The Boat That Rocked (Pirate Radio)

1. 87

   Nathanvilleposted 3 years ago

   The Boat That Rocked (Pirate Radio)
   
   I am old enough (just) to remember the days of pirate radio broadcasting off the cost of Britain in the 1960’s, just outside of British territory; and regularly listened to by 26 million Brits (half the British population).
   
   In contrast to the USA where commercial radio was common place, back in the 1960's State Controlled Radio (BBC) had a monopoly on radio waves e.g. censorship.
   
   Pirate Radio which became illegal under British law was popular with the British public because the State owned BBC radio didn’t support ‘Rock & Roll’ (pop music).  By 1967 the UK Government destroyed Pirate Radio; but their legacy lived on as once the Government had wiped out pirate radio the BBC relented to public opinion and started to play pop music.  And following the demise of Pirate Radio by the British Government, numerous (now famous) Pirate Radio DJ’s including Tony Blackburn, Simon Dee, Tony Prince, Johnnie Walker, Dave Lee Travis, Tommy Vance and Emperor Rosko were all re-employed by the BBC to continue to play ‘Rock & Roll’ (including the Beatles) for the British Public.
   
   In 2009 a British Comedy film, entitled ‘The Boat That Rock’, 2 hrs and 15 mins long was made, portraying the plight of Pirate Radio to air ‘Rock & Roll’ when the BBC wouldn’t and the Government fought hard to take Pirate Radio off the air.
   
   An edited version of the film was made for the American market, entitled ‘Pirate Ship’, which only runs for 1hr, 57 mins e.g. almost 20 minutes edited (censured) from the American version; including a lot of the juicy bits!
   
   My reason for raising this bit of British History is that during a recent post-pandemic staycation we had the pleasure of seeing LV18 in Harwich, Essex; a very nostalgic moment for me e.g. LV18, is a light vessel (lighthouse) built in 1958, and is one of the types of vessels used for pirate radio off the cost of England in the 1960’s; and is the last of its kind. 
   
   In fact LV18 was actually used in the making of the film ‘The Boat That Rocked’; so it has extra special meaning for me to see it.
   
   https://radiofidelity.com/history-of-radio-caroline/
   
   The Boat that Rocked – Trailer:  https://youtu.be/pyXu0mC38SE
   
   Below: a couple of pics I took of LV18 while on our staycation in Essex:-
   
   
   
   
   

   replyreport
2. 85

   Kathryn L Hillposted 3 years ago

   "The soundtrack features songs from The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Turtles, Jimi Hendrix, Duffy, Procol Harum, Box Tops, The Beach Boys, Dusty Springfield, The Seekers and The Who.
   The soundtrack features 32 songs on two discs. The film itself has a 60-song playlist"
   

   replyreport
   1. 87

      Nathanvilleposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      I’ve got the film on DVD (British cut), which we re-watched after our return from our staycation in Essex and seeing LV18 in the flesh at Harwich:  But I didn’t consider thinking about the soundtrack; that must be really cool.

      replyreport
3. 61

   FatFreddysCatposted 3 years ago

   I saw that movie a couple of years ago, cool stuff!

   replyreport
4. 85

   Kathryn L Hillposted 3 years ago

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mNoNawk85c

   replyreport
5. 87

   Nathanvilleposted 3 years ago

   Thanks for your feedback, I love the Jeff Lynne Rockaria YouTube video clip.

   replyreport
6. 85

   Kathryn L Hillposted 3 years ago

   The film did not do well. I've got to get it to see why. I think I would love it with all the music and history of that time! Thanks for sharing your trip with us Americans. PS I love British rock the best!

   replyreport
   1. 87

      Nathanvilleposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks,
      
      Yeah, my understanding is that the British cut of the film was too long for the American Market e.g. 2 hrs and 15 mins; and therefore it was edited down to 1 hr 57 minutes in the American release, and in the process cutting out lots of good (and some juicy) scenes.
      
      Therefore I assume that the American public are less keen on long films?
      
      Plus I guess pirate radio didn’t have the same impact on American society as it did on Britain, in that back in the 1960s America already had hundreds of commercial radio that could play modern music, but Britain had none e.g. just the State (Government) owned BBC, that was adverse to promoting modern music!  So for British viewers, with memories of pirate radio ships, like Radio Caroline, the film will be far more nostalgic.   I can still clearly remember the moment (from when I was young) when I was listening to one of the pirate radio ships broadcasting its last, as it sank; so the ending of the film brings back those memories.
      
      Here’s some video clips of our day trip to Harwich, Essex, England, where the LV18 (ship featured in the Boat That Rocked) is moored:  https://youtu.be/F_HSP6gVy_I?t=1609

      replyreport
      1. 85

         Kathryn L Hillposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         "I can still clearly remember the moment (from when I was young) when I was listening to one of the pirate radio ships broadcasting its last, as it sank; so the ending of the film brings back those memories."
         
         why did it sink? or not literally .. Lol!

         replyreport
         1. 87

            Nathanvilleposted 3 years agoin reply to this

            The ship was hit by gale force 10 winds, broke anchor and ran aground, where it began taking on water; all aboard were rescued by the RNLI, and when the ship sank all that remained visible above the waves was the mast.

            replyreport
            1. 85

               Kathryn L Hillposted 3 years agoin reply to this

               ... and then what happened to the broadcasting of the music? They brought it to shore? They found another ship?

               replyreport
               1. 87

                  Nathanvilleposted 3 years agoin reply to this

                  As in the film ‘The Boat That Rocked’, which although a comedy, is historically accurate, pirate radio was killed by the UK Government, with most of the DJ’s who gained fame from broadcasting on pirate radio then being re-employed by the BBC (State Radio) to continue broadcasting Rock Music, but legally.
                  
                  Later on, when the UK Government started to permit commercial radio, under franchise licence, a small number of the old pirate radio stations applied for licence so that they could establish themselves as legitimate radio stations in England.

                  replyreport
7. 85

   Kathryn L Hillposted 3 years ago

   Thank you, Nathanville.
   The video provides a great trip and informative comments. I feel like I have traveled to Britain. Thank you for sharing this beautiful video. Perfect music.

   replyreport