pirate radio

Description

Caroline - Fortunes (Radio Caroline Theme Song). A fairly typical British Invasion quintet inspired by the bouncy, harmony-driven sound of Merseybeat, the Fortunes are probably best-known in the U.S. for their oldies-radio staple "You've Got Your Troubles." Formed in Birmingham, England, in 1963 as the Cliftones, the group was originally a vocal trio consisting of Rod Allen (bass, lead vocals), Glen Dale (guitar, vocals), and Barry Pritchard (guitar, vocals) (born April 3, 1944). However, with the explosion of the Beatles and the Merseybeat sound, the group quickly rethought its direction, adding keyboardist David Carr and drummer Andy Brown, and changing their name to the Fortunes (though their first single, "Summertime, Summertime," was oddly credited to both groups). The group found its niche crafting melancholy, orchestrated ballads similar to Peter & Gordon, the Moody Blues, or the Zombies (and in fact toured with the former two). Their second single for Decca, "Caroline," was adopted as theme music by the famed U.K. pirate station Radio Caroline upon its release in early 1964, yet never charted despite all the heavy airplay. Two more non-charting singles followed, but the group hit its stride in 1965 with "You've Got Your Troubles," which hit the U.S. Top Ten and went all the way to number two in the U.K. Their self-titled debut album was released that year, and the follow-up single "Here It Comes Again" duplicated its predecessor's success in Britain, though not in the States. Radio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly, to circumvent the tight hold the record companies had on the broadcast of popular music in the UK. It originally commenced transmissions as an offshore radio station broadcasting from a ship anchored in international waters off the coast of South East England. Originally unlicensed by any government, for the majority of its early life, it was labelled as a pirate radio station. Radio Caroline first began test broadcasts on Friday, 27 March 1964, commencing full time transmissions at 12 noon 2 days later, Easter Sunday, from a former Danish passenger ferry, the M.V. Fredericia, now renamed "Caroline". The ship was anchored 3 Miles off the coast of Felixstowe, Suffolk, England just outside British territorial waters. A month later, a second organisation anchored the M.V. Mi Amigo, a former coaster, converted to a broadcasting vessel, and began broadcasting as Radio Atlanta from a position off Harwich, Essex, England. Both stations continued to operate completely independently for several months, but by July, following a merger of their respective sales operations, they had all but united. The M.V. Caroline then moved to an anchorage off the coast of the Isle of Man and broadcast as Radio Caroline North while the M.V. Mi Amigo remained off the coast of Essex broadcasting as Radio Caroline South. The British government classified both operations as pirate radio stations, 'though at that time, both were legal.