The Radio Rose of Texas by Derek Burroughs,
jr.
Updated and revised on March 2nd,2007.
Chapter 8: Ò32 CurzonÓ. Addresses and other
administrative data.
A letter to William E.Vick.
Don
Pierson hired Bill Vick by letter dated January 31, 1966 while Vick was in
Amarillo in West Texas. It says:
ÒDear Mr.
Vick;
This
letter will serve as an agreement between our joint venture, known as World
Wide Investments, and you, whereby you will be employed by the venture as their
Manager of their operations in Europe. This agreement shall be for a term of at
least two years, and shall be binding on all parties.
We agree
to pay you the sum of twenty-four thousand dollars ($24,000.00) annually, to be
paid monthly as follows: one thousand (1,000.00) dollars per month to be sent
to you in Europe, the other one thousand ($1,00.00) dollars to be deposited to
your account in the Butlers Bank Ltd., Post Office Box 901, in Nassau, Bahamas.
In addition, we agree to pay you two and one-half (2½%) per cent of the
gross proceeds of the venture after overhead also to be deposited to your
account in the Butlers Bank Ltd., Post Office Box 901, in Nassau, Bahamas.
In
addition to the above, we agree to reimburse you for all venture related
expenses; this will include moving you and your family to Europe and their
return at the termination of this agreement.
Let us all
hope that the venture will be profitable for all of us.
Very truly
yours,
(signed)
Don
Pierson
Trustee, Venture Group[1]Ó
Who was Peir-Vick ltd.?
Charles Greville relates the sad facts of
Peir-VickÕs liquidation on March 11th, 1967, Daily Telegraph, March
12h, 1967. From Offshore EchoÕs.
Peir-Vick
Ltd. stationery. From ©Offshore EchoÕs and Hans
KnotÕs archive.
SRE/BR Station Information per summer 1966.
From Hans KnotÕs archive.
INVESTORS:
It is understandable that investors often for many
reasons want confidentiality about their investment. This we want to respect.
But for historic reasons and as it is 40 years ago we would like to mention
that some of the investors behind the Olga Patricia stations seem to have been
Don Pierson, Pierce Langford III, ÓRedÓ Livingstone, Vincent Murphy, Bill Vick,
World Wide Investments and City National Bank.[2]
ÓEnter a Texan with two big pirate radiosÓ
in Daily Mirror for April 21st, 1966 it is said that the Olga
backers were ÒBritish, American and CanadianÓ, which was very inaccurate. From
Hans KnotÕs archive, seemingly a contribution from Gerwyn Roberts,
Wales(+Swedish source?) and the NRC/IDXD.
5-station
information, WRTH style.
RADIO ENGLAND(Comm.)
Owner: Worldwide Investment Corp.
Operated by: Peir-Vick
Ltd, 17 Berkeley Street, London W1. Tel: MAYfair 3742.
Addr: 32 Curzon Street, London W1.
LEADING PERSONNEL. Man.Dir. William
E.Vick. Dir.Progr. Rick Randall, then Ron OÕQuinn,
later Bill Berry. Gen.Man. Chuck Blair, later Jack Curtiss.
SALES: Radiovision
Broadcasts(International)Ltd.(A member of the Pearl&Dean Group)33 Dover
Street, London W1.
STATION: Located on the former US
Army/Navy ship ÒOlga PatriciaÓ anchored 4 ½
miles off Frinton-on-Sea.
CALL LETTERS:
HO..(Panama)HR..(Honduras)
COORDINATES: 51 49N 0123E.
FREQUENCY: 1322 kc 50 kW, ¼
power used before summer 1966, ½ power by October, 1966.
CHIEF ENGINEER: Ted Walters.
ASSISTANT CHIEF ENGINEER: Bob Gittis
D.PRGR: 24 hrs. N: Every h 15 mins
past the h. Wrp: Every half h. 15 mins past the h. and 15 mins. Past the half
h.
ANN.: ÒSwinging Radio England on 227
metres.Ó ÒBoss Radio.Ó V.by card.
BRITAIN RADIO(Comm.)
Owner: Worldwide Investment Corp.
Operated by: Peir-Vick Ltd, 17
Berkeley Street, London W1. Tel: MAYfair 3742.
