Radio Caroline - Radio Caroline Flashback

An eclectic mix of laid back tracks across time and genres

A repeat of the Top 15 Show first heard yesterday morning at 9am.

A selection of music from the past five decades

Ellie has always enjoyed music and going out to the Ross Revenge regularly for the past 8 years. She especially loved to sit and watch the DJs on air - and was even known to make YouTube skits with the DJs creating Radio Ellie. Ellie has been on stage since the age of 4, performing in a variety of amateur dramatic shows and dancing with a local dance school. She has a passion for musical theatre and will continue performing onstage and in studios, while also learning the ways of the airwaves!

Johnny Lewis worked on Caroline in the 1970s as both broadcaster and engineer until the Mi Amigo sank in 1980. He later worked for The Voice Of Peace and Laser 558 before rejoining Caroline on the Ross Revenge. He has also worked for a clutch of Irish stations as well as local commercial radio in the UK – the latest being Academy FM in East Kent. Johnny's other interests including golf, cooking, walking and fund raising for the RNLI. He also gives after dinner speeches on offshore radio, loves to listen to soft rock and soul and says his fantasy date would be Sandra Bullock who he would lover to cook a romantic dinner for, candles the works (the wife won't be happy with that!!) Johnny is also an expert on beer, and promised this year to bring back a brew from the Ross Revenge he made in the 80's... GBH or should we call it "Old Blackwater".

A Caroline listener's music selection 

Born in Croydon, South London, Pat was smitten by the radio bug 14 years later whereby he was forced to launch his own station via a pair of walkie-talkies. His parents, sisters and the cat may have been his only listeners, but it was a start. A while later he moved onto landbased pirate radio, firstly with the legendary Radio Jackie, then Radio Kaleidoscope which gained a reputation of being one of the most regular and professional pirates in London. After Kaleidoscope closed in 1976 some of its staff set up a radio service at The London Hospital, Whitechapel and Pat spent many years there as presenter, engineer and later programme director. In 1996 he spent some time finding out about life outside radio, however the pull of radio was too much, and after 5 years in the wilderness he returned to radio as part of the Radio Caroline team. Pat can currently be heard on Monday, Thursday and Sundays mornings 10am - 2pm. Pat has also presented for the present day Radio Jackie in South West London, and a number of Restricted Service Licence stations and is currently working as a web and app developer.

Radio Caroline has been in my soul ever since the heady days of the 1960s. Its rich history is a blend of adventure and drama but most of all, over the years it has been about the music.I got involved with the Station, behind the scenes, many years ago but was only able to become a presenter after retiring from the 9 to 5 routine and if gives me a thrill every time that I sit down to do a show.Looking back over the past six decades, the width and depth of popular music styles and simply the amount of choice is immense. That is what makes choosing the music that I play both challenging and great fun. Caroline is known as a rock music station but after all these years, the term 'rock' means different things to different people. So, I try to include 'nuggets' that could be long forgotten tracks by established UK or US artists, through more familiar tracks of many different styles and current material from the 'Caroline Countdown of Album Sounds'. My personal music tastes are eclectic so, musically, the programme can include anything so long as it is bright, up tempo and ranges from classic rock, through psyche and punk to soul, ska and Motown.  If it rocks, I'll play it. 

What hasn't Rob done .... from Record Shop Manager and Record Company Sales Rep to Car Windscreen Salesman.....from Business Analyst to Driving Instructor! Right from early years at home in Croydon when he'd tune his Dad's Grundig Yachtboy to Radio Caroline and BigL and incurr his Dad's wrath every morning when he'd have to re-tune to the Light Programme, Rob has had a love affair with music and radio. After leaving (being asked to leave!) University in the early 70s and starting work for HMV Records in Manchester, Rob's collection of vinyl LP's has just grown , although now the majority have been transferred to the PC and augmented with CDs and downloads. Rob's first outings into radio were with a friend, who like Rob was also a Licensed Radio Amateur, and who had the technical knowhow to build an FM tramsmitter. From the attic of a house in deepest, darkest Suffolk, the short lived Colne Valley Radio was born! Whilst working for Chrysalis Records in 1980, Rob was listening to the test transmissions of BBC's local station Radio Norfolk, when he heard a familiar voice, old school friend Rob Bonnett. He suggested that Rob produce a Gig Guide and Record Review program....legal radio at last! After a break of nearly 35 years and various jobs in the IT industry and working as a live sound engineer for a Pink Floyd tribute band, Rob was asked by a colleague to take up the role of Programme Controller for his local village internet based community station, and regularly produces a weekly 2 hour syndicated show Polished Rock, which is broadcast by a number of stations.

19-year-old Josh has been on the radio for over five years, and he prides himself in having a music taste different to most people his age. Aged 13, Josh started his broadcasting career on the Drive Time show at his local community station, which quickly brought in experience. This experience saw Josh become a part of the team at Caroline Community Radio (now Caroline Coastal FM) as it first began broadcasting to the Maldon District and the Essex Coast. After several years of hard work here, Josh was promoted to Assistant Station Manager in 2023 and continues to run the station, organise events and scout new talent. In February 2022, Radio Caroline invited Josh onto the Ross Revenge for the monthly Radio Caroline North weekend - which resulted in him becoming the youngest ever DJ for the station. This became permanent as Josh took over the Countdown of Album Sounds, and now Josh is a regular on the Caroline North weekends as well as being heard on Thursday evenings. Josh won Gold at the 2023 Community Radio Awards in the 'Young Person of the Year' category for his work at Caroline Coastal FM. He was presented with the award at the ceremony in Newcastle, and was victorious amongst DJ's under the age of 25 from across the UK. Josh grew up listening to Radio Caroline and so enjoys every moment of his time hosting his shows, touring visitors around Ross Revenge and listening to stories about the offshore days from DJs he grew up listening to!

I played around with mobile disco’s in the 70's was then asked to join my local Hospital Radio Station in Kings Lynn where I learnt the basics of radio. In the early 90's I joined a new station in Littleport Cambs called X-Cel FM, did a few R.S.L’s then we got a full time local radio licence. This was a great station where I did the Friday Rock show for a few years until the station was taken over by a large Radio group. While I was there I became friends with Barry James who invited me to accompany him down to the Radio Caroline studios which at the time where in Maidstone. I did an on air audition for the Boss and was offered a regular show at weekends. As I was a self employed Carpenter and Decorator I was soon put to use on the restoration crew working on the Ross Revenge, something I still do as and when I am available. I returned to doing regular programmes on Caroline a couple of years ago when I became a pensioner, which meant I had more time to devote to radio. I built a studio at home and through the miracle of modern technology, I am able to broadcast live on Radio Caroline. My regular time slot is at Midnight Fridays, I can also be heard the last Friday of the month from 10 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon, as well as occasionally covering for other presenters when they are not available. Most weekends in the summer I can been found on the road somewhere on my Harley Davidson.