Pirate BBC Essex 2007: this could be the last time.

At Easter 2004 BBC Essex marked the fortieth anniversary of offshore radio in Britain by launching their own short-term ship-based tribute station, Pirate BBC Essex, broadcasting from the LV18, an old light vessel. It was a huge success. (See here.) Programmes went out on BBC Essex's AM frequencies while the normal output continued on FM.
 
The following year a smaller-scale version of the station returned for just one show, hosted from a studio on board the last Radio Caroline vessel, the mv Ross Revenge.
 
For August 2007, marking the fortieth anniversary of the closedown of Radios London, Scotland and 270, Pirate BBC Essex came back with their most ambitious broadcast to date. It operated from Thursday 9th to Tuesday 14th August, closing at 3pm - exactly forty years, to the minute, after Radio London had done the same thing. Most of the former pirate disc-jockeys who had taken part in the 2004 broadcast returned and they were joined by other ship-mates who had not been able to participate before. A number of people flew in specially from Australia, Canada and the United States to be there and they were accompanied by members of the BBC Essex staff.

The LV18 lying at anchor in Harwich harbour. Photo kindly provided by Rob Newton.

Former offshore broadcasters taking part included Mike Ahern, Dave Cash, Gordon Cruse, Ian Damon, Roger Day, Tom Edwards, Guy Hamilton, Keith Hampshire, Duncan Johnson, John Kerr, Keith Martin, Emperor Rosko, Keith Skues, Ed Stewart, Norman St.John, Johnnie Walker, Graham Webb and Mark Wesley (formerly known as Mark West). Ray Clark and Graham Cooke, two BBC presenters who had worked on Radio Caroline in the eighties (as ‘Mick Williams’ and ‘Peter Phillips’ respectively) also hosted shows.
 
With a specially commissioned jingle package and music exclusively from the sixties, the DJs magnificently re-created the sound of the first UK pirate era. As before the station output was streamed on the internet as well as broadcast on AM. There was an immediate and immensly enthusiastic reaction from listeners. Text messages and emails flooded in from all over the world. As a number of the DJs remarked, it was wonderful to be able to use this technology that had not been invented when they had been broadcasting in the sixties.
 
There were also activities on shore:

Emperor Rosko and Dave Cash on stage at one of their ‘Last Time Parties’, held at The Park Pavilion in Harwich.	Roger Day and Dave Cash at the exhibition of pirate memorabilia on the The Ha'penny Pier in Harwich. Both photos kindly provided by Rob Newton.

On Sunday afternoon, between 1 and 3pm, former Radio Essex and Radio 270 man ‘Wise Guy’ Hamilton was on the air. We are grateful to him for providing these photographs:

Guy Hamilton with BBC Essex's Tim Gillett.	Guy Hamilton.

LV18 from the tender. These photos taken by Richard Elkan, Roma and Gerry Zierler. Our grateful thanks.	Norman St.John.

More photos on next page.