Tender Journeys
Trips from Scheveningen to the MEBO II. Not always in the Trip Tender!
Memories of journeys in rough seas, on a little tugboat with a small central wheelhouse. Huge waves crashing over the boat and arriving at the Mebo II with the 2 boats bobbing up and down side by side.
Getting on the Mebo was like jumping off an express lift and being grabbed by a couple of the crew (hoping you didn’t plunge down in between the 2 boats to your doom! (Health and Safety – what’s that!!!!)
Ain’t that a Kick in the Head
Memories of a competition we ran in spring 1974 with listeners being asked to send in the most unusual objects they could think off.
Somebody sent in a false leg!
We then rigged the leg up hanging from the false ceiling in Bob Noakes’ cabin by the door.
As the light was out, when Bob came back to his cabin, the leg (dangling from the ceiling) kicked him in the head !
We found it funny anyway!
Miss RNI 1974
Prior to joining RNI, I had been working in London for Mecca and was involved in some of the 1973 Miss World promotions.
So we decided to run the Miss RNI 1974 beauty competition.
Seems a bit sexist these days but was all acceptable by 1974 standards.
Had lots of photos from lovely young ladies in Holland and England (Just what you need when you are stuck on a boat with another dozen men for weeks!).
Eventually won by Patti van de Polder.
Wonder where she is today.
Tea on the Mi Amigo
Mebo II had a Gemini inflatable power boat on board but at the time, the outboard motor was not working.
Being a bit of a mechanic, I stripped it down and re-assembled it after which it seemed to start up and run ok.
Now we had a boat, it was decided that we would go on a visit to Caroline on the Mi Amigo which was about a mile away.
Can’t remember exactly who set out but I think there were 4 of us probably Don Allen and definitely Brian McKenzie.
So off we go! This was in the afternoon while the Dutch Service was broadcasting. Weather was fine and the sea was reasonably calm.
Only person wearing any kind of life jacket was Brian and I can see him now sitting in the prow as we sped across the waves to Caroline.
Happy days! A tour of the ship, a few beers and lots of fun.
Time passes so fast! We decided it was about time to head back to Mebo II so we headed up on deck.
Slight problem!
A bank of fog had descended and there was a squall blowing.
To make it worse we could not see the mast of Mebo II and although we knew where we thought it should be, that could be completely wrong as the boats would change position on their anchor chains depending on which way the tide was running.
After much deliberation we decided to head where we though Mebo II should be and off we went. Rain lashing the little boat, engine coughing, Brian at the prow like Captain McKenzie!
Needless to say it was a great relief when we saw the mast of Mebo II come looming out of the mist!
RNI survives another days adventure.
Cornflakes
How did Roger Kent get the nickname “Cornflakes”
Mainly because I was a greedy cornflakes eater!
Coming to Holland in 1974 was a culinary shock as in England foreign food was still a rarity and we were just about getting used to Chinese restaurants.
The Dutch, meat, cheese (with GARLIC) and raw fish delicacies were still a bit new.
However cornflakes with Dutch milk was delicious.
All the DJ’s and crew on board were given a free cigarette ration (along with the free beer and bottles of spirits).
As I didn’t smoke, my request was for “FREE CORNFLAKES” – hence the name stuck.
Hit by Lightning
Memories of washing my jeans when suddenly BANG, the mast was hit by a bolt of lightning!
Frightening as you get the bang and the flash at the same time. Just like a bomb going off.
Alarms ringing! Station off the air.
Luckily it was re-set and RNI was back on the airwaves.
Livin’ in a box
Living in the cabins on the Mebo II was quite an experience!
Although luxurious by pirate radio standards (one cabin each), the cabins were sited in a position which maximised the rise and fall of the ship on the anchor chain.
It was like trying to sleep in an express lift, going up and down all the time.
In heavy weather, the only solution was to wedge yourself into the bunk head and foot and hope for the best!
Don Allen and the magic fluorescent tubes
Remember Don standing on the deck waving 2 fluorescent tubes around which were lit up despite not being connected to any electricity.
Don also had fluorescent tubes in his cabin and they could not be switched off.
This was all due to the massive amount of RF (radio frequency) radiation around the transmitter mast and as the DJ’s cabins sat next to the transmitter we were all living in the middle of it.
Luckily with hindsight nobody seems to have grown 2 heads or the like!
Buzzed by the Dutch airforce jets and visit by a Dutch warship
Remember lying up on the top deck during one of the many hot sunny days of summer 1974 when Mebo2 was buzzed by low flying Dutch airforce jets.