ADDR.: 32 Curzon Street, London W1, later
17 Berkeley Street, London W1.
L.P. Man.Dir. William E.Vick.
Dir.Progr. Ron OÕQuinn, later Phil Martin. Gen.Man. Chuck Blair, later Jack
Curtiss.
SALES: Radiovision
Broadcasts(International)Ltd.(A member of the Pearl&Dean Group)33 Dover
Street, London W1.
STATION: Located on the former US
Army/Navy ship ship ÒOlga PatriciaÓ anchored 4 ½ miles off
Frinton-on-Sea.
CALL LETTERS:
HO..(Panama)HR..(Honduras)
COORDINATES: 51 49N 0123E.
FREQUENCY: 845 kc 50 kW, ¼
power used before summer 1966, ½ power by October, 1966.
CHIEF ENGINEER: Ted Walters.
ASSISTANT CHIEF ENGINEER: Bob Gittis
D.PRGR: 24 hrs. N: Every h. Wrp:
Every h.
ANN.: ÒThis is Britain Radio
broadcasting on 355 metres.Ó ÒHallmark of Quality.Ó INT.SIG.: Rule Brittania[3].
V.by card.
RADIO DOLFIJN(Comm.)
Owner: Worldwide Investment Corp.
Operated by: Peir-Vick Ltd, leased
to 3rd party?
UK ADDR.: 32 Curzon Street, London
W1, later 17 Berkeley Street, London W1.
DUTCH ADDR.: Verkoopmaatschappi NV.,
Amsteldijk
63, Amsterdam 2(Z?).
POSTAL ADDRESS: Postbus 4022,
Amsterdam, Holland[4].
Tel:760816.
L.P. Man.Dir. William E.Vick.
Gen.Man.:Jack Curtiss. Dutch repr: Basil van Rensburg.
SALES: Radiovision
Broadcasts(International)Ltd.(A member of the Pearl&Dean Group)33 Dover
Street, London W1.
STATION: Located on the former US
Army/Navy ship ship ÒOlga PatriciaÓ anchored 4 ½ miles off
Frinton-on-Sea.
CALL LETTERS:
HO..(Panama)HR..(Honduras)
COORDINATES: 51 49N 0123E.
FREQUENCY: 1322 kc 50 kW. ½
power used.
CHIEF ENGINEER: Ted Walters.
ASSISTANT CHIEF ENGINEER: Bob Gittis
D.PRGR in Dutch: 0600-2200 hrs. N:
Every h. 15 mins bef.the h. Wrp: Every h. 15 mins bef.the h.
ANN.: ÒDit is Radio Dolfijn op 227
meter.Ó V.by QSL-card.
RADIO 227(Comm.)
Owner: Worldwide Investment Corp.
Operated by Carstead advertising
Ltd.
ADDR.: 114 Kings Road, Chelsea,
London, SW3.
L.P. Man.Dir. Edward Allbeury.
Gen.Man.: John Withers. Programme Director: Tony Windsor.
POSTAL ADDRESS: Postbus 1390,
Amsterdam, Holland.
SALES AND PROGRAMMING:
Admiralengracht 101, Amsterdam, Holland.
STATION: Located on the former US
Army/Navy ship ship ÒOlga PatriciaÓ anchored 4 ½ miles off
Frinton-on-Sea.
CALL LETTERS: HR..(Honduras)
COORDINATES: 51 49N 0123E.
FREQUENCY: 1322 kc 226.9 metres 50
kW. 27 kW K.W ERP used.
CHIEF ENGINEER: Ted Walters. ASSISTANT
CHIEF ENGINEER: Bob Gittis
D.PRGR in Dutch: 0600-2200 hrs. N:
Every h. 15 mins bef.the h. Wrp: Every h. 15 mins bef.the h.
ANN.: ÒDit is Radio 227.Ó ÒThe new
Double 2-7Ó V.by letter.
RADIO 355(Comm.)
Owner: Worldwide Investment Corp.
Operated by Carstead Advertising
Ltd.
ADDR.: 114 Kings Road, Chelsea,
London, SW3.
L.P. Man.Dir. Edward Allbeury.
Gen.Man.:John Withers. Programme Director: Tony Windsor.
POSTAL ADDRESS: BCM 355, London WC1.
TEL.: KEN 1551.
