Eric Lawton, even at the age of 4, was into music - especially The Beatles Eric (right) and his family, 2004 I was born a musical child in May 1961. (Blue Moon by The Marcels was the number 1 single in the UK). My Dad was and still is a radio nut. We always had good radio and tape equipment around the house. I particularly remember a good old solid GRUNDIG reel to reel tape recorder. At the age of 5, I could tell you the names of the DJs on Radio Caroline and Swinging Radio England. At the age of 7, I was playing a side drum at the local Church Lads Brigade, and was delighted when Radio 1 was born out of the old BBC Light Station in 1967. The Pirate stations were my first love though. I loved the "Americanised" presentation of the shows, and thought this was how radio should be presented. I built an incredible collection of unscoped show clips from all the Pirate stations, but my pride and joy is my collection of BBC Radio Chart shows starting with the old PICK OF THE POPS programmes from the 60s, and continuing throughout the 70s with the Sunday afternoon TOP 20 shows. My idol is still the great Alan "Fluff" Freeman who sadly passed away in November, 2006. He was well into his 80s. I am married with two children 21 and 18. As of 2006, I'm 45 and am still mobile DJing specialising in 60s and 70s nights. I'm also a golf nut — a low / mid handicapper. Don't drink, smoke or do anything illegal, yet I've recently been diagnosed with early onset Parkinsons and have a Pacemaker fitted due to an irregular heartbeat. I've been building my radio show collection up almost daily through trades with like minded nuts similar to myself. I'm really getting interested in the US shows and trade with several guys in the US. Love to listen to shows from the site whilst computing. Hope you all enjoy the shows I send. Godbless to you all in the States. I intend visiting sometime in the next few years. I meet a lot of Americans round the Cavern Club in Liverpool. I live just 8/9 miles from the heart of BEATLE LAND. The Repository thanks Eric Lawton for sharing!

[Descriptions by Eric Lawton]

TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (10 Khz) David Jacobs, Pick Of The Pops, BBC Light, May 9 1959 (1:00:26) . . . so perhaps they recorded that thing on a scenic railway - those people must have been hungry, or something . . . [Description by contributor Eric Lawton] This lovely man is our David Jacobs, and here's an extremely rare clip of one of the very first Pick Of The Pops shows. This was three years before the great Alan "Fluff" Freeman took over in 1962. This was the only radio show that played chart hits in 1959, apart from the clicking, hissing Radio Luxembourg — for one hour on Sunday afternoons. My, how we envied you guys in America! A typical upper-class British voice on the radio, David went on to present TV's classic 60's Pop show Jukebox Jury. In good shape for its age, this show features many US and British tracks that are now widely regarded as "classics". Magic radio!

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TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (8 Khz) Big Jim Murphy, Radio Caroline North, July 26, 1965 (01:00:35) . . . you'll groove with the station that swings - one nine nine, Caroline . . . [Description by contributor Eric Lawton] Here's a rare clip from the early days of the legendary pirate ship Radio Caroline North. It's a decent-quality 60 minute segment of Big Jim Murphy (aka: Murph The Surf) at his very best in 1965. Kids loved it! Caroline to us was radio as it should be — more American than the stuffy BBC Light. Great station, great DJs, great music!

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TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (10 Khz) Gary Stevens, Swinging Radio England, October 15, 1966 (55:42) . . . Boss Radio all over England . . . [Description by contributor Eric Lawton] A great 60's Pirate station, Swinging Radio England had good reception all around the UK. We loved the U.S. D.Js. Radio Caroline had shows recorded in New York by Jack Spector, while Swinging Radio England had shows featuring Gary Stevens (WKNR, WMCA, KRIZ, Doubleday Broadcasting.) Here's Gary in one of my favorite clips from 1966.

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TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (8 Khz) Bill Holley, Chris Edwards, Tom Campbell, KYA San Francisco September 10, 1968 (01:04:56) . . . A telegram? . . . [Description by Uncle Ricky for contributor Eric Lawton] Contributor Eric Lawton writes (from Britain) that KYA airchecks are his favorite American Top 40 recordings, and it's no wonder, listening to this very UN-format hour from September 10, 1968. The circumstances of this broadcast are not fully explained, but here's our best guess: A person identified as "Mrs. Anderson", ALLEGEDLY, in some way, angered or challenged KYA personality Tom Campbell regarding the trustworthiness of Bay Area Teenagers, which required Mr. Campbell to require a vote on the alleged issue, with "hundreds" of teenagers and supporters showing up to cast their votes as the deadline approaches. Bill Holley and Chris Edwards are required to fill-in during most of this aircheck, since Campbell is busy counting and has vowed not to return to the air until all of the votes have been counted. He does, however, return to announce that he won't return until it's all over. From the short playlist of nine reportable music performances, it's obvious that stoned teenagers (perhaps working with the monkeys on marijuana reported in the newscast by Larry Brownell) have taken over the station. Down the dial, KFRC probably played a long hit music sweep or two through most of this, including the rare Bill Cosby Radio Program, (with The Brown Hornet & Leroy) sponsored by Coca-Cola. It was all about trusting one another, and buying Thom McAnn shoes. Chris Edwards passed away on January 31, 2014.

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TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (11 Khz) Kenny Everett, Dave Cash, Capital Radio London, 13 Feb 1974 (01:02:39) This Exhibit 'SCOPED (30:29) . . . They chose 5-3-9 because it rhymes with fine and devine . . . [Description by contributor Eric Lawton] This aircheck features the 1974 Capital Radio morning team of Kenny and Cash, with both Kenny Everett and Dave Cash commenting that Kenny actually showed up on time for their popular breakfast show. Sadly, Everett is no longer with us, but Cash continued to work on various BBC radio stations, and was featured in several pirate radio specials. He's still witty and a pleasure to hear. This is a very entertaining clip from 1974. Listen to Kenny's home-made jingles. They may not sound like a big deal now, but considering this show is over 35 years old, they're pretty amazing.

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TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (10 Khz) Kenny Everett, Radio Victory, October 9, 1976 (15:56) . . . starring Randy Thighs and Jim Big W Stupid Morgenstern . . . [Description by contributor Eric Lawton] The man was a genius! Kenny Everett — King Kenny — who sadly succumbed to AIDS in the '90's — was "in between jobs" when he joined Radio Victory, the Portsmouth-based local radio station. Kenny became a massive TV star in the UK in the '70's. Here he is at his zany best.

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TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (10 Khz) Kenny Everett, Capital Radio, London, September 12, 1987 (35:58) This Exhibit 'SCOPED (13:55) . . . five people were killed in the crash - two, seriously . . . [Description by contributor Eric Lawton] For some reason, I only had one side of a C-90 tape filled with this classic show from the genius known as Kenny Everett. The other side had been recorded over - Stupid Me! This is classic Kenny on Capital Radio, looking back at some of his fave tracks from his days on Pirate Radio London in 1967.

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More to Come from The Eric Lawton Collection, Est. January 28, 2007.

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