An obituary by Paul Rusling
In the 60s, calls to Caroline International were handled by young Miss Rosalie Siedenburg, an Amsterdam dolly-bird, better known as Pinky, who manned the office at Singel 160, bleached Spangles hair, and looked after the hundreds of visitors (many slept in the studio upstairs). Among those in love with her was Johnnie Walker and even Georgie Best, who called the Caroline Office every week from his home in Belfast. Pinky was always an angel but developed some health problems in recent months. A few days ago the hospital treatments for her 78 year old heart and lungs finally got her, and now God has called her back to heaven. Pinky’s love and affection for radio, music and DJs live on forever in many broken hearts.
I first met Pinky many years ago while in Amsterdam with Mike Hayes, a dear old friend from Radio 270, who had made his home there. Mike had applied for a job on Caroline and Pinky interviewed him, but the weather was very bad so he could not go, and he took a job DJing at a club in Germany instead – and then the ships were towed in.
Pinky and I were both big enthusiasts for music, radio and the club scene and she told how she had worked in the Caroline office at Singel 160 before Caroline moved in. Her previous employer, called Investors Overseas Services was run from there and when she heard that Radio Caroline were taking over she visited and saw Terry Bate, busy moving boxes in from the London office. He interviewed her for the job at the Amsterdam Hilton and the next day Pinky sat down at her old desk in Singel 160 to organise the new base for Caroline International. Pinky: “They previously had a small office at the Koninginneweg in the south of Amsterdam, a long distance from everywhere. I always liked to live in the middle of the place that I think was the best city in the world. Amsterdam was where everything was happening, and now Radio Caroline”
“The offices was an official base for all our communications to the ship and the public face of Caroline. It was so busy, people looking for jobs, bringing music to be played, and DJs looking for jobs. Every day we had many listeners arrive at the office; they just wanted to see where the station was happening. We let them look at pictures and made some explanation of it all to them. Some had nowhere to stay and so the really nice people, we allowed to stay in the offices and sleep in a big room in the attic. There was a small recording studio there, but I dont think was ever used.”
“Caroline’s office, like most places in central Amsterdam, was not very big; we had a nice big reception room with a settee facing the canal, plenty of drinks, plus the operating office. Behind that there was a private office that I used, especially for telephone calls, and a small conference room at the back, mainly used by Ronan when he was over here. Plus some rooms upstairs never used, just for storage of old papers and music.”
“Telephone calls were a big part of our day, I don’t know how many, but when we put the phone down from one call it would usually ring again. We had separate numbers for public and private, it was essential. The boys on the ships would often talk about the office on the air and many people would write to us direct, I still have a lot of fan-mail. Some of the telephone calls were interesting. A lot of people ringing were singers wanting us to play their music on the air. Long John Baldry called a lot, and many others.”
“One regular telephone caller, every Friday morning, was a young guy from Belfast called George Best, who called with long lists of requests for all his friends in Belfast. He was lonely in Manchester where he played for Manchester United and wanted to send greetings to all his pals back home in Belfast, where we had thousands of listeners. He took me out to dinner and then got into trouble when I took him to the Amsterdam clubs, not allowed as he was playing the next day!”
Pinky and Johnnie Walker had a very special close relationship for some time; she really did love everyone and was also like a ‘mother chicken’ in Amsterdam for Caroline DJs, taking them out for a few beers and show them the sights of Amsterdam, which she was always very proud of.
Over many years I often met with Pinky and we would talk many hours about music and radio, and the life in nightclubs. She was always excited about a new idea or initiative, sometimes calling up at strange times with the latest news or idea. She never forgot anything – we could meet again after a gap of five years and she could remember our last conversation, and the music playing. Pinky had a special idea of time, in a Caroline world, everything was always alive and buzzing, night time was equal to daytime, the world never stopped, so Caroline people should continue. Always!
Over the last year or two years her health has deteriorated, and she frequently had to stay in the hospital for treatment for her heart and lung problems. She was waiting for a donor heart, but this didn’t happen in time for Pinky. She became increasingly short of breath, but she continued trying to help others, right until the very end in early February. Her final mission was to find a home for her darling ginger cat, Pom.
And now this gorgeous, loving Amsterdam Angel has returned to heaven where she can again see so many Caroline heroes who are up there – Johnnie, the Admiral, ‘Mucky Merike’ (her name for Stevie), plus Jimmy, Ronan and Oonagh.
Pinky – it was an honour knowing you in your favourite place – old Amsterdam.
Paul Rusling February 13th 2025