volume 2
april 1999

Rare pictures from radio's past

A photo gallery of radio history

by Hans Knot

Though radio is made of sounds, photographs and pictures of the medium add much to the understanding of its history. In this database Hans Knot presents some rare photographs and pictures from radio's rich past. The database will be updated regularly. The first series of pages brings photo's and pictures of the Dutch service of Radio Luxembourg. The second series lets you look at the ships and people of Europe's first offshore radio stations: Radio Mercur, DCR, Radio Nord, and Radio Syd. The third series shows pictures and documents of the famous British offshore station Radio London. The fourth series brings back some memories of Radio Northsea International, while the fifth one presents some pictures of the restoration of the Prinsenhof, the former building of RTV Noord in Groningen.

Radio Luxembourg in beeld (1932-1992). Voor veel Nederlanders bood Radio Luxembourg, het station dat vanaf 1932 via de lange golf haar uitzendingen vanuit het Groot-Hertogdom begon, de eerste kennismaking met de oorspronkelijke Amerikaanse populaire muziek. Vanaf eind 1953 was het vooral de Nederlandstalige afdeling van dit station, die de trends in de populaire muziek aangaf. Deze reeks pagina's laat in ruim honderd foto's en afbeeldingen zien hoe de gebouwen, de apparatuur en de mensen eruit zagen die samen deze afdeling vormden.

Scandinavian Offshore Radio (1958-1966). The history of commercial offshore radio started way back in 1958 right off the Scandanavian coast. Inbetween 1958 and 1966 four Scandinavian offshore stations were on air: Radio Mercur (on air from July 1958 till July 1962), the short-lived Danish Commercial Radio (DCR) (on air from September 1961 till January 1962), Radio Nord (on air from February 1961 till 30th June 1962) and Radio Syd (on air between February 1962 and 20th January 1966).

Radio Caroline (1964-2004). On March 27, 1964, the offshore station Radio Caroline started its transmissions from the former MV Fredericia. Nowadays the station still can be heard by way of internet and satellite. The forty year history of Radio Caroline is characterized by countless ups and downs, each worth memorising — as will be done on these pages.

Pictures and documents of Radio London (1964-1967). The British offshore station Radio London (on air from 23rd December 1964 till 14th August 1967) became famous with its carefully packaged programmes named after its deejays like Mike Lennox, Tony Windsor, Ed Stewart, Kenny Everett, Tony Blackburn and Norman St. John.

RNI Memories (1970-1974). The offshore radio station Radio Nordsee International (RNI) started broadcasting in January 1970, transmitting German and English language programmes from its ship, the MEBO II. In September 1970 the transmissions came to an end. In February 1971, however, the station was back on the air and stayed there till the end of August 1974, now with Dutch and English programmes.

Erinnerungen an Radio Nordsee International (1970-1974). Die Offshorestation "Radio Nordsee International" (RNI) nahm im Januar 1970 den Sendebetrieb in deutscher und englischer Sprache von ihrem Schiff, der MEBO II, auf. Im September 1970 wurden die Aussendungen wieder beendet. Nach wenigen Monaten jedoch, im Februar 1971, kam die Station bis Ende August 1974 mit niederländischen und englischen Programmen wieder in den Äther zurück.

Het oude gebouw van RTV Noord (1970-1972). In 1946 begon RTV Noord, toen nog de Regionale Omroep Noord geheten, uit te zenden vanuit de Prinsenhof in Groningen. Het gebouw had toen al een lange en eerbiedwaardige geschiedenis achter de rug. Inmiddels is de RTV Noord alweer een tijdje verhuisd. Van de verbouwing van het oude pand in de jaren zeventig kwamen onlangs zeldzame foto's boven water. Hans Knot presenteert er een dertigtal en licht een en ander nader toe.