The Boat That Rocked
Tony Blackburn was one of the original DJs afloat on the high seas during the days of Radio Caroline in the 60s. So who better to review The Boat That Rocked than our very own Mr. B.
"I was out on the pirate ship Radio Caroline in 1964. It was an interesting time to be around. Up until then, the BBC broadcast literally 45 mins of popular music a day. That's all we got! We were brought up with the Northern Dance Orchestra. There wasn't any proper pop music around."
"So Radio Caroline was one of the most exciting periods for broadcasting. We were outside territorial waters in the North Sea and we used to sail three and a half miles out to the ship, in a little boat from Harwich. We were on the boat for two weeks at a time and then a week off."
"So I've got mixed views about this film because really it's a romantic comedy. That's what Richard Curtis is famous for and that's what he's done. The film is a sex romp. Nothing like that ever happened while we were out there!"
"One thing that is odd is that the DJs in the film are a lot older than we were. In 1964 I was 21 years old. Most of these actors are in their 30s or late 30s. Also in the film there are girls being shipped out for parties. That never happened! There are people getting drunk on air. That didn't happen. There's a scene where a DJ (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) is threatening to mention the F word live on air. That never happened. To be honest if we'd had as much alcohol and women as the film alleges, we'd still be out there!"
I think the film trivialises broadcasting really. I'm a bit upset about that because this was an important period for broadcasting and we did break the BBC monopoly. So, to sum up, The Boat That Rocked is a film that a lot of people will enjoy but please don't think that pirate radio was anything like that."
Watch more of Tony's interview on video
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mervynhagger
17/04/09 at 13:48
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