STATION: Located on the former US
Army/Navy ship ship ÒOlga PatriciaÓ anchored 4 ½ miles off
Frinton-on-Sea.
CALL LETTERS: HR..(Honduras)
COORDINATES: 51 49N 0123E.
FREQUENCY: 845 kc 355 metres 50 kW.
27 kW K.W ERP used.
CHIEF ENGINEER: Ted Walters.
ASSISTANT CHIEF ENGINEER: Bob Gittis
D.PRGR in English: 0600-2200 hrs. N:
Every h. Wrp: Every h.
ANN.: ÒThis is Radio 355.Ó V.by
letter.
1. The song(s) of a Dolfijn
enters 227. About the Dolfijn drama.
Really a Texan Radio Station in Europe? Or a
European leaser of Ò227Ó? Radio Dolfijn was launched on Monday, November 14th,
1966 at 16.40pm in the afternoon.
Here
follows a series of documents that may add light to what really happened:
A
letter from a lawyer.
Letter,
dated September 30th, 1966, from Dan M.Fergus, Attorney at Law,
Abilene, TX, representing Worldwide Investments Inc., is ent to R.F.Burget at
the transmitter factory. It is said that 1320-1322 kc is only a temporary
frequency choice. The two stations have also only been able to operate on
approx. half power, and the calculated loss of the operation by October, 1966
is $2,250,000,000.[5]
Don
Pierson is booted out.
On October
7th, 1966, Don Pierson was booted, as the investors that had poured in so much
money in the project became very nervous:
ÒEastland
Man Says He Was Booted
Pierson
Says Another Texas Took Over Venture
Dallas
(AP) – A West Texas promoter of a pirate radio ship operating off the
coast of England says he was Ôkicked outÕ of the venture in late 1966 and another
West Texan Ôviolently took over.Õ
Don
Pierson of Eastland testified for seven hours Tuesday in a trial involving an
alleged debt of $348.180 for transmitting equipment about the shipÓ É.
ÒPierson
said after the ship and equipment were purchased, his job entailed internal
business operations.
William
Vick, he testified, ran the floating station and sold commercial time.
Pierson
said the station encountered equipment difficulties and slumping commercial
sales and that he was ousted from his management responsibilities at a meeting
in Abilene, Tex., on Oct. 7, 1966.
Pierson
said Jim Langford of Wichita Falls took over the meeting and Ôit was very
stormy.Õ
Pierson
told the court the venture started with $750,000, which included cash and equipmentÉ[6]Ó
Meanwhile
in LondonÉ
1.ÓÉOne of his stations would soon become
DutchÉÓ(MD William Vick)[7]
2. The
Evening Standard and the Evening News for October 20, 1966 report the
following: Radio Holland will be on air from 7am to midnight on a new
wavelength other than 227. From midnight to 7am Radio England will continue on
227.
3.
"Pirates to cross the sea
By our own
Reporter
Questions there
were in plenty but answers there were none at a press conference staged in
Mayfair yesterday by "Swinging" Radio and "sedate" British
Radio, the two American-owned pirate radio stations.
The
conference had originally been called by Mr. William Vick, Texas chief of the
pirates, but he was "unavoidably detained" in Dallas, his place was
taken by Mr. Jack Curtis, the stations engaging operations manager.
Mr.
Curtis,É, told usÉthat Radio England was shortly to be transformed into Radio
Holland from 7 a.m. to midnight.
When, he
did not know. Where, how, and on what wavelength he did not knowÉButÉhe did
know that Radio Swinging Holland was going to be an up-pace, up-tempo,Éstation
soaring out from the good ship Laissez-FaireÉ.
Indignantly,
he denied that Radio England was the first of the pirates to scuttle before the
Postmaster-General's Bill banning them became law.
Asked by a
cynical Dutch journalist just how Radio Holland was going to start broadcasting
in three weeks when no Dutch staff had been engaged, no wavelength
allocated, no permission granted, and no programmes planned, Mr. Curtis said
with disarming simplicity: That is one of the miracles of commercial radio.[8]"
4."Pirates
Launch Radio Holland[9]
Radio
Holland, Europe's newest pirate radio station was launched in Curzon Street,
W.1. yesterday.
