THE GANGPLANK - welcome aboard the Radio Waves web site
THE BRIDGE - a guide to the pages on this web site
THE MEMORIES - the swinging sixties
THE RADIO STATIONS - a summary of the offshore atations that were audible in the UK
THE SHIPS - a summary of the offshore radio ships broadcasting to the UK
SOUNDS OF THE SEA - Offshore radio jingles and songs
THE CHART ROOM - album and singles charts
TODAY'S RADIO OFFERINGS - Bureaucrasy and boredom
ROCK THE BOAT - music no longer heard on the radio
ALBUMS - 1990's rock music deserving airplay
THE ROSS REVENGE TODAY - a pictorial tour of the famous Radio Caroline ship
THE LEGEND LIVES ON - the spirit is still alive
THE CAPTAIN'S LOG - sign the log and say hello
THE RADIO LINK - the best radio and music web sites
Admire the web site awards!
Click here to email Jolly Roger

RADIO WAVES
The story of the rise and fall of offshore radio and how it affected the music industry.

THE LEGEND LIVES ON

The spirit of offshore radio is very much alive, the legend definitely lives on. Here's what's happening - on and off land.

On air

  • 711/1143 MW & VHF (Israel) Arutz 7 - now "legalised" and unlikely to remain at sea much longer. ( I wrote that some time ago, but she is still there!)
  • The radio ship King David ceased broadcasting off the Israeli coast around June 2000 when the ship broke adrift and beached itself at Tel Baruch. On 4th September it was towed out to sea and sunk.
  • 828 MW (Europe) Arrow Classic Rock, broadcasting offshore-era rock music from a studio in Den Haag via a transmitter in a portakabin in a potato field (so I'm told!) churning out 20kW by day and 5kW by night.
  • 1215 (& nearby) MW & VHF (UK) Virgin if you are really desperate!
  • A powerful long-range service broadcast named MusicMann 279 is scheduled to commence broadcasts from the Isle of Man on 279 LW in late 2002. After several delays and much wrangling, the plans are now for the aerial and transmitters to be located on an offshore platform - to be named Caroline Island.
  • Radio Caroline is now broadcasting a 24-hour service, which can be listened to via the Internet, satellite television (audio only, of course) and also through portable satellite radio. Please see their web site for tuning details and programme schedules..
    The Ross Revenge hasn't participated in any one-month local licenced broadcasts lately, but repairs to the ship continue. The ship is open for visits on selected dates.
  • The former Laser 558 ship (the MV Communicator) survives, moored in Almerehaven (at the western edge of Flevoland, north-east of Amsterdam in Holland) and was used as a relay station for Q Radio. The future of the ship is now uncertain. Although still carrying the name Communicator the ship has apparently been re-registered as Albatross.

On the horizon

  • A new station originally to be named Radio Caroline commenced broadcasts from Holland during 2000 on 189 Metres (1584 khz). The format is "music that makes you move" and includes "the best of the old as well as the new". The station,a brainchild of a former Caroline DJ and engineer, has no connections with the UK Caroline organisation and after some wrangling decided to call itself "The Bells". Towards the end of the year, the station adopted another offshore name - Radio Paradijs. Good reception in the UK is unlikely.
  • Radio Caroline can also be heard through the Internet although the output appears to be mostly pre-recorded. Unfortunately, there are many reports of faulty files causing early termination, at which point all that can be done is to listen to the same few minutes again.

In print

Up to date news on offshore and other radio can be found in Radio Review. Details and subscriptions from:

Radio Review PO Box 46 Romford Essex RM7 8AY

An excellent quarterly illustrated magazine entitled Offshore Echo's is available from:

PO Box 1514, London, W7 2LL