It is utter drivel!
My story begins in the last few weeks of 1991. Just after The Ross was towed into Dover Harbour. During this time, a small group of ex Caroline people were looking at setting up a Satellite radio station and with the current situation regarding The Ross being captive in Dover and Caroline’s future being uncertain, this group were looking at “pinching” the Radio Caroline name for their project.
The group was represented by Dave Asher as a spokesman and Chris England as part of the people behind it. It would eventually morph into Euronet by way of LaserRock!
BUT, it was an uncomfortable situation with Caroline people fighting Caroline people. So, John Burch (then Head Of The Caroline Movement) stepped in (looking for a peaceful solution) and set up an emergency meeting onboard his Galexy boat. I was producing a Radio Mag on tape called The Radio Tape at the time and John kindly invited me to the meeting as an impartial reporter,
So, we had the Euronet – Caroline “Wannabies” represented by Dave Asher on one side and on the other….surprise surprise… we had Ronan, Peter Moore and NEIL GATES and Steve Conway, all aligned and singing from the same Hymn Sheet. Neil was more than happy to stand alongside PM and Ronan and let PM speak on his behalf on the night. If PM was stealing the Caroline name, this was surely a night when he could have shouted it out loud and backed the other team.
I recorded all the audio and have it to this day. It captures PM defending his people and Ronan backing him. Ronan saw Dave Asher and Chris England as trying to steal his station name from him and PM. Ironic isn’t it! Being strong on Trade Marks in my real job, I stepped in and helped Ronan defend his claim to the Caroline name (at the meeting) under the area of “passing off”.
At the end of the night I drove Steve and Neil back to The Ross (as they did not have transport and I lived in Dover) and I got a guided tour!
Fast forward, just over 7 years. Caroline is now in its early months on satellite from the Maidstone studios. It is Easter 1999, I am looking after the music on Caroline and we are playing an Easter Top 500 Countdown. I am in the studio and my show happens to fall at the end of the Top 500. The countdown finishes (we closed at 9pm then) and everthing falls silent. A couple of phone calls go by and the phone rings again. IT IS RONAN. We talk for over 20 minutes, he has been told by PM that I am looking after the music now. He thanks me for the music over the Easter weekend which he says he has enjoyed very much.
He quizzes me on how big I think the satellite audience is and what the future could be. In true Ronan style, we wander down avenues and discuss the idea of more world music and country music on Carolime. Those people who believe that Ronan would opt for a Hot Hits format on 648AM, DO NOT know Ronan’s eclectic tastes in music! I am sure if Ronan was more involved now he would influence the station to be an awful lot more left field and non commercial music wise than it is currently on 648.
At the end of the call. Ronan invited me to meet him in London if I was ever up there, but I was “star-struck” and never did! I spoke to him briefly on the phone at the Maidstone Studios on two or three other occasions over the years, when he called the studio knowing that PM was down in Maidstone.
I don’t need a history lesson, I am only involved on the fringes of Caroline now. I have no reason to lie or distort history. The current Caroline is the true successor to the sea based station. The Radio Family Tree would show the continuation. I have no idea why Neil Gates dropped out over the years, But, Steve Conway and PM led Caroline into the Satellite era along with Johnny Lewis and Nigel Harris and Ronan backed it 100%.
That is good enough for me. Time to move on. History book closed,
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