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RADIO JACKIE NORTH

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With this page, we pay tribute to Eric Haydock, one of the pioneers of free radio on Merseyside,
who from his first station in 1969 until his tragic passing in 2002, fought passionately for free radio.


An early Radio Jackie North sticker bearing many similarities to the ones from
Radio Jackie London.


RADIO FREE LIVERPOOL - 217m (1385kHz to 1389kHz)

1969-1976

Radio Jackie North grew out of Radio Free Liverpool which was one of the very early stations on Merseyside.  According to the birthday shows recordings included below, it began broadcasting on Whit Weekend, in May 1969.  In the early days, the power was very low, and only covered a couple of miles.  In early 1972 a larger transmitter was put into service, and transmissions  operated from fields with around 15 watts. The wavelength announced was 217m, which in 1972 was announced as between 1385kHz and 1389kHz.
In the early years of Radio Free Liverpool, Carl England (aka Dave Simpson) became good friends with Eric and helped with setting up the station in the fields and woods around Liverpool. Carl later recalled some of the locations he was involved at, which included the area near Croxteth Hall Lane, and some close to the M58 at Bickerstaff and Junction 3 for Rainford. A site on the A565 at Ince Blundell Moss Wood caused much confusion for the Home Office, but amusement for Eric and Carl, as the authorities had heard a test from RFL earlier in the day from Woodvale near Fine Jane's Brook, and they continued to search around Halsall Moss for the transmitter which had since moved. Carl was believed to be the only other voice to be heard on Radio Free Liverpool, and only a couple of times, as Eric did most shows himself. Eric didn't think it was worth any others wasting time doing shows when they expected the Home Office to turn up during the broadcasts.
The exact date of the station ceasing broadcasts is not known, but operator Eric Day had by Boxing Day 1976 started another station, Radio Jackie North also announcing 217m. He changed his name on this new station to Rick Dane. Sadly, Eric (real name Eric Haydock) passed away on 16th November 2002.

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Radio Free Liverpool Audio Library

1969_06_29_sun_radio_free_liverpool_short_extract.mp3 The earliest recording we have of Radio Free Liverpool is a short extract from late June 1969, only a few weeks after the start of the station.  The audio quality is very poor due to the weak signal at the recording location, but the station only covered a couple of miles at this stage. You can hear Eric just after sign on playing the current number one, which was The Beatles 'Ballad of John and Yoko'.  Eric announces the station as Radio Liverpool.
1972_05_21_sun_radio_free_liverpool_217m_ericday_3rd_birthday.mp3 The third birthday show from a reel to reel tape originally recorded by Eric Day for Dave Simpson. Eric signs the station on for its 3rd Birthday, and tells a brief history of the station, as well as the story of the previous two weeks, when the station was raided by the GPO and the transmitter lost.
1972_radio_merseyland_granada_tv_newsday_report_on pirates.mp3 This is the audio of a TV report on pirate radio on Merseyside from around 1972. The interviews are with Bert Williams and Paul Jay of Radio Merseyland, but there is mention of Radio Free Liverpool during a listing of the stations on at the time. The exact date of the report is not known.
1972_08_00_sun_radio_free_liverpool_217m_ericday_airchecks.mp3 Another short, partly airchecked recording of Radio Free Free Liverpool from around July or August 1972.  It starts a bit crackly with the sign-on theme and Eric announcing the station, and then clears up a bit for the rest of the 8 minutes.  The location of the recording is not known.
1972_09_10_sun_radio_free_liverpool_217m-1385am_1300-1500_ericday-EM92.mp3 A nice off air recording of almost an entire two hour broadcast from September 1972. Frequency is announced as between 1385kHz and 1389kHz. Many thanks to Eric Monaghan for this one.
1975_05_18_sun_radio_free_liverpool_217m_ericday_rfl_6th_birthday-pt1.mp3 A recording of part of the 6th birthday broadcast which was sent to Gary by Rick Dane in the late 1990s amongst other cassettes.
1975_05_18_sun_radio_free_liverpool_217m_ericday_rfl_6th_birthday-pt2.mp3 Side 2 of the above cassette


It was during his time operating Radio Free Liverpool in the early 1970's, that Eric also became one of the founding members of the Radio Caroline Roadshow, along with Ronnie Dee, John Shannon, and Carl England (aka Dave Simpson). Eric was involved in the roadshow for several years until he left to start Radio Jackie North in 1976.

