Offshore radio

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 45. Chapters: Radio Caroline, Radio North Sea International, MV Mi Amigo, Swinging Radio England, Radio 270, Wonderful Radio London, Radio Newyork International, Laser 558, Radio Veronica, Voice of Peace, Radio Atlantis, Marine, &c., Broadcasting Act 1967, Radio City, Radio Atlanta, Radio Nord, Capital Radio, Radio Mercur, Radio Delmare, Radio Scotland, Radio Monique, REM Island, Radio 390, Commercial Neutral Broadcasting Company. Excerpt: Radio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. Unlicensed by any government for the majority of its early life, it was considered a pirate radio station. Radio Caroline began test broadcasts on Friday, 27 March 1964, commencing full-time transmissions at noon on 29 March - Easter Sunday. It broadcast from a former Danish ferry, the Fredericia, re-named MV Caroline and anchored three miles (5 km) off the coast of Felixstowe, Suffolk, England, just outside British territorial waters. In April 1964, Radio Atlanta began broadcasting from the MV Mi Amigo, a former coaster anchored off Harwich, Essex. Both stations operated independently for several months but underwent a merger of the companies' sales operations. The Caroline moved to an anchorage off Ramsey, Isle of Man and broadcast as Radio Caroline North while the MV Mi Amigo remained off the coast of Essex broadcasting as Radio Caroline South. The British government considered both operations as pirate radio stations. Both ships remained under independent ownership until December 1965 when the owners of Radio Caroline North bought Radio Caroline South. In 1966 the British Postmaster General, Anthony Wedgwood Benn, introduced a Bill to Parliament that outlawed unlicenced offshore broadcasting. This Bill became the Marine Offences Act and was enacted on 14 August 1967. The two Radio Caroline ships continued to broadcast with operations controlled from the Netherlands. In March 1968, both ships were towed to the Netherlands, because of unpaid bills, by the Wijsmuller tug company. In 1970, Radio Caroline broadcast very briefly from the radio ship Mebo II, home of offshore station Radio North Sea International, during the British general election campaign. Broadcasts from the ship were subject to jamming by the British government. The Mi Amigo was auctio