Radio Caroline started broadcasting 60 years ago on 28th March 1964. The station was founded in by Ronan O’Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies’ control of popular music broadcasting in the UK and the BBC’s radio broadcasting monopoly. Unlicensed by any government for most of it’s early life, it was a pirate radio station that never became illegal as such due to operating outside any national jurisdiction, although after the ‘Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967’ it became illegal for a British subject to be associated with it.
The Radio Caroline name was used to broadcast from international waters using five different ships with three different owners spanning 1964 to 1990 and via satellite from 1998 to 2013. Since August 2000, Radio Caroline has also broadcast 24 hours a day via online and by the occasional restricted service licence (RSL). Currently the station broadcasts on 648 AM and DAB Digital Radio in certain areas of the UK (these services are part of the Ofcom small-scale DAB+ trials). Caroline can be heard on DAB+ in Aldershot, Birmingham, Cambridge, Brighton, Glasgow, Norwich, London, Portsmouth, Poulton-Le-Fylde and Woking. Caroline can also be listened to online and via digital devices.
In May 2017, Ofcom awarded Radio Caroline a community licence to broadcast on 648 AM to Suffolk and North Essex (full-time broadcasting) via a previously used BBC World Service frequency and transmitter mast at Orford Ness started on 22nd December 2017.
Thee days, Caroline broadcasts music from the 1960s to contemporary with an emphasis on ‘Album-Oriented Rock’ (AOR) and New Music from ‘hand-picked albums‘. On 1st January 2016, a second station was launched called Caroline Flashback, playing pop music from the late 1950s to the early 1980s.
Enjoy a trip down memory lane below with some great mixes and demos of Caroline jingles produced by Jimmy McGriff & Madeline Bell, PAMS Productions and Alfasound, along with some other goodies.
**All audio is downloadable – enjoy**
DISCLAIMER: All audio featured on this website remains the IP of the respective companies and is protected under copyright.
NEW: Radio Caroline (1964) – Station Theme – Jimmy McGriff & Madeline Bell (Custom)
NEW: McGriff & Bell Mini Mix #1 – Radio Caroline (1964) (Custom)
NEW: Caroline 576 Jingles – Cassette (Side 1)
NEW: Caroline 576 Jingles – Cassette (Side 2)
NEW: Radio Caroline Adverts (Horizon Sales) – Cassette (Side 1)
NEW: Radio Caroline Adverts (Horizon Sales) – Cassette (Side 2)
NEW: Radio Caroline Jingle Megamix – Various Companies (14 Mins!!)
NEW: PAMS Mini Mix #26 – Radio Caroline (Series 27 / Rock Solid) (CPMG Vocals)
NEW: Radio Caroline – Demo – Alfasound
NEW: S2 Blue Mini Mix #7 – Caroline Community Radio ‘Essex Coast’ (2021) (Way Ahead)