The fantastically designed and locally built Radio Caroline Roadshow used in the Merseyside area in the 1970s, with Ronnie Dee at the helm.

A short time before the tragic loss of Eric in 2002, Ronnie began writing his memoirs which would be titled 'The Radio Caroline Roadshow Story'.  Sadly, he never completed his book, as he too passed away less than a year later in September 2003. However on the title page he had dedicated his book to his good friend Eric, and thanks to Carl England (aka Dave Simpson) we thought it would be fitting to reproduce his original script here, in its original unfinished and unedited form. It concludes in November 1975, and includes some very interesting stories about a trip to the mv Mi Amigo that month. Further chapters were never completed due to the unexpected passing of Ronnie.


The Caroline Roadshow Story
by
Ronnie Dee



Title Page


Foreword


Chapter 1


Chapter 2



Ronnie Dee On The Caroline Roadshow
(Click Images For Full Size)

The Caroline Roadshow Story
by
Ronnie Dee



Chapter 3


Chapter 4


Chapter 5






Some Printed Memorabilia From The Caroline Roadshow Using The 4A Prescott Street Address
   
   


The Caroline Roadshow HQ At 4a Prescott Street Before Demolition




Carl England (Dave Simpson) On Stage At Wigan Casino
In The Early Days Of The Roadshow

2003_11_laser_shortwave_davesimpson_ronnie_dee_tribute-ds.mp3 A tribute to Ronnie Dee from Dave Simpson (aka Carl England), and broadcast on Laser International in November 2003. Ronnie had passed away just two months earlier in September 2003. The story includes the history of The Rado Caroline North Roadshow, started by Ronnie Dee. One of the Ronnie extracts includes mention of Eric Day at the bar in the gig. This studio recording is by kind courtesy of Dave.

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The Caroline Roadshow In Action During November 1979
(Click Images For Full Size, Which Are By Kind Courtesy Of Dave Simpson)
On Stage Are Ronnie Dee (Left), With Tony Abbott At The Controls



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The Caroline Roadshow Made An Appearance In Blackpool's Famous Winter Gardens 'Spanish Hall' On September 24th 1988,
Fronting The Free Radio Convention 'Communicate 88',
Which Was Jointly Organised By 'Monitor Magazine', 'Offshore Echos Magazine' And 'Anoraks UK'.
Dave Simpson And The Late Peter Madison (above right) Operated The Roadshow System On The Day.
(Click Images For Larger Versions, Which Were By Kind Courtesy Of Arthur Chorley Via Dave Simpson)
As Well As 1960's 45's, Some Original Radio Caroline North Recordings From August 13th/14th 1967, As Received In Wigan on 259m, Were Played On The Reel To Reel Decks At Times During the Day


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RADIO JACKIE NORTH - 217m (1394/1395kHz, 1404kHz or 1413kHz) - 287m (1017kHz) - 317m (963kHz or 976kHz)

     In 1976, Eric left the Caroline Roadshow to set up and concentrate on his new venture Radio Jackie North, which commenced broadcasting on Boxing Day 1976. Having used the name Eric Day on Radio Free Liverpool, he changed his name on this new station to Rick Dane. Unlike Radio Free Liverpool however, which played a variety of pop music, Radio Jackie North was started in order to fill the gap in rock music radio, which was virtually non-existent in Britain at that time. Initially, Radio Jackie North operated on a Sunday afternoon, but eventually extended to both Saturday and Sunday broadcasts.  As well as extended hours, transmissions migrated from mobile low power systems in fields, to larger 100 watt transmitters from tower blocks, which also meant live broadcasts became possible.  During a period around Easter in early 1979 they could even be heard 7 days per week, being possibly the very first landbased free radio station to attempt this. The badge below was produced at that time, and announces 'everyday'. At this time, and thereafter, with higher power and superior aerials, the signal could be heard over much of North West England on 217m, 1395kHz.  By 1983 the station was operating on two channels, 217m (normally 1395kHz) and 317m (normally 963kHz).



