For my generation of forty somethings, we were too young to have shared and experienced the magic of the broadcasters on the high seas in the 1960s ie the pirate radio stations like Radio Caroline and Radio London. When they were outlawed and closed down by the government in 1967, they were  replaced by the establishment with BBC Radio 1. Many of the disc jockeys that had stowed away on the pirate radio ships found themselves walking the plank, only to be swept ashore, landing at Broadcasting House in late Summer 1967.

The Roll of Honourable Radio DJs making this transition and journey included Tony Blackburn, Emperor Rosko, Dave Lee Travis and Johnnie Walker. By the time I started listening to Radio 1 in 1974, these disc jockeys were household names and housewives’ choices. You can’t underestimate the status of the Radio 1 DJs in the 1970s – they had a parity with the Rock and Pop Stars, who’s vinyl records they played. In terms of status and fame, they were the equivalent of modern day footballers in 2011!! There was one small problem. In a world where shops and offices closed at 5pm or 5-30pm on the dot, Radio 1 closed down at 7pm. The radio station literally broadcast during the hours of the working day and commuting time – 7am to 7pm. And of course this was in the days of local commercial radio’s infancy with a mere four or five stations in only the biggest cities – Capital Radio ( London ), BRMB ( Birmingham ), Piccadilly ( Manchester ) and Radio City ( Liverpool ).

However there was one very distant pop music radio station that broadcast nationally in the evenings and it was infact a sole surviving pirate radio station. So as the sun set over the yardarm, metaphorically speaking as it was a land based pirate radio station, Radio Luxembourg ( Fab 208 ) crackled in to life!! And it literally did “crackle” in to life, as it was broadcasting on a medium wave frequency ( 208MW ) from the far flung Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The reception was appalling, drifting in and out and merging with interference from other European radio stations…..but we tolerated it because it was the only source of pop music on the radio between the hours of 7pm and 4am.

The listener also tolerated the poor reception because Radio Luxembourg was a fantastic radio station that fused the best of English and American style broadcasting. Some of the disc jockeys were infact American like Bob Stewart and others like Yorkshire bred Tony Prince and Scot Stuart Henry had a mid Atlantic sound and feel about them. And this was reinforced by the American-esque station brand idents and jingles like “208 – Your station of the stars”, “Big L” and “Fab 208”. There was a real magic and romanticism about Radio Luxembourg, which was heightened by the myth that the radio station was housed  in a turret in a gothic castle in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg!! This romanticism and magic was further accentuated and enhanced by the fact that much of the time you would be listening under the bed clothes ( in the days before the duvet ) in the dark. Listening to radio in the dark intensifies what is already a very intimate medium!!

If many of the original Radio 1 disc jockeys graduated from the pirate radio stations in the North Sea, just off the South East coast of England, then in the late 1960s and 1970s, Radio Luxembourg became the feeder school for Radio 1 DJs. Between 1968 and 1979 “Big L” saw many of it’s presenter personnel move to Radio 1 – Tony Brandon, Paul Burnett, Dave Cash, Simon Dee, Noel Edmonds, Stuart Grundy, Tommy Vance, Peter Powell, Steve Wright, Mike Read, Emperor Rosko and David “Kid” Jensen. There were three notable exceptions to this rule – the very capable and talented Tony Prince, Bob Stewart and Rob Jones. The latter was one of my favourite Radio Luxembourg DJs in the late 1970s and such was his talent, I believed he was destined to follow in the footsteps of Mike Read and Steve Wright up the steps of Broadcasting House and through those iconic latticed Art Deco doors!! However Rob Jones never reached the hallowed airwaves of Radio 1 and if anyone knows of his whereabouts, please enlighten us all.

Radio Luxembourg is long gone and part of a different time dimension and world……In 2011 the corporate call centre offices are manned from 8am to 8pm, supermarkets open 24 hours a day and on Bank Holidays and the marketplace is saturated by satellite radio stations broadcasting 24 hour a day…….. but don’t tell me there is the same magic and romance in modern day radio that my old friend Big L provided me with between 1974 and 1979!!

You can capture, preserve and re-live the magical memories of Radio Luxembourg in the 1970s, by ordering your favourite songs from that decade, in their original vinyl record or CD format, single or album, framed and mounted as a picture disc. ORDER NOW by clicking on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Alternatively this would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Wedding, 40th, 50th or 60th Birthday, a Silver or Ruby Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!