Caroline transformed radio.(Viewpoint)

On the 40th anniversary of Radio Caroline's launch (yesterday), it is very hard to clearly understand now just what a huge change happened in 1964 when Caroline came on. Until that time there really was nowhere to hear the records you wanted to hear on the radio.

What was happening at the same time was this youth revolution that spawned Carnaby Street and fashion and, from a technology point of view, the transistor radio. All these new bands came out everywhere and Caroline sup ported it all. It not only changed radio hut the stranglehold of the music industry of just four major record companies.

It was an amazingly optimistic time and at Caroline the rule book was thrown out of the window. We played everything.

If there hadn't been the pirates there wouldn't have been Radio One, because when the Labour Government brought in legislation to outlaw pirate radio in 1967 they "knew there had to be an alternative.

Inevitably, commercial radio stations followed, but when they started there were all these Government ...