Rick had announced several times over the years that the station was closing due to problems from the authorities and lack of help.  However he always managed to return, with enthusiastic help from other free radio fanatics, and operated almost every weekend for over 6 years, broadcasting rock music to the North West of England until the late summer of 1983.Rick had announced several times over the years that the station was closing due to problems from the authorities and lack of help.  However he always managed to return, with enthusiastic help from other free radio fanatics, and operated almost every weekend for over 6 years, broadcasting rock music to the North West of England until the late summer of 1983.

Sadly, Eric passed away in tragic circumstances on 16th November 2002. A number of tribute broadcasts to Eric and Radio Jackie North have aired in the years since his passing. Many of these tribute programmes can be listen to at
MERSEYPIRATES.COM

The recordings of Radio Jackie North below are in date order and collated from a variety of sources, hence the varying signals and quality. They are interspersed with reports from free radio magazines and newspapers along with other memorabilia to try and give a historical timeline of the station between 1976 and 1983.



A early business card from when the station was only operating on a Sunday afternoon and using the Box 217, 100 Whitechapel address.

1977_00_00_sun_jackienorth_217m-1394am_rickdane.mp3 Originally received from Rick Dane by Gary in the late 90s. Here he mentions the station is now broadcasting from 12 or 1pm every Sunday
1977_00_00_sun_jackienorth_217m-1394am_1355-1425_rickdane-js.mp3 Thanks to Jeff Stuart for allowing us to use this recording he made in Cheshire in 1977. The recording mentions going off early the week before, and shows the tape changeover in those days.  Not sure of the exact date.
1977_12_11_sun_jackienorth_217m-1394am_rickdane-rd.mp3 This recording was actually from a Radio Atlantis 936kHz Free Radio Show broadcast sometime in 1987. On this one, Rick Dane played some old recordings of Radio Jackie North. Rick mentions on this 1977 show they had gone off the air early the previous Sunday. Thanks to Rodger Dee for this one

1979_03_26_mon_jackienorth_217m-1395am_1410-1600_rickdane-gh920.mp3 Recorded near Blackpool during the weeks when Radio Jackie North operated 7 days per week and also live rather than from tapes. Here is almost two hours of Rick Dane up to 4pm. Sadly this was done without additional loop aerials, hence a lot of local electrical interference, but shows what the signal was like at that distance now they were operating from tower blocks instead of fields.
1979_03_30_fri_jackienorth_217m-1395am_1508-1615_rickdane_waits_for_paullinton_power_cuts_off-gh920.mp3 Again received near Blackpool with no additional aerials. On this recording, Rick Dane is waiting for Paul Linton to return to the studio at 4pm. He does not, so Rick carries on, and then around 4:15pm, the money in the meter runs out during the 'Baba O'Riley' Who track. After a few seconds of dead air, the transmitter cuts back on and Rick apologies for the break.

Below is an article containing some early history about Radio Jackie North, from Issue 1 of The New Newswave Magazine which was produced in mid 1979 from The South Coast Radio Movement.
(Click on image for an expanded view)


A QSL received by Ken, who was hearing Jackie North quite well on 1395kHz in Scotland during the Summer of 1979.

1979_04_22_sun_jackienorth_1395am-217m_rickdane-kb.mp3 A tape received by Ken following his reception report in June 1979. The recording seems to be from just after the station was raided when it had been operating a 7 day schedule. They were back to Sunday only broadcasts at this point, and Rick Dane was being helped by Dick Barton and Paul Linton on the broadcasts.
1979_09_16_sun_jackienorth_217m_1423-1525_dickbarton_rickdane-gh190.mp3 Gary drove across from Leeds to have listen to the station, and this was recorded on the move in a car on M62 from 217m.
1979_09_16_sun_jackienorth_217m_1525-1600signoff_rickdane-gh190.mp3 Recorded at Burtonwood Services on M62.

