Solicitor, acting for the Department of Trade and Industry, joined colleagues and counterparts from the Netherlands Radio Regulatory Authority to execute an armed raid on the Ross Revenge in which equipment was damaged or confiscated. Part of the raid was broadcast live before officials disabled the transmitters. Dutch nationals were arrested and returned to the Netherlands, together with most of the broadcasting equipment. Non-Dutch staff were given the option of staying on the ship or returning to the Netherlands, and most chose to stay on board. Caroline claimed boarding the ship and removal or destruction of equipment was piracy. The Dutch claimed the ship's Panamanian registration had lapsed in 1987, was not under legal protection from any country and that its transmissions breached international regulations which since 1982 had prohibited broadcasting from outside national territories. Several years later some of the seized items were returned to the station. In 1990 the UK government amended the 1967 anti-offshore law to allow the boarding and silencing of stations in international waters if their signals could be received in the UK, even if their vessels were foreign-registered and operated. Lord Annan, author of the 1977 Report of the Committee on the Future of Broadcasting, spoke in defence of Radio Caroline in the House of Lords at report stage on the Broadcasting Act 1990, saying "Why break a butterfly upon the wheel?" In a 1995 article for the pressure group Charter88, Steve McGann commented: "Whether Caroline was right to maintain her defiance for so many years is irrelevant. Her story illustrates how uniquely dangerous government regards an independent voice transmitted over unrestricted airwaves and to what ends it will go to silence it." This legislation remains in force. 1990–1991: After the raid On 1 October 1989, Radio Caroline resumed broadcasting from the Ross Revenge using makeshift equipment and low power, to retain the frequency. Engineer Peter Chicago had hidden transmitter parts during the raid and retuned one 5 kW transmitter, previously used on short-wave, to . Over the following months, Caroline's signal quality improved as transmitting valves were donated and programming returned to normal. In June 1990, Spectrum Radio, a new multi-ethnic community radio station in London, was officially allocated . Caroline caused more interference to Spectrum than vice versa. Caroline broadcast regular apologies to Spectrum listeners but refused to vacate the channel. Spectrum threatened to sue the Radio Authority, which then allowed Spectrum to temporarily broadcast on alongside . Eventually, Caroline left and moved to . On 5 November 1990, lack of fuel and supplies forced the station to stop transmitting. The final song was "Pilot of the Airwaves" by Charlie Dore. Although most broadcasting staff left at that time, some remained for a year as caretakers while funding and equipment were sought. The station tried to obtain a licence from a developing country, hoping it might offer protection from the new provisions in the Broadcasting Act 1990 which came into force on 31 December that year. In November 1991, the ship lost its anchor in a storm and drifted onto the Goodwin Sands in the Channel. The crew (Christian Cobley, Wendy Shepherd, Steve Conway, Stuart Dobson, Neil Gates, and Ricky Jones) was rescued by an Royal Air Force helicopter. The Ross Revenge was salvaged after several attempts and brought into harbour in Dover, ending 27 years of Radio Caroline's unlicensed offshore career. ==Since 1991: Licensed Support Group era==

Since 1991, the Ross Revenge has been maintained by enthusiasts called the Radio Caroline Support Group, originally the Ross Revenge Support Group. From 2007, the ship was docked at Tilbury, where a volunteer crew repaired and maintained it. The ship has working radio studios, from which both Caroline and BBC Essex have broadcast. On 31 July 2014 the ship was moved to the Blackwater Estuary in Essex. Former offshore broadcasters who continue on the station are: Roger Mathews, Nigel Harris, Martin Fisher, Marc Jacobs, Johnny Lewis, Doug Wood, Dave Foster, Cliff Osbourne, Chris Pearson, Bob Lawrence, Jeremy Chartham and Ad Roberts. Evangelical programmes and sponsored specialist music are broadcast. During Easter 2008, the station broadcast live for three days from the Ross Revenge, featuring presenters who had worked on the Mi Amigo in the late 1970s: Roger Mathews, Mike Stevens, Bob Lawrence, Brian Martin, Martin Fisher, Cliff Osbourne, Jeremy Chartham, Marc Jacobs, Ad Roberts, Dick Verheul and Kees Borrell. Restricted service licences Radio