I
remember how dull radio used to be, until that day back in December '64, when
I first heard Radio London on 266.I
remember how dull radio used to be, until that day back in December '64, when
I first heard Radio London on 266.
How things changed from then on, so much so that I was never without
a radio. One record in particular that reminds me so much from those early days
of Lil was 'Paper Tiger' by Sue Thompson, played frequently, along with a few
other memorable 'climbers'. In those early days, the selection of records on
board the Galaxy was limited, but things soon changed as they increased their
power. Big L swiftly became the most popular station around, as the music from
the Fab 40, and the DJs with their very catchy jingles, soon made Lil the number
one sound.
So to 1997. As sometimes happens, through the media, I heard that Radio London
was to be brought back to life for a period of 28 days on a special restricted
licence. I could not believe my luck when I heard this news, though I did ring
round a few people just to verify that this broadcast was actually going to
take place and it was not a hoax. After many phone calls, things turned out
as I'd hoped they would. I remember as I travelled down to Walton that afternoon
on the coach I couldn't wait to hear the old station again. As the coach got
nearer to Walton I couldn't contain myself any longer and reached for my radio.
When I tuned in I was truly amazed by the sound, it was as though the station
had never gone off the air all those years ago. It was wonderful hearing that
familiar format once more.
As to the final evening of 13th August 1997, it had been a great day, and Geoff
Cook, Mandie King and myself decided we would go down to the beach. We considered
various ideas and finally came up with not 'Frinton Flashing' but 'Walton Flashing'!
As we settled down on the beach that night we tuned-in to the music coming from
the Yeoman Rose. There had been a few suggestions on the station that evening
as to how to end things on air and we discussed it amongst ourselves as we listened.
As the hour approached 9.00 p.m., it was time for the final Roman Empire. Mark
had already said on a previous show that, back in '67, he had experienced the
daunting task of having to say goodbye. Now he said, "I'm doing it again, how
can you hang a man twice?" With 9.00 p.m. approaching, we all had our torches
at the ready and on the hour, Mark began his final show. Though at times on
the beach the signal became lost due to a high-power foreign station on the
same frequency, through changing direction of the radio, Lil's signal was with
us once more.
Halfway through Mark's show I decided to walk along a very narrow jetty which
seemed to go out for quite some way, to get a bit closer to the ship while we
were all flashing at the Yeoman Rose and trying to do this in time with the
music. It was not always possible, as Mark pointed out over the air that we
were slightly out of rhythm and needed to do it more in synch. Shortly after
Mark had said this, the air-sea rescue helicopter arrived to investigate what
all the flashing was about, perhaps concerned that the Yeoman Rose was signalling
for help. We must have caused quite a stir for them to have come out, and with
the helicopter right above me I made a hasty retreat until they had flown away.
After a short break and with no further sign of any helicopters, we decided
to resume the flashing. Not always in time with the music, we carried on signalling
the ship and by this time my batteries were starting to fade. With only half-an-hour
of Mark's programme to go, my torch had just about had enough, but we kept things
going right to the end when midnight arrived and Mark started to say his goodbyes
while playing his theme. It was all very sad, but all of us one the beach had
great fun on that final evening of Lil's broadcasting.
Radio London may not be on the air any more but she is still very much alive
in our hearts.
GOD BLESS HER!
*******
Sadly, Colin died in November 2013, aged 64.
Colin warns Tommy Vance about the pitfalls of attempting to flash in synch