Quite an experience when these 2 jets flashed by just above the mast – Ka Pow!
Also had a Dutch warship come sailing by alongside
Off air – Change to 10Kw transmitter
Transmitter fault! The 100Kw transmitter had failed and we were off the air!
After radio conversations with (Bruno?) Zurich we were told that we could run the standby 10Kw transmitter.
Only problem there was only connection to the main mast aerial and it was bolted to the main transmitter.
Also there were lots of skull and crossbones danger of death signs around the aerial!
Zurich said it would be ok to work on the aerial and change it onto the standby transmitter but there were a lot of very wary people when it came to touching the main cable.
Anyway it was all ok and we managed to get RNI back up and running with no dead DJ’s or crew!
Visits by Trip Tender
Always remember the tourist boats coming out to visit the ship.
We would all come out on deck and wave (know how the monkeys must feel in the zoo now!).
Seriously we really did like to see all the people who took the time to come out and show their support to the radio ships.
Happy days!
Ronan O’Rahilly visits Mebo II
Over the final couple of weeks we had many visitors including the owners Meister & Bollier but the most memorable was definitely when Ronan O’Rahilly showed up.
This was the man who started the whole thing off in the UK and to whom we owe such a great debt.
Radio in the UK would not be what it is today without Ronan and Radio Caroline.
RESPECT!
Close Down day – Return to Scheveningen
Although my time with RNI was relatively short (Feb 74 to August 74), it was great honour to be on the final days broadcast and to be on the ship for the final closedown.
The trip back to Scheveningen was on the Mebo1 and the memory of coming back into the harbour on that day still raises the hairs on the back of my neck today.
We could not believe the number of people who turned out to line the harbour and welcome us back and the haunting note of all of the ship horns that were sounded as we came back in was very emotional.
That day has stayed with me for the rest of my life.
I lucky to have had the opportunity to work on such a brilliant and ground breaking radio station
I must say I pestered Don Allen, Robb Eden and finally Brian McKenzie for the opportunity to work on RNI but am I glad I did!
Today Radio and Club DJ’s are 2 a penny but back then there were far fewer.
Many from those days long ago still remain in radio and entertainment to this day.
The opportunities I had working as a live London Club and Ballroom DJ and then on RNI were never really appreciated by me at the time but looking back were an honour and a privilege afforded to only a very few
What a life!
Roger Kent reaches his Waterloo
Remember being on air when Terry Wogan announced that Abba had won Eurovision with “Waterloo”.
Luckily we had received an advance copy from Epic records and after frantically looking for it we were able to play it there and then.
Who knew what the funny looking Swedish band were destined to go on to!
Think the words of their hit “Thank you for the music” sum up my time with RNI:
I’ve been so lucky, I am the guy with golden hair
I wanna sing it out to everybody
What a joy, what a life, what a chance!
Thank you for the music, the songs I’m singing (playing)
Thanks for all the joy they’re bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you for the music
For giving it to me .
Thank you RNI for the joy you brought me!
CLOSEDOWN OF RNI – 31st AUGUST 1974
It was a long, long time ago… 50 years to be precise so my memories of that time may be a little hazy!
I seem to remember that in the period leading up to August 31st there was a lot of uncertainty as to what was going to happen and if we were actually closing down.
Once the dreaded news was confirmed and we knew we were to close down on 31st August, the mood onboard changed.
Suddenly the relatively quiet life we enjoyed onboard with just maybe 3 or 4 English DJ’s and 2 Dutch newsreaders plus the captain, cook and Dutch crew and engineer changed.
It started to get busy. Plans were being put in place for the closedown on the 31st.
During the final week leading up to the 31st, lots of the Dutch DJ’s that normally pre-recorded shows in Hilversum and were rarely on the Mebo II, came out to the ship and broadcast live.
The ship became a very busy place that week!
I seem to remember that there was an unusual buzz onboard that week but tinged with sadness that this was going to be the last hurrah!
We started to get visits from the people that we all held in high regard.
The man who was very much responsible to the original UK pirate era, Ronan O’ Rahilly came out and it was an honour to meet him as I had never met him before.
Also, Mr Bollier and his family, the man who had put so much into RNI and to who we have all been forever grateful.
I seem to remember that the sightseeing boats got very busy that week with many coming out one last time to see the pirate radio ships.
I seem to remember having a conversation with Brian McKenzie about how we were going to do the final closedown hour for the English Service.
I felt extremely honoured to be given the first slot for the closedown hour.
