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

Terry started in broadcasting in 1979 at a talking newspaper for the visually impaired, then he spent a few years at Dudley and District Hospital Broadcasting. He did a few shows on Beacon 303 and BRMB, including joint shows with Gordon Astley, Mike Baker and Roger Day, and some gigs with KKJ, and at the age of 18 was being considered for a full time role in Independent Local Radio but his dad said "Son, go and get a proper job". So in 1983 Terry moved to Coventry and became an apprentice at GEC. To make extra money he became a nightclub DJ, and for fun he was involved with 2 land-based FM pirate stations in Coventry: Segway Sound and City FM. Terry had always been obsessed with pirate radio, and in those early Coventry days he listened to Radio Caroline and Laser 558 from afar, dreaming of a day when he could fulfil his dream of presenting on Radio Caroline. He recalls sending a demo tape to Radio Caroline in the early 80s, and it was sent back with a rejection letter. And that was that. Until COVID came along. Like everyone else Terry was locked down and had more time on his hands. He started putting shows together, he published them on Mixcloud to great reviews, he got picked up by a UK based internet radio station and did 6 months of "Terry's Real Gold" live radio every weekend. He also became the presenter of the syndicated Retro Charts weekly countdown. Then at last, some 42 years after starting out in radio, he felt confident enough to approach Radio Caroline, and he was offered the weekday early breakfast slot, from 6am to 7am UK time. Each morning Terry warms up for Tony Paul, another Beacon 303 graduate from the early 80s. Terry's first show was in March 2021, and since then he has built up a loyal set of early riser listeners, along with people all over the world.

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 - see 'Top Fifteens' page for details.

Stephen is one of this country’s most experienced music broadcasters with more than 40 years’ worth of programmes for the BBC and commercial radio under his belt. Affectionately known as Foz, he was born and bred in Suffolk and has Radio Caroline to thank for his eclectic taste in music having been an avid listener to the likes of Andy Archer, Tony Allan, Johnny Jason and Simon Barrett during the 1970s. Foz is delighted to be broadcasting on the station that ignited his passion for albums. He has a huge CD and vinyl collection covering the history of popular music and is widely regarded as an expert on the subject.

Will Ridgeon began his radio career on his university radio station and has also been a DJ in the Sheffield area. Will's taste cover all genres and decades, and he particularly enjoys classic rock as well as 60s/70s music. Will is a new voice to Radio Caroline and we look forward to hearing a lot more from him in the future

Chris was with Caroline on the Ross in spring 1985. Prior to that, he'd been on Dart Radio in his hometown of Dartford, Kent, alongside future Caroline colleagues Dave Foster, Rob Ashard and Tony Christian. A spell on a cable station, Radio Thamesmead, in south London, lead to former Radio Caroline man Jason Wolfe (Chris Bowskill), handing Chris's demo tape onto the team onboard the Ross. Chris says he'll never forget clambering up the rope ladder to board the ship for the first time on that dark March night, "It was just mind-blowing to actually be setting foot onboard as one of the team". Finally getting to bed at around 5:30am, he was awoken by knocking on his cabin door to be told that he would be on-air in 15 minutes as someone had gone ill. "Thanks to Nick Richards for the ten minute crash course on using the Ross desk!". After leaving Caroline, Chris spent six months aboard the Peace Ship with the Voice of Peace 'from somewhere in the Mediterranean' before returning to instore radio with the newly launched Radio HMV in Oxford Street. Several years in commercial radio followed (Invicta Radio, Essex Radio, Ocean Sound, Power FM, Chiltern Radio, Horizon Radio, The Superstation and Key 103) before Chris joined the forces station BFBS. He travelled with them as a presenter and Station Manager in the Falkland Islands, Germany, Cyprus, Belize, Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Bosnia, Iraq and two three-month long tours of Afghanistan using the BFBS studios at Camp Bastion. Off-air highlights for Chris have included flying a Red Arrow Hawk jet from the back seat, ramp riding Chinook helicopters and Hercules aircraft, a Royal Navy trip to South Georgia, a back seat in a Tornado jet in the Falklands and being winched into a helicopter from the Belizean jungle. After 28 years travelling the world with BFBS, Chris left in April 2019 to take up a new role as the Managing Director of Manx Radio, the Isle of Man’s Public Service Broadcaster. He continues to broadcast with the station and is heavily involved with the Radio Caroline North link-ups. Around the same time, he also commissioned as an Officer with the Royal Air Force Reserves, serving with 7644 (PR) Sqn, based at RAF Halton.

Alec grew up in Essex, brought up on a radio diet of Caroline, early Radio One, Radio North Sea International and Veronica. A self confessed Vinyl Junkie, he started buying music way back in '66 with Manfred Mann's 'Pretty Flamingo' being the first one and soon progressed from there. Even today he can often be found scouring the charity shops for hidden gems. He set out doing on Mobile Disco's in '74 with the usual rounds of pubs, weddings and club presentation events, plus background music before such bands as Geordie, Hustler, GT Moore and the Reggea Guitars and The Kursaal Flyers. This continued until 2009. The year before Alec started doing a couple of hours for a local community station Saint FM in the Maldon area of Essex, presenting a 70's show and more eclectic late night show. He loved radio so much he finally stopped doing the disco circuit. "The chance to do a slot on Caroline was too good to miss" – says Alec "So here I am".

Mark Dezzani started his radio life as a landbased pirate in Sussex and then London where he was a founder member of the community radio lobby group 'Free The Airwaves'. In 1982 he moved to Seborga in Italy to work for Radio Nova International. In the late 80s Mark was a founding member of Sunshine Radio Antibes before joining Riviera Radio in Monaco as a freelance. Mark formed the TV & video production company Europa Productions in 1998 producing documentaries, TV news reports & corporate video. In 2000 he joined Radio Caroline and in 2009 he launched RivieraLife.tv, a news websites with video reports for the Anglophone community on the French Riviera. "I am thrilled to be back on Radio Caroline, a real oasis for quality music radio in the desert of fast rotating small playlists and sloganeering liner cards."