The Radio Day Awards 2007


For every radio enthusiast the year 2007 is a very special one. It marks not only the 40th anniversary of the MBOA of 15th August 1967. This resulted in almost all offshore radio stations around the British Isles ceasing broadcasting. 1967 also commemorates the 40th anniversary of Radio Caroline North and South resisting the MBOA a law described by many as a draconian and blatant attempt by government to erode freedom of speak. Both Caroline ships continued to broadcast to many millions of listeners throughout Britain and continental Europe.

This gave reason to the organising team of the Annual Radio Day Festival in Amsterdam to introduce the "Radio Day Awards", which in the future will be a bi-annual event. We give awards to acclaim the efforts of several special people who stood up for the watery wireless which brought about free radio without governmental control. Besides Britain several other offshore radio stations of the 1960s and 70s (especially Radio Veronica off the Dutch coast) led to the vast choice in radio that we all enjoy today, thought-out Europe. These awards go to revolutionary radio people, living and contributing to the media during this all important period in the European radio revolution.

The 2007 Radio Day Awards (to be known by the nick name ‘The Radies’) had 4 categories and were awarded for:

“An Outstanding Contribution to Offshore Radio” (3 awards)
“Offshore Radio Top Technical Support” (1 award)
“Offshore Radio Writers and Historians” (1 award)
“The Radio Anoraks Award” (1 award)

The celebration of the Radio Awards 2007 was presented by Robbie Dale and Hans Knot at the 29th Radio Day in Amsterdam on 10th November .

Listen to the original audio from the celebration

Hans Knot: A very warm welcome everyone attending this years Radio day, which is held for the 29th year. It’s very good to see so many familiar faces from the offshore radio world from the past. This year it is the very first time The Bi Annual Radio Awards will be presented. En dus is het me een eer op dit podium te mogen staan samen met mijn co-presentator, de man die we allemaal kennen als The Admiral. Ladies and gentlemen give a warm welcome to Robbie Dale…

Robbie Dale: The choice of nominees and selections of recipients in this premier year was not difficult. It was from a group of the very best in watery wireless and thankfully most of the nominees are here today So lets get the show on the go with or 1st award. This famous Dutchman stared many tungs wagging including mine .he gave me my first radio job in Holland...

Hans Knot: De aller eerste Radio Day Award is voor een persoon geboren in het jaar 1909 en pas op zijn 50ste betrokken binnen de radio industrie. Hij is één van de grote bevechters van het omroepsysteem in Nederland. Hij wist, samen met zijn beide broers en een uitstekend team om hun heen, miljoenen luisteraars te trekken en met Radio Veronica een merknaam neer te zetten die nooit is overtroffen binnen de radioindustrie in Nederland. Een combinatie van zakelijk talent en een aanstekelijke bevlogenheid waren onze genomineerde persoon, die veertien jaar lang de scepter zou zwaaien als Veronica-directeur, behulpzaam. Hij vocht, waar mogelijk voor zijn jongens, het personeel dat hem in die jaren voornamelijk loyaal beantwoordde. Still at the age of 98 he’s the optimistic person he has always been. When it was decided that this ‘Radio Day Award for Outstanding Contribution 2007’ would go to Hendrik Verwey, better known as Bull Verwey, the organising committee decided it should be a good idea to asked two granddaughters of Bull Verwey to receive the Radio Day Award in name of his grandfather. So please a big applause.

Robbie Dale: 2nd Radie award It seems that great broadcast engineers are by nature born with special talent. A few are gifted, like Harry Potter and grow into great wizards who have the special magical touch. But we mere mortals, can only imagine how long and how hard they have worked to learn the special wizardry to become a “Master Merlin of Modulation”. Because most of you here today in this arena are radio enthusiasts. The name I am about to reveal will be instantly recognizable. It is a name almost as well knows as Radio Caroline itself. To those in broadcasting technology it has become a name synonymous with outstanding achievement. Especially achievement under extraordinarily difficult conditions. Lesser men have walked away, some swam away…. …..But this man of our time.” Stayed on-board,& Stayed on the job”, using his unique talent, tenacity and no doubt a touch of technical magic time and time again. Getting the modulation to the nation. He put power up the pole and ….The show on the road. In this premier year the award for Offshore Radio Technical Support and watery wireless wizardry is awarded to none other that the man we all know as…”Peter Chicago”…

Hans Knot: We have another Radio Day Award in the Category Outstanding Contribution to Offshore Radio. And this one is going to a Dutch personality who’s roots in radio are also going back to the sixties, Like the nominated person for the technical Award this guy tried to get a job in 1966 on Radio London and even made some jingles for the station, which he suddenly heard played one morning on 266. Iedere presentator in radioland heeft ook zijn eigen voorbeeld waarvan hij delen van zijn stijl overneemt. Zo ook onze genomineerde. Tony Blackburn was zijn groot voorbeeld en zelfs de one liners van Bessie Balckburn werden opgeschreven en vertaald en vervolgens weergegeven in het Nederlands in het programma van de winnaar van deze Radio Day Award. Our nominated person is a very friendly person who I know for many decades and has the ability – although very popular with especially the housewives – to take a big distance in normal live from all related to radio. He must have been a real problem maker for slow technicians as our nominated person is also very well known for the wonderful, mostly home made jingles he had in his programs in Veronica days. He has a more than 35 years long career including offshore radio station Veronica, TROS Hilversum 3, Cable One and Radio Ten Gold. I would loved to have Ed the Speaking Horse here to introduce our nominated Dutch deejay: Ladies and gentlemen give a big applause to Tom Mulder also known as Klaas Vaak from Veronica days.

