ROSKO REMEMBERS ...

The difference between ignorance and awareness is wisdom

We don't know where we are going unless we know where we've been

Without that knowledge... history is gone with the wind

ROSKO REMEMBERS

I have been asked to think back to Caroline days and share a few thoughts.

Like everything in history, pirate radio arrived and was conceived at the right
time and right place - no laws and no competition!!

That’s right, the BBC was not considered competition as they did not play enough pop to qualify.
Luxy (208) at night was far more of a threat. Their signal however was only good in certain areas. We had the sprit, a better signal, and lots of pop. Could it happen today? No, now there are laws which say all too good of things must be regulated! The cutting edge today is different, the Carolines of today are the Internet download outfits - they are doing what we did but in a different way and the govt is doing their best to enact laws that will shut them down or make them legal in a corporate sense. Look at Napster as Caroline and say, Lime wire as London, etc. As these sites deliver the wherewithal to get your music open, they get shut down, a bit like the boats. I wonder what will be the next frontier. Food for thought! I was asked what I remember from 259, the answer is I am one of those people who only remembers stuff when I am drinking with old friends – that’s when the flood gates open and the memories gush out. It is not just on the subject of pirates, but anything, I have trouble rememberinging a gig 6 months down the line today - probably too much pot when I was a youngster, who knows?

Let me clarify once and for all as the story that was recently told by a fellow DJ Tony Blackburn on Classic Gold - it concerned Alfie the mynah bird that used to be on my show when he wasn’t crapping on my shoulder!! He would say Sounds fine, it’s Caroline, 259, and Rock and Roll. It is true when I was off the ship one week he was thought to say F*** YOU! The guys thought it was very funny, I was less amused but as he was never that clear I was able to say things like no Alf, no fudge for you today or, muck off yourself etc. The villain was Tony Prince or so he now says. He claims credit, I always thought of him as a bit to goody to be the one, Princey had the personality, in hindsight it was probably the two in collusion me thinks. So let us put that to rest, Alf then joined me on French Luxembourg where he continued ‘til he died.

By the way, The F word in French means seal, so I was ok over there even if he let loose a clear one. Everyone would say, oh isn’t that cute! He likes sea animals! I know I got my own back on the two of them but damned if I can remember what I did - see what I mean??

"We liberated England", says the former "toe-tapping, hand-clapping, lean, mean record machine" now living a quieter existence Stateside at his ranch in Calabasas, a semi-rural area north of Los Angeles. There, Emperor Rosko is known by his given name, Michael Pasternak. Pasternak/Rosko spun the sounds of Motown and Stax, the Moody Blues, the Kinks, Stones and Beatles from a 200-foot rust-bucket freighter anchored four hours offshore. Beginning at Radio Caroline and going on to Radio One, Emperor Rosko was the toast of Swinging London.

He was also the first in Europe to take records on the road with lighting and
invented the mobile DJ business. Most who only knew the voice believed the
jive-talking DJ ("I'm rough, tough and hard to bluff") was black. In fact, the young white man behind the voice of pirate radio was a product of Hollywood. He was the rebellious son of producer Joe Pasternak, the man who made "Destry Rides Again" with Marlene Dietrich, and "Spinout" with Elvis Presley.

"I didn't like the movie business," Pasternak says now, "maybe because I grew up with it." Today, the Beverly Hills industry kid who grew up with Cyd Charisse, Elvis, and Mario Lanza lounging by the backyard pool has his own recording studio, where he puts together 40 weekly hours of radio shows for 15 radio stations in the U.K. and others in Europe. he also runs his own party DJ business, and has been known to spin discs for wingdings from ABU Dhabi to Hollywood. But he acknowledges things are tame now compared to when he used to bob about on the high seas beneath a 50,000 watt transmitter for two weeks at a stretch and buzz around London on hi Norton 750 during shore leave with a "bird" hanging on.

Rosko was notorious for throwing records he didn't like through the portholes, even when they were on the label of the record company that owned the boat. He was fired repeatedly for hijinx such as sabotaging a Christian evangelist, who'd bought time on the station, by mixing in the sounds of lovemaking with the religious chorales. Payola was the norm - "I never played a record I wouldn't have already played", he shrugs "and even with lookouts stationed on the ship, the crew was forever dodging raids by British mobsters looking to muscle in on the outlaw enterprise".
He recently revisited those days, as the guest of honor at Radio Caroline reunion, playing original Emperor Rosko tapes at a stadium appearance broadcast live.

The music he spun was once considered cutting-edge, but is now considered Golden Oldies. But that's fine with Emperor Rosko.

Emp On Rosko Radio 

For the past five years or so, many of you have been asking me where I am? Where can you hear the show? Why am I no longer on the air on your local station? Well, I decided to do something about it. Welcome to the birth of Rosko Radio – my personal acknowledgement of you the fans and a small thank you for your many years of dedication to Rosko. Initially, Rosko Radio will be available via streaming webcast and podcast, but with enough support, who knows where the ride will take us all?

The most frequently asked question is where does your style come from? The answer once and definitively for all is, it comes from all the great DJs I ever heard as a kid. What I do is a tribute to them, and those who they heard who inspired them. I am a mix, a blend of a dozen of the great personalities. Their personality is my base and time allowed all to ferment and mutate, the result is ROSKO, be it Emperor or Presidente or Kaiser, the mission statement is to have fun and enjoy the trip!

I have dug out all your favorite old jingles and effects - we are going to relive the hey days of 60s and 70s, but perhaps more importantly, have fun and games with a mix of all the great music we have enjoyed together for the past 4 decades. I hope in the near future to have up and running a slew of specialist shows dedicated to certain artists, labels, and moods.

Guest DJs will soon be invited to add to the mix! Rome was not constructed in a day nor will the finalization of this station. As radio has evolved and continues to do so, so shall we - patience Bro, as we grow.

As always, I look forward to your requests and dedications, ideas.

The Internet will ultimately do something for the Rosko Empire that I have not yet managed that is to be available in the 4 corners of the globe! I can now do the other half of the world and that is exciting for me, to meet new fans and discover new music, welcome aboard the express, we are taking off and you are seconds away from my world of radio as I know it.

...more disco and DJ history in my giant eBook - best ever published history document about '70 disco & DJ, because of real creators memories !! This book / eBook biggest ever published (4.5GB content) !!
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- disco history told by its ’70 creators, 
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