Of particular interest to Radio Geronimo
listeners is Bob Noakes description of Hugh Nolan and Barry Everitt during their
time on board the Mi Amigo, anchored in the International waters of the
North Sea. Three years had passed since the demise of Radio Geronimo. Then
Hugh and Barry appeared on board the Mi Amigo with the full support of Ronan
O'Rahilly, owner of
Radio Seagull and Caroline...
"...Hugh and Barry arrived with their hash
pipes and crates of underground records, and above all, with the total
blessing of Ronan who had sent them across to us....
...Radio Seagull had
become established. I was to spend the next few weeks on board in the
company of some very strange people who were operating what had become
possibly the strangest radio station in Europe. Our two new djs had given
the station a distinctive new ultra-progressive sound that I found neither
good nor bad - I simply didn't understand it. Andy and Johnny were on land
enjoying a break, which left the station largely in their hands. As there
was still nobody in charge to make decisions of music policy and direct the
station's output, and love and peace, hash smoke and good vibes were guiding
us, Radio Seagull soon became self-indulgent, directionless and empty...
...It was a wonderful broadcasting and communication opportunity for all
involved; a transmitter which most of Europe could hear and carte-blanche
to do and say anything....
...Barry and Hugh were undoubtedly professional, but their choice of
music was so heavy and often so obscure that they could have only been
reaching a small percentage of the available audience. The emphasis was on
old Dylan tracks with plenty of Zappa and Beefheart. Later in the evening
came some of the more horrisant music that only the most erudite of
listeners would have been able to understand...
...The emphasis on drugs had also become much greater and this was
reflected in the programmes; a special jargon had come into use which some
of us could not understand. The station, and everything about it, had become
so avant-garde and freaky that it was totally far out...
...Barry and Hugh were night-people who seldom saw the light of the sun.
They slept by day and arose at about four in the afternoon to choose records
for the evening's programmes. Their breakfast was usually a cup of tea and a
thickly rolled joint which provide them with enough lethargy to stagger
through their work and get high on the strange and fantastic music they
selected...."
Bob Noakes, 1984. Last Of The
Pirates ISBN 0 86228 092 3
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