Mr. Jack
Curtis, operations manager of Radio England and Britain Radio which operate
from the same ship off Harwich, said that within three weeks Radio Holland
would broadcast in Dutch from Radio England's 55 kW. transmitter. It would be
on the air from 7 am to midnight with Dutch advertising and Dutch disc jockeys
recruited by the organization.
Radio
England will continue to broadcast from midnight to 7 am on the same
transmitter, but there will be a new common wavelength.
The
480-ton vessel Laissez Faire, which carries the stations. will not move, and
listeners in England will be able to hear Radio Holland.
It is
understood that revenue wil be sought in Holland to offset the drop in British
advertising certain to follow passage of the Government's anti-pirate Bill.
British advertising will be concentrated on Britain Radio. [10]"
Radio
Holland in Dutch press
1. Concurrentie op zee voor Radio Veronica. In an
interview[11], Jack Curtiss
described a Swinging Radio Holland Òbinnen drie wekenÓ, to broadcast Òvan `s
morgens 7 uur tot`s nachts 12 uurÓ, Òmet popmuziek, Nederlandse advertenties en
Nederlands nieuws, gepresenteerd door Nederlandse disc-jockeys.Ó Radio England
would be taking nights 12 midnight-7am.
2.In this report from ÒTelegraafÓ for Oct.21st,
1966, an excited Jack Curtiss explained more of the coming Dutch station, which
he indicated still lacked vital points of the organization needed. Radio
Holland would still be airing the ÒhitparadeÓ as ÒHolland loves American and
British songs.Ó Already Radio England drew a lot of fanmail from Holland. The
new station would be no escape from the coming MOA, but company expansion. The
broadcasting frequency was to be decided later, and the start would be Òin 2 or
3 weeksÓ . With broadcasting hours 7-12 was meant Dutch time. It seems Boom Boom Brannigan had been
brought from the ship especially for the interview, saying ÓYeah, YeahÓ to the
Curtiss outline[12]. From Hans
KnotÕs archive.
3.ÒDeze
zender wordt iets groots.Ó [13]
ÒOp maandag 14.novemberÕs morgens
om 7 uur zal Nederlands tweede piratenzender in de lucht komen op 227 meter op
de middengolf. Maar dat zal niet zijn onder de naam ÒSwinging Radio
HollandÓ, zoals het station tot dusver gedoopt was.Ó
ÒOn Monday November 14th, at 7 o'clock in the morning, the second Dutch
pirate radio station will be launched on 227 metres in the medium wave band.
But it will not be under the name ÒSwinging Radio HollandÓ as the station has
unofficially been called until now. The American owners of the radio station
have discovered that the name Radio Holland already exists in ships' radio
communication traffic. ÒWe don't want to cause confusionÓ, says station
director Jack Curtiss, Òand that's why we are going to change the name. Imagine
what would happen if somebody came to us about an accident on a ship.Ó
HEADQUARTERS
In
the meantime, the leaders of the pirate radio station are working feverishly. A
temporary headquarters has been set up in an Amsterdam hotel. Two Americans and
a South African, Bill Vick, Robert Thornton and Basil van Rensburg[14],
are in residence. And it is here that Jack Curtiss plans his auditions, getting
ready to recruit Dutch disc-jockeys. Following an interview with him published
in this newspaper he received inquiries from 30 candidates. They included
professional radio people from Hilversum, freelance DJs, journalists and the
rest from different walks of life. On Thursday evening Jack Curtiss left London
for Amsterdam. He telegraphed all the applicants in advance to come to his
hotel. There he staged his auditions. He recorded the voices on tape. These
were later edited and reviewed in a leased studio. On that basis, he decided
over an hour, who he would hire and who not. ÒI wanted to hear them allÓ he
said. He has now hired six of them and that's enough. ÒNo, there are no Ôgolden
boysÕ, no people from Hilversum and no freelance peopleÓ.
ENTHUSIASM
ÒI
wanted to have people who are enthusiastic, who are prepared to stay on a ship
for at least 14 days uninterrupted and who want to make something big of the
station.Ó That's why the Ôgolden boysÕ were not in sight. ÒIn the first place,
they always think they know best, which is not necessarily bad, but that won't
work with our concept.Ó Of course something unexpected can always come up and,
if that happens, he has a list of ten more names.