Robbie Dale: 4th Radie award. Today we are paying tribute to some special radio personalities and recognizing a great contribution of talent to the media, including tenacity, determination and love of offshore radio. The next award is for precisely that. A life time of love and dedication to something radio , rather than someone in radio. This award recognizes the deep feelings that radio arouses in listeners. Radio is “theatre of the mind”. Some of us listen as we are doing other things, at work or at school , in the home whilst preparing breakfast for example. But there are those among us, who want to pass-on the enjoyment of radio to others. These special people are also communicators. They listen, make notes, write articles and books about radio. Yet… Perhaps most importantly they keep records and maintain archives. Preserving particular periods in the development of the media to be shared with future generations of radio enthusiasts. These are the” writers and historians” We know them for there enduring dedication to all things radio. Especially Offshore Radio. One of this year’s Radie awards goes to a true radio enthusiast who not only Loves listens, writes and records radio. but has also worked in the media for many years. He is the energy behind one of the great radio web sites. Please join me in acknowledging the countless achievements of “The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame” and its founder Jon Myer…

Hans Knot: "The Radio Day Anoraks Award”: We luisterden in de jaren zestig, in ieder geval de Award winnaar en ikzelf en vele n met ons, naar Radio London en Caroline, maar maakten ook uitstapjes naar andere stations. Er was nog bij lange na niet een jaarlijkse bijeenkomst waar we gezellig onze hobby, zoals we nu al bijna dertig jaar doen, met elkaar voor een dag kunnen beleven. Er waren, op een bepaald moment, wel andere mogelijkheden tot uiting van je mening. Bijvoorbeeld in Hitweek, een blad waarin de voor en tegenstanders van respectievelijk Caroline en London bijna wekelijks hun mening lieten horen. And for those who don´t have the ability to follow this story in Dutch it´s all about the possibility in the sixties to give as a fan on offshore radio, the own ideas and suggestions in public. In the mid sixties we had here in Holland the publication Hitweek, which can be compared with The International Times in Great Brittain. Really an underground newspaper in which fans from Big L wrote as well as their opposite the Caroline ones. Later on came the FRA and other organisations with their leaflets. The first English language magazine, where the reader also got the possibility to write was the PRN. Vanaf 1969 werd dit blad vanuit Nederland uitgegeven en ik vind het nog steeds een eer dat ik in de redactie van dat tijdschrift mocht zitten. Op die manier weet ik dat velen van toen nu nog steeds dedicated followers of offshore radio zijn.

 Many names I learnt when in the editorial staff of PRN I see again when sending away my International Hans Knot Report, and our Anorak of the year is also a reader. Maybe I can say a very silent reader as he doesn´t reflect. Now and then we see him in the newsgroup Offshore Radio on internet. His strength is that he has collected all those years not only recordings, next to the ones he recorded himself on excellent condition in the sixties and seventies. No, he also collect very rare songs and still succeeds in building his collection. He goes for it more than 100% and is very happy when he gets something new, like last year when I could give him a mint condition of a 1969 single. Dames en heren en nu het moment dat ik ga vertellen dat onze allereerste Award voor de Anorak of the Year is toegewezen aan de vanuit de kaasstad Gouda afkomstige Rob Mesander.

Robbie Dale: Now that I have use up all my eloquent words on the other recipients of today’s Radies. …….”We now come to the Oscar for best actor”……..Some of the stages or if you prefer milestones in this persons career sound like songs or movies., “The Apprentice”. “The Mechanic”. “Young Love”. “The Car Salesman”. “Pirates of the North Sea” .”The Wild Wild West” .”The Happy Hippy”. “The Establishment”.” Hooked Line and sinker”. “Rebel,… With a course”. “The Prince and I”. “ In sickness and in health” “Old Seagogs”. Never die. He has played many roles, both in his private and public life. Taking on the reasonability of the character… thus giving the rolls he played a “special full colour” by using voice an music. A true artist. Today,he could be receiving “A booker prize” A knighthood, A Grammy” or a Grandady in recognition of achievements in his life . But today we are acknowledging and rewarding very special people who made a contribution to the lives of tens of millions of radio listener. As a direct result of the contributions made by these special people who filled radio, especial Offshore Radio with love and excitement, “never to be forgotten”. I am proud to call the next recipient my friend and colleague and present this Radie for his outstanding contribution to offshore radio. Ladies and Gentlemen I give it to Sir Johnnie Walker MBE.