Radio Caroline - Radio Caroline Flashback

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!

Tony started out as a disc jockey on the London club circuit. His first job in commercial radio was at Beacon Radio in the Midlands, broadcasting from Wolverhampton to the West Midlands and Shropshire. His 'Prince of Darkness' overnights became cult listening! He moved to early evenings and then to Afternoon Drive. In the 1980's, Tony interviewed virtually every major music artist from both sides of the Atlantic. His love of US Top 40 radio led to stints across 'the Pond' on WTIC in Hartford, Connecticut, WSPK New York and Q106 in San Diego. After Beacon, he went to BRMB, followed by Buzz FM in Birmingham and MFM in Cheshire. He was then chosen to launch and run a new station - Sunshine 855 - based in Shropshire. Eventually, the lure of California sunshine took him back across the Atlantic to Los Angeles. After a stint on radio station KBBY, he ended up doing what everyone does when they come to LA – working in Hollywood! He founded his own entertainment news agency and since 1996, he's run a successful company supplying celebrity interviews and movie coverage to major TV, Radio and New Media outlets around the world. He can now add virtually every major Hollywood star to his list of interviewees! When the chance came to do a Breakfast Show from Los Angeles for Radio Caroline, Tony didn't hesitate and he looks forward to sharing his tales from the Hollywood Hills with Caroline listeners every weekday morning.

A Caroline listener's music selection 

Barry first found music when he borrowed his sisters record collection when he was about eight and was hooked. When Caroline started it was a new begining, and listened to all the stations, but Caroline was his favourite by far. Later he became a singer in band, then started doing discos when he was 18. He joined Caroline in 1977, touring the country with the Caroline Roadshow for 10 years, having great fun. Barry helped with tender trips and worked on the Ross Revenge in '84 and '85. He has done many RSL's with the station, and is very proud to be part of THE LEGEND. Barry has worked at Hastings Rock, XLfm in Ely, and Tulip Radio in Spalding. Barry is married to a very understanding wife, Bud, has 3 children and 5 lovely grandchildren. He says he will work for Caroline for as long as they want him – or can put up with him! LA.

Nigel Harris (as Stuart Russell) was part of the late seventies team on the Mi Amigo working also on the Ross Revenge in the eighties and nineties. He stayed with Caroline for many years becoming the very last programme controller when the ship was still at sea. A trip to Israel and the Voice of Peace followed and then with offshore radio all but over, Nigel went to Invicta and now works at KMFM in Kent. He has been involved with Caroline since being in his teens and still continues to present Caroline programmes from Maidstone having been there since the start of satellite programmes. When not on the radio Nigel enjoys his other passion of playing the church organ and plays at his local church in Sittingbourne. He also played several times in Rochester Cathedral and once left the Ross Revenge when she was anchored on the Medway and went straight to Evensong in the Cathedral. Ambitions include a dive on Titanic and a ride in a hot air balloon but a fear of enclosed spaces and heights may just prevent them happening. Often asked which ship was his favourite, the answer is the Mi Amigo because of its history and homely feel but then the Ross Revenge is only a smidgen behind and he loves them both. Nigel can be heard on Caroline on Friday afternoons and other times when needed.

One of the very few who has worked for Radio Caroline in every decade from the 1970's onwards. Martin Fisher, from the birthplace of radio, Chelmsford, developed an interest in music and radio from an early age, collecting records and listening to the offshore stations. He started his working career at the Marconi Co. learning much about radio and electronics. He was therefore ideally placed when Radio Caroline were looking for another transmitter engineer in 1976. He still remembers returning home after a 'secret' London interview, unable to believe his luck at being offered the chance to work for Radio Caroline not only as a transmitter engineer, but also a DJ – a dream job indeed! Martin finally arrived on board the Mi Amigo early in January 1977 and for nearly three enjoyable years not only looked after the transmitters and technical stuff, but was also let loose on air to play his favourite music. Such jobs are rare and unable to find a similar position on land; Martin fell back on his engineering background, and worked for many years in broadcast engineering. But still found time to visit the Ross Revenge in the mid 1980s, appearing briefly as the 'Night Owl'. The late 1990s saw Radio Caroline with a new satellite service and Martin was invited to return. Radio Caroline now on multiple broadcast platforms and Martin Fisher is pleased to still be playing great music on "Europe's First Album Station" – Radio Caroline!

Record label exec, music industry consultant and music aficionado Adrian Skirrow has spent most of his career working for and running multi-national music labels, as well as his own leading independent label and concert promotions business and counts himself as privileged to have have been able to work closely with some of the biggest names in the business. Originally from Yorkshire, Adrian spent his youth in South Africa and many year's as a club DJ playing building up a loyal following and playing sell out club nights at some of the iconic alternative rock venues in Johannesburg, which were also frequented by UK ex-pat's who brought in the latest new wave and goth sounds that found their way on to the dance floors. The music broken on the dance floor back then influences Adrian's radio show's to this day, and his passion for introducing new music outside of the mainstream. Adrian joined Radio Caroline in January 2020 to host a weekly late night show prior to his current weekly time slot on Friday's between 7-9pm.

Already in his early teens Rob van Dijk wanted to be a DJ or radio host. At the end of the seventies he decided to move to The Hague, to join several land-based pirates and learn 'on the job'. A few years later he worked for several local stations and in 1988 – the first year commercial radio was allowed in the Netherlands – he started as a news-reader – and editor at Radio 10. Later he became a radio presenter by Radio West and RTV Rijnmond, both in the province Zuid-Holland. Between 2001 and 2012 Rob was audible as reporter and news anchor at the Dutch World Service Radio Netherlands. Since June 2016 Rob presents and composes a daily show from his own studio in his living room for five Dutch internet stations, and from October 2022 he’s making his 'contributions' on Friday evenings from 9 - 12 on Radio Caroline as well. Since January 2023 he also presents Caroline's Countdown of Album Sounds, the album top 40 on Sunday evenings from 10 - 01.Rob is a big fan from 'Europe’s first album station'since it’s comeback from the Mi Amigo in 1972 and experiences his joining of the Radio Caroline-family as a great and honourable opportunity.