I remembered how much the closedown of the English stations back in 1967 had meant to me and how much it affected me. I felt angry and sad that one of the most important things in my life had been taken away and there was nothing I could do!
I assumed that the same was going to be the case with the closedown of RNI and this was likely to affect many people in Holland and England.
I felt we owed it to our many loyal listeners to do our best to put together a good final hour’s broadcasting to say goodbye and thank you.
Normally all of the broadcasting on RNI was very much ad-libbed but for this, I put together a few notes and tried to structure my contribution so I got to say exactly what I thought was appropriate.
I chose the Beatles “Let it Be” to say goodbye.
After that it was all a bit of an anticlimax. We were left to do whatever we wanted while we waited for the trip back to Scheveningen. The Mebo I came out and was used for that final voyage back to dry land.
It appears, and I have no recollection of this, that we went on a trip on our Gemini RIB across to the Norderney (Veronica). As I seem to be on the video for this visit. I must have been there!
One of the memories that has really stayed with me from that time is the trip back to Scheveningen.
We entered the harbour and were really amazed to see the thousands of people that lined the quayside to see us come back from the MEBO 2.
The ships in the harbour all sounded their foghorns in a salute.
It made the hairs on my neck stand up. It was a truly humbling experience!
THEN…. It was all over. The last great adventure for boys was finished… at least for RNI (with acknowledgements to Bob Lawrence!)
Roger Kent – Written June 2024
Roger Kent – The DJ years
I originally started playing drums in local bands in London in the 1960’s
One band I was associated with was the 1st Band that Billy Ocean was in as singer (Shades of Midnight)
I loved the 60’s with all the great music being played by the original pirate radio stations. I loved Big L Radio London. I was so affected by the closedown in 1967.
When Radio North Sea started up in 1970, I was delighted and it became my ambition to work on the station.
I had already started working as a mobile disc jockey and in around about 1970/71 I entered a competition run by the London Evening Standard. Top 3 DJ’s got a 1 hour show on BBC Radio London. Typically, I came 4th grrrr.
Even so it introduced me to radio work as we spent a lot of time at the BBC Radio London studios in Hanover Square London and spent time chasing various artistes that were in town to get vox pops for the radio shows.
Also, from this competition, I got work at a chain of discotheques (Birds Nest) in London and also began working as a regular disc jockey for Mecca Ballrooms in London. This meant I was working at London Lyceum, Hammersmith Pallais, Empire Leicester Square, Cats Whiskers Streatham and many others. These were large capacity (2,000+) venues and this was good quality well paid work.
I was of course, still obsessed with working on RNI and sent tapes to anyone that would listen
I went to see Don Allen in the Isle of Man to try to get a chance on RNI. Also went knocking on Robb Eden’s door but no luck
Had a trip out to Holland to try my luck with Caroline but no luck grrr.
My luck changed in 1973 as Brian McKenzie was a friend with one of the managers for Mecca and he was at one of the discotheques I was working in at the time.
This time I got the chance and was on my way to RNI on 14th February 1974.
I was lucky enough to be on RNI from that date until the close down on 31st August 1974 (6 months) and felt really honoured to be 1st DJ to present and say goodbye on the final English Service hour on RNI.
Following the closedown, along with all the other DJ’s, we were faced with a rather bleak radio scene on the UK.
Apart from Radio 1 (which was all sewn up anyway) and some rather uninspiring BBC local radio stations there was not a lot of work around.
Capital Radio had just about started and there was still Radio Luxembourg plus some work at UBN (United Biscuits Network. Actually, this helped a lot of DJ’s get onto the new radio stations).
I was lucky in some ways as I came back to London with a bit of a name as an ex RNI DJ and was able to get lots of new work with Mecca Ballrooms and then work for a new chain of Disco Pubs in South London. (Dun Cow).
I still tried to get some radio work but any available work seemed to be a long way from London and as I was making good money, I settled into a life of live DJ work.
I continued doing this until about 1982 when my daughter was born and my then wife suggested it was time I settled down grrr.
During that time, I had the pleasure of meeting and working with numerous stars who were in town to promote their records.
Eventually though that phase of my life came to an end and I moved on and went into engineering where I have worked ever since.
I must say that was the most exciting period of my life and I was very lucky to have experienced it.
At the time I don’t think any of us appreciated what a big deal it really was.
We were a select bunch of DJ’s broadcasting to the UK and Europe and at that time there were not many DJ’s broadcasting.
Of course, many went on to work in various forms of radio and sadly many are no longer with us!
RIP all my old dear departed friends!
Would not have missed it for the world!