TEAM
Next
week Curtiss leaves for Holland again. Then he's going to forge a team from his
new boys. That's why he doesn't want to reveal their identities. ÒI first must
mould them before others do. I'm gonna train them and I'm gonna make them the
best DJs they possibly can be,Ó; he says. ÒThe conditions are favourable,
because they will be working with a crew of very experienced American and
English DJs who operate Britain Radio and Radio England from our ship 24 hours
a day. They will learn to present every kind of music especially as we don't
yet know which direction musically we will go,Ó says Curtiss. ÒThat's we didn't
rely on hiring DJs with lots of previous radio experience. They are mostly too
specialized in a particular kind of music.Ó
NEW
NAME
The
leaders of the pirates are moving out of their temporary Amsterdam headquarters
and are keeping busy leasing an office and looking for staff members. Basil van
Rensburg is responsible for the advertising sales and has a truly big job ahead of him. They are also busy coming up with
a new name for the radio station and, in cooperation with a big advertising
bureau, they are designing a format for listeners who don't find their musical
tastes satisfied by Radio Veronica.Ó
This article was the first occasion where it was stated
that the new station was not to be called Radio Holland. The leaders of the
project had found out that the name already was occupied by a company producing
utility radio sets.
A new
station is heralded on the air on 1322 kc.
In Mid-October 1966, a promo on SRE announced a format
change to Swinging Radio Holland in Dutch in Tom CooperÕs evening show. Also so
in Bruce WayneÕs Midnight Early Show on October 22nd, 1966. And Johnnie Walker
mentioned the change in his farewell show on October 15th, 1966. But
on November 11th, the new station was unnamed in the Errol ÓBoss CatÓ Bruce
afternoon show, while in a promo in the same show on November 13th, the last
day, also no name was given.
ÒSwinging Radio HollandÓ to come. From Dutch press via Hans KnotÕs
archive.
On-air
announcements
At 0853 hours
in Boom Boom BranniganÕs morning show on Radio England, 1322 kcs: PROMO: ÓHALLO
SWINGERS IN HOLLAND, WIJ VERZORGEN DE GROETSE PROGRAMMAÕS BINNEN KORT
VOOR U OP DIT STATION SWINGING RADIO HOLLAND DUS BLIJFT AFGESTEMD OP 227 METER
OP HET MIDDENGOLF OP SWINGING RADIO HOLLAND.Ó Boom Boom Brannigan
commented: I DON'T KNOW WHAT HE MEANS, BUT REDUNDANCY TO YOU, BUDDY!
At 1413
hours in ÓBoss CatÓ Errol BruceÕs Afternoon show on Radio England, 1322 kcs: ÓJa, ja nog maar even de Radio England wordt een nieuwe nederlandse
zender op de 227 meter. Anstande maandag kunt u al gaan luisteren naar dit
fijne stationÉ darin komt alle nieuws op deze niuewe zender op de 227 meter.Ó
RBI
wants Radio 227.
In late
October1966 the majority of the investors were still backing William E. Vick
who decided to go after the Dutch market on 1322 kc. Therefore, without much
planning Radio England in Mid-October began announcing the coming Radio
Holland.
But at the
same time (RBI/Radiovision Broadcast International = Pearl and Dean Ltd.)
worked on a report for Vick about future use of the Ò227Ó wavelength. But RBI
came up with Radio 227 as the new name.
Obviously
from this report the change had been in the works for some time. There is no
date on this report which sees the competition as Radio Veronica. A complete
study of Radio Veronica was therefore made and the report contains these
chapter headings:
1.
RBI Brief and Introduction
2.
What competitors exist at present - Physical and Social
3.
What market is available
4.
Sales representation
5.
Alternative sales representation
6.
Proposed name for the new commercial radio station
7.
Advertising agency and client reaction
8.
Conclusions
9.
Summary
10. Sources
of information and acknowledgements
Under 6 it
says:
"Experience
in the UK has shown that offshore stations who title themselves with their
wavelength, eg Radio 390 and Radio 270, benefit most from editorial publicity
as their frequencies are always announced with their titles.
"Whilst
names such as Radio Holland or Holland Radio appear to be obvious choices, we
are told that there are at present Dutch radio companies operating under those
names. These companies are service houses who hire out freelance radio
operators and equipment to ships.Ó
"It
is suggested that the name of the new station be Radio 227. Press publicity
announcing the opening of the station would immediately identify the
frequency."
