Queen's boss tells Government where to get off!

On Thursday 9^th April, 1964 . . .

RADIO Caroline had barely been on the air a fortnight when the battle to keep her there escalated into a full-scale war of words.

Fifty years ago today, on April 9. 1964, Jocelyn Stevens - the Old Etonian publisher of Queen magazine - confirmed publicly that he was a major financial backer of Caroline. He 'went public' with this because of his fury over the frantic government attempts to get the new station closed down.

Stevens - who later became MD at the Evening Standard and Daily Express, chairman of English Heritage and a knight of the realm - said on this day: “Whenever anyone in this country gets a new idea, someone else gets up and says they can’t do it, and finally you have the Establishment inventing laws.

“I am quite convinced [Caroline] is doing nothing illegal or harmful and I resent being accused of interfering with shipping when we have an Admiralty spokesman saying we are not. The only reason we are doing it from a boat is because it is not allowed on land. We are not trying to behave in an irresponsible manner. We believe in commercial broadcasting.”

Stevens (left) and his money had played a major part in getting the station on air from the North Sea at Easter 1964, along with backing from John Sheffield, chairman of Norcross and Jimmy Ross, owner of Ross Foods.

Fifty years ago today it was also being widely reported Phonographic Performance Ltd, the company which controlled broadcasting of recorded music, was seeking to bring an injunction against Caroline. The station’s founder Ronan O’Rahilly laughed this off, saying as far as he knew it wasn’t illegal to play records outside Britain in international waters.
On the same day, it was reported that the Caroline ship had not moved from its position a few miles off Felixstowe, despite the suggestion earlier that the bad weather had persuaded the skipper it ought to move to a new position well away from shipping lanes.

Meanwhile on land, listeners numbered in the millions by now, and on this day 50 years ago, a group of enthusiasts from Ipswich got together to launch a ‘Save Caroline’ petition to ensure the new phenomenon wouldn’t be taken away.

Roger Beckwith, who had gathered a team of around 15 helpers, stated: “We’ve been listening to Caroline and think they are getting a raw deal. Everywhere we go we hear Radio Caroline being played, It’s something that has not been done before, a service the BBC does not provide. People today obviously want to be able to listen to music throughout the day. We are having petition forms printed and will distribute them to every public house in Ipswich, Felixstowe, Colchester and Stowmarket.

One of Roger’s helpers, S. Munson, made the point: “Factory workers tell me they work better for having some decent music to listen to. I think it’s a very good thing and we shouldn’t allow it to be banned.”  

So what exactly were listeners of Caroline being treated to 50 years ago this week? Here’s the top of the ‘Hit Parade’ for both sides of the Atlantic that week:

UK TOP 20 – April 9, 1964

1  Can’t Buy Me Love – Beatles

2  Little Children - Billy J.Kramer & Dakotas

3  Just One Look - Hollies
4  Not Fade Away - Rolling Stones
5  I Love You Because – Jim Reeves
6  I Believe – Bachelors
7  Bits and Pieces – Dave Clark Five
8  Diane – Bachelors
9  That Girl Belongs to Yesterday – Gene Pitney
10  Anyone Who Had a Heart – Cilla Black
11  Tell Me When – Applejacks
12  Boys Cry – Eden Kane
13  World Without Love – Peter & Gordon
14  Theme for Young Lovers – Shadows
15  I Think of You – Merseybeats
16  Over You – Freddie & the Dreamers
17  Let Me Go Lover – Kathy Kirby
18  Viva Las Vegas – Elvis Presley
19  Stay Awhile- Dusty Springfield
20  Good Golly Miss Molly – Swinging Blue Jeans

BILLBOARD USA TOP 20 (April 9, 1964)

1  Can’t Buy Me Love - Beatles
2  Twist & Shout - Beatles
3  She Loves You - Beatles
4  I Want To Hold Your Hand - Beatles
5  Please Please Me - Beatles
6  Suspicion - Terry Stafford
7  Hello Dolly - Louis Armstrong
8  The Shoop Shoop Song - Betty Everett
9  My Heart Belongs To Only You - Bobby Vinton
10  Glad All Over - Dave Clark Five
11  Dawn(Go Away) - Four Seasons
12  The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
13  Fun,Fun,Fun - Beach Boys
14  Don't Let The Rain (Crooked Little Man) - Serendipity Singers
15  Needles & Pins - Searchers
16  Stay - Four Seasons
17  Kissin' Cousins - Elvis Presley
18  You're A Wonderful One - Marvin Gaye
19  Java - Al Hirt
20  High Heel Sneakers - Tommy Tucker