Caroline was off the air for most of the 1990s, except for occasional low-power broadcasts of one month. Some of these 28-day Restricted Service Licence (RSL) broadcasts took place from the Ross Revenge during the 1990s, with the ship anchored in Dover after her recovery from the Goodwin Sands in 1992, and then off Clacton, in London's Canary Wharf, Southend Pier and off the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. Following the Goodwins Sands grounding the station carried out two RSL broadcasts in 1992 from the port of Dover. The first commemorating its 28th Anniversary, the second targeted the Medway towns. Caroline DJ Tony Kirk held these first ever licences on behalf of the station. Tony also secured the ‘Radio Caroline’ name through the UK Patent Office against strong opposition. At one minute past midnight on 1 October 2001, Caroline returned on from the LV (Light Vessel) 18 in Harwich harbour. This two-day broadcast featured Phil Mitchell, Paul Dennis, Colin Lamb, John Patrick, Barry James, Steve Cisco and Clive Boutell. The LV 18 was later used by the BBC for Pirate BBC Essex broadcasts. Another RSL broadcast ran from 7 August until 3 September 2004, with the ship moored at the cruise liner terminal jetty at Tilbury in Essex. It commemorated the 40th anniversary of Radio Caroline and promoted the station's legal internet and satellite programmes. The AM frequency was and programmes were sent through ISDN landline to Maidstone and via the internet and broadcast on satellite. The supermarket chain Asda and English Heritage were among the backers. The station has subsequently broadcast on AM from the Ross Revenge during some bank holiday weekends, beginning on 28–31 August 2009 and also within a few days of the 50th anniversary of the ship's first voyage. Satellite and Internet broadcasting Using land-based studios leased in Kent in the late 1990s, the station began broadcasting via satellites Astra 19.2°E and Eutelsat 28A, covering western Europe. These analogue transmissions ended and a full digital service from Astra 28.2°E started in February 2003. In 2002, Caroline began on WorldSpace satellite radio, continuing until Worldspace went bankrupt and re-organised its operations in 2008. On 12 June 2006, the station bought an EPG slot on Sky channel 0199. This ended on 1 July 2011 after a failure to renegotiate costs with Sky and deciding not to pursue a Freesat EPG slot. Surveys in 2008 and 2010 showed a small percentage listened via Sky, and that satellite listening had dropped by 9% since 2008, while online listening had increased by around 40%. Radio Caroline continued on satellite but required manual tuning. During 2013, a survey showed a continued move from satellite reception and growth in internet listening. Following negotiations with the service provider, satellite transmissions ended at midnight on 30 September 2013. Programmes were still heard on satellite until the provider replaced the signal with a 1 kHz tone on the morning of 1 October 2013. Internet streaming of Radio Caroline programmes continued. The Radio Caroline "album" station has been streamed on the internet for many years, accessible via the station's website, with more streams on various devices. and Android devices are also available. In 2011, Radio Caroline joined Radioplayer UK, an internet service formed by the BBC, Global Radio and the Guardian Media Group that supplies a worldwide live feed of UK radio stations. On 4 May 2015, Radio Caroline started a 24-hour "Flashback" webstream carrying "oldies" music and jingles. Via Manx Radio Since September 2015, Radio Caroline has been broadcasting 'live' for one weekend each month as "Radio Caroline North" (with original DJs and a mixed 1960s, 1970s and 1980s music content and jingles) from its former home the MV Ross Revenge on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, via Manx Radio's 20 kW transmitter on the Isle of Man. Radio Caroline at 50 years (1964–2014) From 31 March to 27 April 2014, a Caroline North tribute station, based on the Planet Lightship berthed in the Albert Dock complex on Liverpool's waterfront, broadcast locally on 87.7FM and on the internet. Programmes were presented by current and former DJs from the BBC, ILR, Ireland, Luxembourg, offshore and land-based pirate stations, and other international and freelance backgrounds, including Tony Prince and Emperor Rosko. Original 1960s Caroline North jingles were interspersed with generic Radio Caroline ones. Chris Pearson pictured with the original ship's bell from the MV Fredericia (MV Caroline) displayed as part of the station's 60th anniversary lecture, August 