The major figures in the story are based on key personnel in the Radio Caroline team of the late 1970s. Life on board the Radio Caroline ship Mi Amigo was often no less dramatic than Bob's story.
The key character in the tale is called Bob and this is almost a 'Dear Diary' tale of his times with the station. A painter and decorator in London in the late seventies, the lead loves Charlton Athletic, old war films and listening to Radio Caroline. By pure chance, our hero ends up decorating the flat of Caroline's manager, the beautiful Olga.
In the right bed at the right time, he is given the chance to leave the paint roller behind and join the radio station. Avoiding arrest is just the beginning, avoiding death is somewhere in the middle and at the end, he faces the ultimate price. Based heavily on the author's time spent working on Radio Caroline in the 1970s, this is a fictional tale of love, hate, fear, joy, betrayal, guns, sex, drugs and rock n roll. Truly, a great read!
Sarah-Jane's work has appeared in Marie-Claire, The Guardian, The Boston Globe, Bitch, Slate, Salon,etc.
Sarah lives in New York and her writing has had many commendations in reviews worldwide.
An interesting novel set in and around the BBC in the 1920s. Big changes are in the air, as well as "on the air" This new novel brings to life the exciting days of early radio broadcasting in Biritain...and about one woman in particular who finds her voice in the BBC in London during 1926.
Maisie Musgrave is thrilled to land a job as a secretary at the upstart BBC, whose use of radio (still new, strange and electrifying) is captivating the nation. The hectic pace, smart young staff, and intimidating bosses add to Maisie's insecurity. She is soon seduced by the work, arrangiong broadcasts by the most famous writers, scientists, and politicians in Britain.
She gets caught up in conflict between her two bosses, John Reith, the formidable Director-General of the BBC, and Hilda Matheson, the extraordinary director of the hugely popular Talks programming. They each have different visions of what radio should be.
With the arrival of pirate radio ships in the early 1960s, the listening habits of British teenagers changed forever. This brave new world of pirate radio was daring, exciting and glamorous, and one that thousands of young men were desperate to join. Including 22 year-old Jack McLaughlin.
Now a Scottish broadcasting legend, in this book Jack tells of his career; the death-defying working conditions and high drama, where young pirates risked life and limb to become radio stars. To set the scene, he retraces his early life - from bingo caller, to House Uncle in a London children's home, then a History teacher. His life changed, when he first heard pirate radio.
Once at sea, apart from sex, drugs and rock 'n roll, there are fires, sea sickness, a jail cell and a Force Twelve hurricane. Plus the fierce rivalry and backstabbing of some of his fellow Jocks. All in the context of the Beatles, the Stones, Bowie and Hendrix and the incredibly colourful characters who also found themselves in the off-shore 'floating rust buckets'.
Spike is your average awkward 11 year old, funny and cheeky and with a mum to reckon with. When he becomes the first presenter ever to be sacked from hospital radio, he decides to carry on from a makeshift studio in the garden shed, with the help of his best friends Artie and Holly, disguising his voice and going by the moniker Radio Boy.
Week by week, word gets around and soon Spike is a star… if only people knew it was actually him. When Spike begins to believe his own hype, and goes too far with his mocking of the school headmaster, a hunt is launched for the mysterious Radio Boy.
Can Spike remain anonymous? Will he get to marry the girl of his dreams, Katherine Hamilton? Will he become famous and popular? The answer to most of these questions is no.