 

Listening to a broadcast in September 1979, Gary heard on the air that the station was going to close down, and subsequently wrote a letter to Rick Dane. Here is the reply he received a week later, in which Rick talked about a court case on 14th September where a member of the station was fined £200 and given a 6 month suspended sentence.

1979_09_29_sat_jackienorth_1404am_1515-1645_rickdane-gh207.mp3 Another recording made by Gary, this time on a Saturday, whilst travelling on M62, and then parked up at Burtonwood services.
1979_09_29_sat_jackienorth_1404am_rickdane_with_signoff-gh207.mp3 The end of the above recording with the station sign off, recorded on the move on M62 near Burtonwood Services.

 

A Radio Jackie North sticker received along with the letter to Gary in September 1979.

1979_11_00_sun_jackienorth_217m_1445-1515_dickbarton_rickdane-EM163.mp3 Recording kindly supplied by Eric Monaghan.
1979_11_18_sun_jackienorth_217m_1610-1630_rickdane-gh195.mp3 A shorter recording made by Gary, again whilst at Burtonwood, and with a bit of foreign interference. RJN now had competition from MAR who had just moved an hour earlier from 1197kHz/259m to 266m/1125am, although the two stations had different music formats. A longer studio version of this programme can be listened to at MERSEYPIRATES.COM

 

A clipping from Soundwaves Magazine Issue 6, December 1979 reporting on the 14th September 1979 court case involving Rick Dane.


 

Also a clipping from Newswave Magazine Issue 2, January 1980 reporting on the same court case involving Rick Dane.
Sadly we don't have 'The Guardian' report mentioned.


 

1979_12_01_sat_jackienorth_1413am-217m_1530-1600_rickdane_to closedown-EM268.mp3 Sign off on Saturday at 5pm. Rick mentions about Dick Barton leaving the station. Audio is a bit distorted on this one. The transmitter can be heard switching off with the German station coming through afterwards.
1979_12_08_sat_jackienorth_217m_1413am_1100-1235_rickdane-gh200.mp3 A Saturday morning 11am sign-on from Rick Dane recorded whilst driving through Liverpool.
1979_12_08_sat_jackienorth_217m_1413am_1235-1320_rickdane-gh200.mp3 Recorded in Liverpool.

 

On Boxing Day 1979, Rick Dane was on the air at 1100 with a 3rd Birthday broadcast for Radio Jackie North. There seemed to be some confusion as to the length of the broadcast. Initially Rick mentions 3 hours, but he later announced 11am to 5pm. Rick did the whole broadcast on his own, as Dick Barton had left the station earlier in the month. Rick gave a potted history of the station at times throughout the broadcast. Thanks go to Eric Monaghan for the use of his recordings of the first 4 hours of this broadcast.

 

1979_12_26_wed_jackienorth_1413am-217m_1100-1130_rickdane_3rd_birthday-EM66.mp3 Sign on at 11am with Rick Dane.
1979_12_26_wed_jackienorth_1413am-217m_1130-1200_rickdane_3rd_birthday-EM66.mp3 At the end of the first hour, Rick wishes MAR a happy Christmas and names some of their deejays.
1979_12_26_wed_jackienorth_1413am-217m_1202-1304_rickdane_3rd_birthday-EM204.mp3 Rick starts giving a history of the station beginning with 1977.
1979_12_26_wed_jackienorth_1413am-217m_1302-1402_rickdane_3rd_birthday-EM4.mp3  
1979_12_26_wed_jackienorth_1413am-217m_1402-1432_rickdane_3rd_birthday-EM28.mp3 In this section, Rick talks briefly about the raids of 1977 and 1978 and the resulting court cases.
1979_12_26_wed_jackienorth_1413am-217m_1432-1501_rickdane_3rd_birthday-EM28.mp3 The station history reaches 1979, but we do not have the final part of the broadcast.

 

A clipping from Soundwaves Magazine Issue 7, February 1980 reporting a new mailing address for Radio Jackie North.


 

There was a large and interesting article in the Liverpool Echo from Tuesday 1st April 1980 about pirate radio on Merseyside.
Both MAR and Radio Jackie North were featured.