2024. Radio Caroline at 60 years (1964–2024) A special weekend was organised on the Isle of Man to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the station which was held during August 2024. The events centred around Ramsey with several former (and present) Caroline disc jockeys in attendance. In addition, Radio Caroline presenter Chris Pearson made the journey to the pirate radio ship's former anchorage on the Bahama Bank, where he recorded a short video, declaring it was the first time that a transmission had been made from that spot since the cessation of Radio Caroline North broadcasts in 1968. The commemorations included a two-part talk concerning the origins of Radio Caroline and the development of off-shore radio broadcasts which was held at Ramsey's Mitre Hotel, hosted by Chris Pearson, , 2018 On 22 May 2017, Ofcom awarded the station a community licence to broadcast to Suffolk and north Essex on 648 kHz with a power of 1 kW. On 11 November 2017, test transmissions commenced from an omni-directional mast (formerly used by the BBC World Service) at Orford Ness, Suffolk. On 9 September 2017 a stone was unveiled in Felixstowe to commemorate Radio Caroline. Commercial programming commenced at noon on 22 December 2017, with a signal that could be heard as far afield as Southampton, Birmingham, Glasgow and in large parts of The Netherlands and Belgium. On 3 August 2021, Ofcom announced that it had granted a power increase to combat human-made noise and interference, and to extend the coverage area to include Suffolk, northern parts of Essex, and parts of Kent and East Sussex. On 24 November 2021 a new transmitter was installed with an effective radiated power of 4 kW. In March 2023 a solar PV array was installed at the Orford Ness transmitter site, providing all of the power required for the transmitter in sunny conditions. In April 2023 an application was submitted to Ofcom to increase the effective radiated power to 16 kW but this has apparently been rejected at present. Death of founder Radio Caroline's founder, Ronan O'Rahilly, was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013; his death aged 79 on 20 April 2020 was announced by Radio Caroline. ==Caroline Community Radio / Caroline Coastal==

In October 2020, a new station using the Caroline name and logo launched in Burnham-on-Crouch, broadcasting to the Maldon District of Essex on FM. The station, owned by St Peters Studio and Community Radio Limited, has not only licensed the name from Radio Caroline, but has also got technical support and programming from the station, who have their own community radio licences in the south, south east and in East Anglia on 648AM (with Radio Caroline also found on DAB in a number of British cities, plus DAB+ in Cambridge). Caroline Community Radio was relaunched as Caroline Coastal on 20 April 2024 with an additional FM frequency of 104.7 MHz. ==International operations==

The Netherlands In January 2002, a Dutch Caroline fan called Sietse Brouwer launched a Netherlands-based Dutch Radio Caroline in Harlingen, broadcasting on the northern Netherlands cable networks and largely independent of UK Caroline. Brouwer intended to obtain an AM frequency from the Netherlands authorities in 2003 when its medium wave frequencies were reallocated. However, Dutch Caroline failed to secure a high power AM frequency and the cable network service was discontinued because of lack of funds. The Dutch Radio Caroline then changed its name to Radio Waddenzee (nl) for daytime Dutch and German language, and Radio Seagull for nighttime English language broadcasts, and now broadcasts on every day and on the internet, presenting a progressive rock format. Since November 2009 Radio Seagull can be heard periodically on 558 kHz in London. Spain In Spain, a station broadcast during the summer 2009 on in the Costa Blanca from studios in Benidorm. Ireland Radio Caroline used to broadcast in the Republic of Ireland on channel 927 on the UPC Ireland cable service in the main cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Cappoquin, and the County Waterford towns of Lismore and Tallow. New Zealand In Timaru, an NZBC station, originally 3XC, later 3ZC, broadcast as Radio Caroline until 1995. The name was taken from Caroline Bay, a popular recreation area nearby. In Palmerston, Radio Caroline International, based in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, acquired an AM commercial broadcasting licence in 2008, and was seeking wavelengths in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Daytime programming was leased to a community radio service called Puketapu Radio on 756 kHz. ==See also==