STEVE ANTHONY – INTERVIEW  27.1.14  

Where and when were you born? – I was born in Southgate, London N14 in March 1951 

Where do you live now? –  I live in Orpington Kent

What is your favourite part of the Country? –  The Isle of Wight is my all time favourite place and the West Country runs a close second.

When and how did you get involved with Caroline? – I was a fan pretty much from the beginning and had an avid interest in all the 60s offshore stations. I continued to follow Caroline through the 70s but it wasn’t until 1985 that I actually got to visit the radio ship. Yes, in September 1985, right in the middle of ‘Euroseige’ I took a trip out to the Ross on a boat called the ‘Seahorse’ from Ramsgate. After that I joined the Caroline Movement, became its Treasurer and from thereon became more and more involved behind the scenes of the ‘Organisation’ and meeting up with Peter Moore. By 1994, my life had become very busy with a growing family and an increasingly time consuming career so in the knowledge that I could never leave, I checked out.........for nearly twenty years. In 2010 I retired from my job and made it my intention to check back in and here I am.

What other Radio stations have you been involved with? –  Apart from some dalliances with transmitters and pieces of wire in the woods near here at the end of the 1960s I presented a Sunday breakfast show on WHBS (Woolwich Hospital Broadcasting Service) for a couple of years in the early 1970s. For about 6 months in the early 90s I presented a one hour show on Euronet, one of the early satellite radio stations.

What are your earliest memories of Caroline? –  I remember it starting – a friend of mine told me about a new radio station that had begun a couple of days before and was on a ship in the North Sea. We tuned in but I don’t remember much about the music or the presenters that day although I was completely fascinated by the concept of it coming from a ship. As I recall, in those early days, the music was mainly ‘middle of the road’ and didn’t really get ‘teenage’ until early 1965 after Big L started up and Tom Lodge got involved with Caroline South. The rest is history as they say but I still have my “Wapping Swamp Oil Well” share certificate!

What's your favourite station other than Caroline? –  I’d love to tell you that it’s some quirky internet station but to be honest, in the absence of listening to any commercial stations, which drive me nuts with their incessant ad breaks etc, I tend to listen to Radio 2 or Radio 4 depending upon the time of day and what’s on.  

Have you met any famous people and who influenced you the most? -  I have met a few, they include: Jackie Stewart, Julian Lennon, Judie Tzuke, Fish, Brian (BA) Robertson, Elton John, Carl Palmer, Nick Mason, David ‘Kid’ Jensen, Bob Harris, Mike Raven, David Bowie, Angie Bowie, Chris Eubank, Leo Sayer, Chris Difford, Martin Fry (ABC), Henry Cooper, Denis Healey............ None of the above influenced me. However, the one thing that influenced me the most was the death of my best mate Tony White in 2004. It made me realise that none of us have forever and that I should make the most of every single day, to always remain positive because negativity drags oneself and everybody else down,  to never tolerate bullsh*t (pardon!) and to always keep it real.

What do you like or dislike about radio today?- I think that I covered that earlier but in addition to the ad breaks it is the limited choice of music that is also on tight rotation throughout the day. Absolute Radio (which I still refer to as Virgin!) does try with its non-repeat days but they still have the inane chatter and so on. Strange really, we campaigned all those years ago for commercial radio and for years, after 1967, I refused to listen to BBC Radio as a matter of principle. Now here we are 40 years later and my preference is Radio 2 and I hate commercial breaks. Funny old world innit...

What's the most embarrassing or funny thing that's happened to you? -  Stepping up to the microphone in a karaoke pub to sing Gene Chandler’s ‘The Duke of Earl’ and realising, quite quickly, that a) I’d had too much to drink and b) I had no chance trying to sing falsetto and couldn’t sing anyway! The ground wouldn’t open up and swallow me despite me asking it to. Oh, they did laugh!

What do you do for your day job and relaxation? - I don’t have a day job but relaxation, in the traditional sense, isn’t something that I do. I am always busying myself with something, having several hobbies and other interests.  

What's your favourite food? -  I don’t have one really. I eat to live rather than the other way around, so I’ll eat anything. My least favourite is Indian but I’ll eat it.

What do you dislike doing the most? - Typing responses to written interview questions! But seriously, I don’t like sitting around too much and I intensely dislike wasting time. We don’t have enough of it, so why waste it?

Who would you like to get stuck with on a desert Island?- Somebody with a satellite phone! 

What was the first record you bought?- ‘For Your Love’ by The Yardbirds 

What are your favourite bands and who is your hero? – They change as the years go by as bands fade away and other great bands come along but those that can’t be beaten and will always endure for me are (in no particular order): The Who The Rolling Stones Mott The Hoople Deep Purple Squeeze My hero, in the music business would be Pete Townsend and outside the music business would be Sir Alan Sugar.

What are you 5 most iconic tunes?- That’s difficult to tie down but in no particular order:
All Along The Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again – Bob Dylan
Gimme Shelter – Rolling Stones
You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet – Bachmann Turner Overdrive (Despite Smashey & Nicey !!)
We’re Not Gonna Take It – The Who (from Tommy)

When did you last go on board the Ross Revenge? -  15 January 2014. It was a wet, windy and generally foul day and the old girl was very chilly until the heating got going.

What plans have you for the future?  To live forever....................but realise that’s a plan that will never come together!.