There's a certain irony in the fact that the BBC would choose to pay tribute to Radio Caroline, given how opposed the Beeb and the British government fought to get it off the air. The U.K. broadcaster has a multi-part series about the pirate station that broadcast from a ship in international waters to overcome English laws prohibiting unlicensed broadcasters. 

The specials are hosted by Johnnie Walker and Tony Blackburn, now BBC stalwarts, but then young and wild DJs on board that infamous ship. The first episode is especially interesting for radio history fans, tracing the first broadcasts and playing something I confess I've never heard before and didn't know even existed - the Radio Caroline theme song.

There are also some aircheck excerpts that demonstrate what it sounded like, something we never got to hear on this side of the pond. And they play some songs that were never really hits here but became a big deal in England, thanks to Caroline playing them. They also get into Radio London, another pirate that followed Caroline into the high seas. 

Those who were there recall the crazy times after that first sign-on and the reaction in England, where teens went crazy over a full time Top 40 station and the BBC fought bitterly against its first competition. There are also references to the Canadian and American DJs who worked there. With rock and roll radio already established here, British teens had never heard anything like them. (British born and former CKFH jock Keith Hampshire was there for a while.)

It's a pretty entertaining show, with lots of reminiscences from the survivors who were there. 

Unlike its TV service, there's no geoblocking, so you can listen from Canada without a VPN. But time is of the essence. BBC is only leaving these shows online for the next month, so if this interests you, listen to them before they disappear back into the vault.

Remembering Radio Caroline Part 1

All the episodes