The report
states that the big problem will be advertising budgets already decided for
1967 and therefore immediate switch should be made in the hope of getting some
undecided budgets. The main impact of SRE has been West Holland and it says
that Luxembourg has lost its Dutch advertising to Veronica and a Swedish
competitor was thinking about starting an offshore station:
"The
radio executive of de Lar Mar informed me that he had heard of a Swedish
interest who are thinking of establishing an offshore radio station.[15]"
Dick Offringa went to a dj audition in Amsterdam[16].
ÒZaterdag
29 oktober 1966 vanaf 18.00 uur was in Amsterdam ergens in een pand aan een
gracht de auditie test voor toekomstige diskjockeys van Radio Holland. Ik was
daar toen bij. Maar wist toen nog niet wie Lodewijk den Hengst wasÉ Met
ondermeer Jack Curtis en Basil van Rensburg.
Op
maandag 14 november begonnen ze onder de naam Radio Dolfijn. Ergens in
1967Éwerd het pas Radio 227.
November 14th, 1966: The format change.
Even when Dolfijn is a reality, Radio England is still
to use the night hours. Dutch Press, November 1966 from Hans KnotÕs archive.
Radio Dolfijn appeared on 1322 kc November 14th at 0700
hours with non-stop music, and with announcements by Peter van den Hoven from
1640 hours. What has happened here? Why not Radio Holland? Why not Radio 227?
And why MOR format? At the Gooiland Press Conference in Amsterdam, broadcast on
"227" on November 14th, several names are mentioned as having been
considered, even put to a poll, like Radio de Lage Landen, Ameland, Albatros
and Piet Hein. And Dolfijn. Who came up with that? But neither Holland or 227
or Holland are mentioned! Two indications of what really happened are found in
#1: in the fact that "Dutch representative of Radio
Dolfijn", Basil van Rensburg, in January 1966 was an employee of RBI!
And... #2 A letter dated November
8, 1966É
A deal
with Radio Veronica?
Document
from the 1974 court case. "TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: This is to certify that
William E. Vick of Peir Vick, Ltd., 32 Curzon Street, London, England, is
authorized to represent the investors and owners of offshore radio station
Radio England[17] in dealing with the
representatives and owners of offshore radio station Radio Veronica.
"Mr.
Vick shall have the authority to negotiate any trade with the general terms as
therein agreed. Final written instruments shall be executed by appropriate
representatives of such owners upon approval and direction by Mr. Vick.
"This
authorization shalll remain in force and effect until November 23, 1966 and may
be renewed in writing.
SIGNED:
"R. E. Thornton, personal representative of owners and investors in Radio
England."
©Eric
Gilder.
Dutch press about the Press Conference in Hilversum
Monday, November 14th, 1966[18].
William Vick informed of which djs that would be broadcasting on ÒDolphin
RadioÓ: Peter van der Hoven, Rob Klaasman, Thijs Lieffering, Jacques Soudan,
Jos van der Vliet, and Look Boden. The owner of the Olga Patricia was said to
be ÒRadiovision Broadcasts.Ó From Hans KnotÕs archive.
Radio
Dolfijn logos from Hans KnotÕs archive.
Don
Pierson is back in.
Don
Pierson was out until January 1, 1967 when the investors in far west Texas at
Midland send Don a letter to him at 61 Conduit Street, London W1. Now Don is
instructed to do another kicking in this very important letter:
Document from the 1974 court case. ©Eric Gilder. It
says:
ÒMidland,
Texas
January
1, 1967
Dear
Don;
I regret
the inability of any of the West Texas backers to accompany you to London to
discuss pressing business problems because of our own conflicting schedules.
Perhaps we can join you later, but in the meantime, please convey the thoughts
expressed in this letter to Mr. W. E. Vick and other to who this subject
concerns.
