Radio Sutch & City - Part 12

Transmitters, Antenna Masts and More

Updated :4th September 2009 Issue : 1

Shivering Sands Gun Tower 4 (2) then 3 with Searchlight Tower in 2008

Radio Sutch made news headlines in Sweden, this press cutting dated 20th May 1964 as the station takes over the Forts

Would any of our Swedish visitors like to translate?

Daily Express 26th May 1964

Initially Radio Sutch was treated as something of a joke, the transmissions were spasmodic & programme suspect with little direction, DJ's played what they fancied from what little was available

The all important plugs were for Kings Agency bands & Reg's signings, primarily his biggest act the Fortunes, soon followed by the Pinkerton's Assorted Colours, The Rocking Berries, The Hallabaloos, Wayne Gibson & his Dynamic Sounds, The Pixies and a whole load more from Reg's famous Rock School

Late at night Radio Sutch read unabridged extracts of 'Lady Chatterleys Lover' by D H Lawrence, much to the amusement of passing fisherman, about the only people able to pick up the station after dark

Club call David Sutch the self seeking publicity machine

The Voice of Prophecy on Radio City

By December 1964 the old Radio Sutch transmitter was used for religion on 187 metres, sponsors of the programming had complained their material couldn't be heard in London

A second more powerful ex-Naval Cossor transmitter was taken out in 1965, you can see pictures in Sutch & City - Part 4

Reply to fan mail by Paul Elvey dated 6th February 1965, and now some jobs for the boys ...

The tapes have laid in boxes untouched for years, Cliff recently discovered his reel & dropped it in on one of his visits from Thailand in July 2009 which prompted, me to raid my tape archive. Goodness we were appauling but just youngsters at the time

Both tapes had suffered dozens of dried out splices, City re-used tape mercilessly even Anti-City tapes sent in by listeners were used again so recordings were subject to various degrees of drop out depending on quality

My tape dates from March 1965 and was recorded during an engineering test on one of the Ferrographs after we'd officially closed at 19.00. Reg had asked for some tests after dark as the TX was wandering, we later discovered the rise and fall of tide caused the drift

Cliffs tape was recorded by Dick Dixon on Good Friday 1965 on the TX room Grundig

The late Tony Carroll airlifted from the Towers just a few days after arriving in June 1965

The daily 5x4 show at 5pm begun soon after Radio City was conceived in September 1964

The idea was largely that of Eric K Martin of the Record Centre, he was station controller & in his own words Beatles & Rolling Stones records sold by the bucket load

5x4 traded on the trend to become one of Pirate Radio's most loved and memorable programmes

500 shows was artistic licence, the true number was just under 400

J L Eve Construction Co Ltd antenna maintenance quotation

A day after the closedown the maintenance declined, soon rented mast was dissembled

For all the Radio Sutch & City features navigate from the ScrapBook Index

For details of cruises to see the sights of the Thames Estuary & North Kent Coast see Boat Trips