1980_10_25_sat_jackienorth_1413am-217m_1058-1120_signon_with_rickdane-gh283.mp3 Following some test music, Rick Dane signs on Saturday 25th October 1980. Recorded on the move in a car through Liverpool from 1413kHz.  This was the day of MAR's first birthday and ironically they were off the air until 3pm.
1980_10_25_sat_jackienorth_1413am-217m_1128-1140_rickdane-gh283.mp3 Recorded in Liverpool.
1980_10_25_sat_jackienorth_1413am-217m_1145-1148_rickdane-gh283.mp3 Recorded in Liverpool.
1980_10_25_sat_jackienorth_1413am-217m_1300-1345_rickdane-gh283.mp3 Recorded in Liverpool.


Issue 19 of FRS News, March 1981, gave mention of the 4th Birthday Broadcast on Boxing Day 1980.

 

A clipping from Soundwaves Magazine Issue 11, October / November 1980 reporting yet another new mailing address for Radio Jackie North and mentioning Andy Davis hs now joined the station. Andy had previously been on MAR.


 

Soundwaves Magazine Issue 12, December 1980 reported the station was on 1413kHz. This would have been the move to its winter frequency in order to avoid late afternoon interference from Radio Tirana.


 

A clipping below from Soundwaves Magazine Issue 13, February 1981 with a mention of missing birthday shows.



Issue 20 of FRS News, May 1981, gave a report of Radio Jackie North transmissions for March

 

The final issue of Soundwaves Magazine, number 14 from May 1981 contained the following report. Radio Jackie North did continue however, for another two years in fact.


 

1981_04_05_sun_jackienorth_1404am_217m_1600-1645_andydavis-EM244.mp3 These off air recordings of an entire Andy Davis show were kindly sent to us by Eric Monaghan.
1981_04_05_sun_jackienorth_1404am_217m_1647-1735_andydavis-EM244.mp3 The 2nd part of the above Andy Davis Show
1981_04_05_sun_jackienorth_1404am_217m_1740-1825_andydavis-EM244.mp3 The 3rd part of the above Andy Davis Show
1981_04_05_sun_jackienorth_1404am_217m_1830-1900signoff_andydavis-EM244.mp3 The final part of the above Andy Davis Show, along with station closedown at 7pm.
1981_06_21_sun_jackienorth_1395am_1715-1815_andydavis-gh324.mp3 Andy Davis was still on the station in June, but by August 1981 he was heard on Station J1000. RJN was also back to its regular summer 1395kHz frequency by this time.
1981_07_11_sat_jackienorth_1395am_1100-1330_signon_rickdane-gh334.mp3 By July, Rick seemed to be back to operating on his own, with shorter hours.
1981_11_00_jackienorth_1395am_217m_1800-1910_davewatts_rickdane-EM7.mp3 A show from a new deejay Dave Watts.


Issue 23 of FRS News, Nov 1981, mentioned that RJN had been irregular in the latter part of that year


Issue 25 of FRS News, March 1982, gave a short report about missing weeks over New Year

 

1982_01_16_sat_jackienorth_1395am_1600-1700signoff_rickdane-rd.mp3 Rick gives some information out about why the station had been off the air for 5 weeks, missing their 5th birthday on Boxing Day. He was also having some problems in the studio with fuses blowing. He signed off in the dark, having to use a torch, and saying he was putting one of the Dave Watts programme tapes on, which hadn't been aired for a number of weeks. Luckily the transmitter and decks were still working, despite the lack of lights.  Many thanks to Rodger Dee for passing on this recording.
1982_02_06_sat_jackienorth_1404am-217m_1545-1617_rickdane-gh387.mp3 Recorded in Liverpool from 1404kHz.
1982_02_06_sat_jackienorth_1404am-217m_1645-1700_rickdane_to_sign_off-gh387.mp3 Rick Dane with the sign off at 5pm. Recorded in Liverpool.