Business
conditions are obviously in a critical state demanding an immediate change in
operating procedures. Following the meeting of last October 7th, West Texas
backers who represent the majority of the joint venturers agreed to a trial
operation under different director[19]. Continued operation in
Britain and the move into the Holland market with Dolphin was approved with
sales direction and program format to be arranged by Pearl and Dean[20]. At the October 7th meeting,
Mr. Colin Brown[21] gave verbal
assurance of the strength of Pearl and DeanÕs contacts and projected an
absolute minimum sales volume of 15 percent of station capacity. Obviously, this
trial period has proved to be totally unsuccessful for Dolphin. In a similar
manner, virtually no increase has been noticed for Britain[22] whereas London[23] is enjoying profits at near
maximum levels according to factual reports. Immediate changes in procedure for
the joint venture are therefore mandatory. These changes, in our viewpoint, are
as follows.
1.
Put independent sales representatives in the Holland market immediately on a
commission basis and under the direction of Don Pierson.
2.
Effect a change in programming for Dolphin as rapidly as practicable and
oriented principally to popular or Ôtop 40Õ music. Following institution of the
above steps as top priority items, proceed along the following lines.
3.
Put independent sales representatives in the English market as in Item 1, and
encourage Pearl and Dean to re-double their efforts.
4.
Insert popular or Òtop 40Ó programming for Britain at selected intervals such
as; 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in order to capture teen-age
and young listeners who largely influence station popularity.
Don
Pierson is willing to give his assistance in expediting the sales effort and
his enthusiasm in the directing of the independent sales representatives is
considered to be mandatory. We feel that Pearl and Dean has had ample time to
demonstrate results and that the continued low volume of sales developed by
that organization which ranges far below their own stated minimum expectation
rules out continued exclusive sales representation by Pearl and Dean. From
their own viewpoint, the continuation of this project made possible with the
added stimulus of independent efforts obviously would benefit Pearl and Dean
much more than the present course of business which trending towards
liquidation[24].
An
immediate change in programming for Dolphin to be followed shortly thereafter
by a less extensive change in programming for Britain is also deemed mandatory
despite Pearl and DeanÕs recommendations to the contrary. This opinion is based
upon the following:
1.
Continued demonstrated success of Ôtop 40Õ programming in similar ventures.
2.
Feed-back from Holland listeners citing the drab and conservative tone of
DolphinÕs programming.
3.
National recognition of Ôtop 40Õ programming on American television programs in
early evening hours in lead-ins to other network shows of suspense, situation
comedies or other musicales for example, ÔHullabalooÕ and ÔThe MonkeesÕ have
been successfully aired at 7 p.m. leading into performances such as ÔI Dream of
JeanieÕ, ÔThe Andy Williams ShowÕ, ÔRun for Your LifeÕ, etc., and
4.
Our considered comparative analysis of the success of various types of
programming for radio in our own communities which, we believe, are not
radically different in cultural tastes and other important factors from the
areas served by the venture.
In
support of this last statement, consider Midland, Texas, a city of 65,000
people. Headquarters offices of 20 major oil firms, more than 200 smaller firms
and countless independent oil operators and professionals are located in
Midland which yields one of the highest per capita income statistics in the
United States and which has resulted in substantially more than half of the
adult population being made up of college graduates. Community theater,
symphony and chorale, and guest concert artist series are among the finest in
the United States. Despite this background, the four successful radio stations
which serve Midland have Ôtop 40Õ programming, while the least successful
station presents Ôgood music.Õ One good-music FM station went out of business
and its replacement is in service due largely to subside from a commercial
service offering a closed-circuit, office or background music specialty. The
adjoining city of Odessa, with a population of 165,000, is quite industrialized
with a broader spectrum of backgrounds resulting from a large number of
resident blue-collar refinery and plant workers. The demonstrated success of
Ôtop 40Õ programming for radio in this community is also quite obvious. These
facts plus the comparative and observed family experiences of the West Texas
group lead us to believe that listening habits, and consequently advertising
sales potential, are governed by tastes of teenagers and young adults
regardless of the taste and preferences of adult and more serious-minded
station directors and adults in the listening audience. It would be very
surprising, indeed, to find that the situation abroad is any different that it
is here.
In
summary, we again urge the redoubling of sales efforts with the instigation of
independent sales representatives in the field under the direction of Don
Pierson as outlined above and with the changes in programming as indicated.
Speaking for the West Texas group including W.B.S., F.K.O, W.K., E.L.B[25] and others, I remain,
Very
truly yours,
(signature
cut off)[26]Ó
So the
investors let Don back in (he was never "out" as an investor, only as
Project Manager). The cost of upkeep dictated that the ship should return to the
USA and turn off the transmitters, and be sold, so Don began working against
the clock of the MoA by trying to set up his own advertisers in Texas and
London and sending out offers to Herbert W.Armstrong and just about every
country in the world. See more in Chapter 10.
