Reg Calvert was one of the most influential characters in the rock and roll business. his early and wholly unnecessary death, appalled millions of radio and music fans.
Reg's murder by the hand of a business rival who tried to steal his radio station from him, not only robbed his young family of a father and husband, it took one of the most revered managers of groups, it took the leader of one of the most unique offshore radio stations.
Reg's murder was the excuse needed by Harold Wilson and Tony Benn to bring in legislation to stop offshore radio, then listened to by around half the UK's population.
The true story of Reg's career is told in a rivetting trio of stories by his daughter Susan.
The story of Reg's early life is told in POPCORN to Rock'n'Roll
Parts 2 and 3 of the trilogy are combined into one book:
(Part Two)
CLIFTON HALL
the school of Rock n Roll
describes how Reg bought a fine old country manor near Rugby where he schooled many groups in the art of rock and roll. These included hit makers such as The Fortunes, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours and Screaming Lord Sutch.
Many of them groups lived in the spacious Clifton Hall along with Reg's wife Dorothy and his daughters Candy and Susan. Reg's family played a big part in all his music and radio adventures, which included running dances with the artistes at venues across the Midlands.
A fascinating biographical history written as a novel - surprising, sometimes shocking and often funny. Reg Calvert is a dreamer, impulsive and determined to succeed.
Reg fell in love with Dorothy and marries with little thought of the consequences. Too soon he is trapped by marriage and children but he needs Dorothy as his anchor. When Reg first hears Bill Haley's, 'Rock Around the Clock,' he has a dream to bring Rock 'n' Roll to England.
Reg is like the Pied Piper as young musicians and singers give up their jobs to follow him as he ceates a new way of providing entertainment for teenagers. An extraordinary story of success and failure 1946 - 1960, as it follows 1950's music trends. Behind the scenes, life is exciting but the reality of being a 'star' is far from glamorous!
A terrific story, of interest to any fans of Rock n Roll or students of radio broadcasting.
The third part of the trilogy is called
SHIVERING SANDS
1960s Pirate Radio
Reg had a passion for experimenting with radio and became a radio and television engineer at one point. At Easter 1964, Radio Caroline began broadcasting from a ship out at sea and gave Reg a new dream.
Reg discovers Shivering Sands, a group of abandoned wartime forts in the Thames Estuary and he helped one of the artists he managed, Screaming Lord Sutch, to set up his own radio station, aimed at teenagers, while Caroline aimed its music at housewives.
After a few months Sutch tired of his station and sold it on to Reg, who added a touch of professionalism and better equipment. He renamed it RADIO CITY.
Radio City was an ideal vehicle for promoting his various acts. As they became more successful, Reg agreed to a merger with a group who ran part of Radio Caroline, but the deal was never properly consumated and the idea faded out.
Radio City was a valuable property and its facilities were hijacked in a night raid by a hired gang. The events that ensued were the catalyst to change the face of British broadcasting.
There is conspiracy, intrigue, blackmail and murder. Dorothy had to pick up the pieces and when the government closed Radio City, on 8th February 1967, the Kray twins tried to persuade Reg's widow, Dorothy, to continue running Radio City.
The story of Reg's early life is told in POPCORN to Rock'n'Roll
Parts 2 and 3 of the trilogy are combined into one book:
(Part Two)
CLIFTON HALL
the school of Rock n Roll
describes how Reg bought a fine old country manor near Rugby where he schooled many groups in the art of rock and roll. These included hit makers such as The Fortunes, Pinkerton's Assorted Colours and Screaming Lord Sutch.
Many of them groups lived in the spacious Clifton Hall along with Reg's wife Dorothy and his daughters Candy and Susan. Reg's family played a big part in all his music and radio adventures, which included running dances with the artistes at venues across the Midlands.
The third part of the trilogy is called
SHIVERING SANDS
1960s Pirate Radio
Reg had a passion for experimenting with radio and became a radio and television engineer at one point. At Easter 1964, Radio Caroline began broadcasting from a ship out at sea and gave Reg a new dream.
Reg discovers Shivering Sands, a group of abandoned wartime forts in the Thames Estuary and he helped one of the artists he managed, Screaming Lord Sutch, to set up his own radio station, aimed at teenagers, while Caroline aimed its music at housewives.
After a few months Sutch tired of his station and sold it on to Reg, who added a touch of professionalism and better equipment. He renamed it RADIO CITY.