Issue 26 of FRS News, May 1982, reported that RJN had been missing a lot during the early part of 1982

1982_04_25_sun_jackienorth_1395am_1200-1324_rickdane-gh409.mp3 Recorded near Blackpool from 1395kHz.
1982_09_19_sun_jackienorth_287m_1017am_1400-1420_rickdane_stevewest-gh933.mp3 Rick Dane hands over to Steve West on this transmission which was on two frequencies in parallel, 1395kHz/217m and the unusual channel of 1017kHz/287m.  Recorded near Blackpool from 1017kHz.
1982_09_19_sun_jackienorth_287m_1017am_1440-1525_stevewest_rickdane-gh933.mp3 The end of the Steve West show, followed by Rick Dane. Recorded near Blackpool from 1017kHz. 


Issue 27 of FRS News, August 1982, reported on the current status of Radio Jackie North.
The text was actually from rival operator Matt Black of Radio Caroline North whose station played alternative music.

1983_06_19_sun_jackienorth_963am_1335-1515_rickdane_stevewest-gh468.mp3 Recorded near Blackpool from 963kHz, announced as 317m. The signal from RJN in Blackpool was much better on 963kHz than 1395kHz, 217m.
1983_06_19_sun_jackienorth_963am_1515-1630_stevewest_to_signoff_on_1395-gh468.mp3 A continuation of the above recording from 963kHz. Then aerial problems cause 963kHz to go off. The recording tunes to 1395kHz up to Steve West signing off at 1630.
1983_06_19_sun_jackienorth_963am_1700-1810_rickdane_signon-gh468.mp3 After about half an hour, Rick Dane signs the station back on 963kHz only. Recorded near Blackpool.  The interference may be from an RTE station in the West of Ireland

 


Radio Jackie North had made a 'final broadcast' during April 1983, but had then been on and off the air during the Summer, on 963kHz/317m in addition to the normal 1395kHz/217m. As can be read in the Tim Jackson report below from 27th July 1983.



Rick did continue with RJN, but the arrival of Radio Caroline from the Ross Revenge on 963kHz on 19th August, caused him to look for another frequency. On the recording below from late September 1983, he was announcing the frequency as 976.5kHz, and should there be a good response, they would obtain a crystal for the 'on channel' 981kHz.

 

1983_09_24_sun_jackienorth_976am_rickdane.mp3 Recorded near Blackpool.  This is the last recording of Radio Jackie North we have in our collection. Rick asks listeners to tune around if they can't hear the station on 976kHz next time, as they are looking for a new frequency.

 


Radio Jackie North were last reported with regular transmissions in Tim Jackson's Merseyside Report in late September 1983. There were reports of single test broadcasts in December 1983 and early 1984, but nothing came of these. Rick hadn't given up on free radio though, and in early 1984 was involved with Radio Atlantis on 1242kHz, 936kHz and FM.  He then joined up with John Dwyer in a 'new' incarnation of Merseyland Alternative Radio on 819kHz in late 1984. This didn't last very long, and in October 1985 was in Ballina, in Ireland's County Mayo, setting up a station with John Dwyer.  He was soon back in Liverpool and joined up with Steven Bishop to bring back Radio Atlantis in May 1987, on 936kHz. This took his time up for next few years until the early 1990's when the station disappeared. In the early 2000's Rick Dane started hosting shows on a new incarnation of Merseyland Alternative Radio on FM, but sadly passed away on 16th November 2002.  Several tribute broadcasts were aired on FM in subsequent years and recordings of some of these can be heard on Merseypirates. In November 2010 another tribute was aired, this time on the old Radio Jackie North wavelength of 217m. Some of the shows recorded from 217m / 1386kHz near Blackpool can be heard in the files below, and a recording of the entire weekend output from the 2010 RJN Tribute web stream can be listened to here.

 

2010_11_14_sun_rjn_tribute_217m-1386am_1055-1130_ericmonaghan-gh.mp3 Recorded near Blackpool from 1386kHz
2010_11_14_sun_rjn_tribute_217m-1386am_1130-1350_davesimpson_rickdane-gh.mp3 Recorded near Blackpool from 1386kHz.
2010_11_14_sun_rjn_tribute_217m-1386am_1350-1610_tonyhayes_johnfreeman-gh.mp3 Recorded near Blackpool from 1386kHz.

 

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