November
14th, 1966: Radio Dolfijn Perskonferentie in the Terrace
Hall in Hotel Gooiland, Hilversum.
Now Grand
Hotel Gooiland. Publicity photo.
Jack
Curtiss is presenting Radio Dolfijn to the Dutch Press at the Gooiland. William
E. Vick is no.2 from right. Basil Van Rensburg, the marketing director, is on
the far right. But who are the two others? Hans Knot comments: ÒTwo names in my
story are Robert Thornton, who came to Amsterdam together with Basil van
Rensburg. The second name is Barry Boardman, a press represantive for SRE who
earlier told to Dutch Telegraaf that the station would become Swinging Radio
Holland with offices in Amsterdam. 'Mr Vick has been to Holland several times
to organise the new office and I can tell you that Western Europe is warned now
as Swinging Radio Holland can be grown to a bigger thing as we plan Swinging
Radio Continent for the future with a very strong station aimed at the people
in the Benelux, France, Germany and Denmark'.
ÓGeen concurrent van VeronicaÓ. Dutch Press about the
format change on Ó227Ó. From Hans KnotÕs archive.
Final note, February 28th, 2007.
The new station was to be Radio Holland all the way-almost[27].
The name is documented in an on-air announcement on 1322 kc Sunday, October
30th. But for Boom Boom Brannigan and the other ÓBoss JocksÓ this means, as
ÓBoomerÓ commented: ÓRedundancy to you, babyÓ.
RBI/Radiovision
Broadcast International = Pearl and Dean Ltd. in its late October report wanted
Radio 227 as the new name. The new station will compete with Veronica who is
thought to have more advertising than it can handle. RBI notified Vick of the
risk in giving the station the same name as a communications manufacturer. So
Curtiss is saying in Telegraaf November 4th it wonÕt be Radio
Holland after all.
Then
something happens at the very last minute. Vick is November 8th,
1966 authorized by Bob Thornton(lawyer of the investors), who has been with him
to Holland already, to do a deal with Veronica.
On
November 11th, the new station is unnamed in a promo in the Errol ÓBoss CatÓ
Bruce afternoon show, while in a promo in the same show on November 13th, the
last day, also no name was given.
Also on
November 11th, the Dutch djs arrives onboard the Olga Patricia.
Errol Bruce in his afternoon show the same day announces a special program(a
Òlight-touchÓ close-down announcement) with the ÒBoss JocksÓ on Sunday,
November 13th.
SRE is then
being hurriedly shut down. Monday the 14th the Dolphin cries on 1322
kcs. And instead of Swinging Radio Holland it carries a MoR format: Òprettige
lichte muziek.Ó
Nevertheless, a Station ID by Peter van den Hoven is-ÓDit
is Radio HollandÓ, hastily corrected to ÓRadio Dolfijn op de 227 meterband.
Hierbij wil ik U de programmering bekend maken. Van 6-10 in the ochtend Look
Boden, 10-14 Jacques Soudan, 14-19 Peter van den Hoven en 19-24 Jos van Vliet.[28]Ó
As is well known, 4 years later, Radio Veronica DID a deal
with a competing radio station. But it should also be noted that Radio London
had a Dutch agenda at this time[29].
Only in the Summer it had planned to buy out Radio City Shivering Sands to
create UKGM(LGM?) to compete with its cousin Britain Radio.
Being pressed from all sides, did William E.Vick these
dramatic November, 1966 days receive an offer, from a Dutch, or maybe an UK
corner he was not able to withstand?
Was Radio Dolfijn in reality a leaser of 1322 kc? In
reality a second channel of another, existing offshore station?
WeÕll come back the 227/355 format change in the next
edition.
Radio Dolfijn is a reality at 4.40pm on Monday, November 14th,
1966. Dutch press for ©Hans KnotÕs archive.
Wat er nieuw is aan Radio Dolfijn. Peter Horvers in
Dutch Press the same week as the format change. From Hans KnotÕs archive.
De tweede piraat Nederland entert. Dutch press
November 17th, 1966. From Hans KnotÕs archive.