Your Local Arena: Caroline 199: A Pirate’s Tale
Event WebsiteFree film screening in the Transit Shed – no booking required
In this age of countless online and digital radio stations, it’s almost impossible to imagine a time when pop music was rarely on air. But back in the early 1960s, the only station available was the old-fashioned, post-war BBC – until pirate radio burst onto the scene in 1964. Playing pop music 24 hours a day and broadcast from a ship just outside UK waters, Radio Caroline was a musical saviour for generations of British teens, creating celebrity DJs and a culture of rebellion. But by the end of 1990, it was all over… So, what happened?
Come and watch this fascinating Arena film, co-produced by Planet Pictures and the BBC, which follows the last devotees of our first pirate radio station. Broadcast in March 1991, Caroline 199 – A Pirate’s Tale is a story of something bright and new outside the mainstream and the huge waves it created.
After the film, listen to Rhoda Dakar, Anthony Wall and Belinda Zhawi in conversation with Jo Loosemore about the film and the reverberations of Radio Caroline, which can still be felt today. The event will also include a new poem inspired by the film by Shazea Quraishi.
Your Local Arena is a Lucy Hannah & Speaking Volumes co-production featuring BBC Arena’s film archive. Funded by Arts Council England.
Your Local Arena is a unique project featuring iconic films from the archives of BBC TV’s Arena, the pioneering cultural documentary series. It includes new poems inspired by the Arena films and panel talks to explore the continuing relevance of the Arena archives today. The Your Local Arena concept was developed by Lucy Hannah and Speaking Volumes, with Arena’s award-winning director/editor Anthony Wall as creative consultant, and funded by Arts Council England.
Click here for more details about the event and the discussion panel
