Lid off Laser 558
to be REPRINTED
The Lid Off Laser 558 is a book written in 1984 about the latest offshore radio station, Laser 558. The book explores the organisation behind LASER 558 (Deka Overseas Inc) and the people who funded and worked for the radio station.
It tells how they took a British ocean survey vessel to Florida and equipped it with powerful radio transmitters and converted it into a floating radio station, capable of being heard over much of Western Europe.
The book has been out of print for some years but is being republished in 2020.
Laser 558 was an offshore pirate radio station launched in May 1984, staffed by American disc jockeys. Within months the station had amassed an audience of almost 5 million in the UK and almost as many in continental Europe. The station 's success was due to its powerful signal and the speech policy of "never more than a minute away from more music"; at that time UK stations had a minimum 50% speech format.
Laser 558 was also incredibly popular because of its format of alternating current hits with one 'Golden Oldie' however, poor management, a lack of direction and marketing incompetence was rife and was the root cause of the station's early and tragic demise.
The UK Government were concerned that ownership was cloaked in secrecy, making them believe there must be unknown reason to hide the true source of the funding. A mischeivous suggestion the station might be owned by the IRA was put forward by UK local radio executives. In fact the station was funded by just one Dublin based entrepreneur who owned a couple of laundrettes, a hotel and some nightclubs. The British Government launched a surveillance operation costing £50,000 a month to thwart the illegal supply runs to the ship, which was anchored off the Thames Estuary.
This resulted in the ship being starved off the air in Autumn 1985. When all five of the ships generators mysteriously broke down in November 1985 the crew simply surrendered and sailed in to the UK. A flurry of writs for unpaid bills followed and the ship was seized by the Admiralty Marshall, on the instructions of Paul Rusling and the company who sold the ship,to Laser's owners, Gardline Surveys.
Lid off Laser 558
Laser 558 DJ Holly Michaels in the ship's On Air studio
The Lid Off Laser 558 was written in 1984 about the latest offshore radio station, Laser 558 a few weeks after the station launched The book explores the organisation behind LASER 558 (Deka Overseas Inc) and the people who funded and worked for the radio station.
It tells how they took a British oceanic survey vessel to Florida and equipped it with powerful radio transmitters and converted it into a floating radio station, capable of being heard over much of Western Europe.
The book has been out of print for some years but is due to be republished shortly. Check back here for details of a new edition in 2020.
Laser 558 was an offshore pirate radio station launched in May 1984, staffed by American disc jockeys. Within months the station had amassed an audience of almost 5 million in the UK and almost as many in continental Europe. The station 's success was due to its powerful signal and the speech policy of "never more than a minute away from more music"; at that time UK stations had a minimum 50% speech format.
Laser 558 was also incredibly popular because of its format of alternating current hits with one 'Golden Oldie' however, poor management, a lack of direction and marketing incompetence was rife and was the root cause of the station's early and tragic demise.
The UK Government were concerned that the vessel's ownership was cloaked in great secrecy, making them believe there must be unknown reason to hide the true source of the funding. A mischeivous suggestion the station might be owned by the IRA was put forward by UK local radio executives.
In fact the station was funded by just one Dublin based entrepreneur who owned a couple of laundrettes, a hotel and some nightclubs. The British Government launched a surveillance operation to thwart the illegal supply runs to the ship, which was anchored off the Thames Estuary.
This resulted in the ship being starved off the air in Autumn 1985. When all five of the ships generators mysteriously broke down in November 1985 the crew simply surrendered and sailed in to the UK. A flurry of writs for unpaid bills followed and the ship was seized by the Admiralty Marshall, on the instructions of Paul Rusling and the Gardline Surveys who had sold the ship to Laser's owner.
MVCommunicator
REPRINTED
'soon' !
Lid off Laser 558
to UK
to EU
to RoW
to the
UK
to the
EU
to the
RoW
All Europe Radio
LASER 558
Hans Knot's diary of Laser 558, tells about the days when the Communicator had 10 million listeners. All the DJ hirings, when they left and why, plus the Laser commercials, record plugs and the many downtime periods to rebuild the masts! Hans' book is a treasured publication that's been out of print for years. Now republished for 2022, it's a rivetting read & will look great in any anorak's library. Click a flag to order.
Price £22.50
Copyright (c) 2011 - 2023 World of Radio Ltd, Registered in England and Wales # 8503418.
All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction strictly prohibited.