Posted on 10/12/2012 8:09:40 AM PDT by the scotsman
'Where most people saw a crumbling, rust-stained hunk of concrete and steel, Paddy Roy Bates saw a kingdom.
Bates, who has died aged 91, occupied an abandoned wartime fort in the North Sea and declared it the sovereign Principality of Sealand, with its own passports, flag, anthem and stamps — and himself as its monarch.
What began as a swinging 60s attempt to set up a radio station became a micro-state that is still going strong more than 45 years later — although it has not been recognized by any government.
"I might die young or I might die old, but I will never die of boredom," Bates said in a 1980s interview.
Bates' son Michael said Wednesday that his father died Tuesday at a care home in Leigh-on-Sea in eastern England. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's.'
(Excerpt) Read more at calgaryherald.com ...
I thought Sea Land got bought by Maersk?
The pirate side of me really respects this guy. He did it his way.
Perhaps there should be an investigation to see if the ninjas or the robots were the ones who did him in.
The King is dead.
LONG LIVE THE KING MICHAEL!............
Wrong Sea Land.........
I actually knew a guy who was a musician, and a band he was in did an album about Sealand. They met the guy and he ended up giving them certificates making them “Knights of Sealand” or something.
I thought Sea Land was in Ohio (until they got tired
of flying the killer whale back and forth from San Diego)
Years ago when I was stationed at RAF Mildenhall in the UK, I remember listening to the pirate radio stations in the North sea. I think one of them was Radio Luxembourg. Played pretty good music and tried to follow the American AM Top 40 format. Remember listening to the disc jockey on board when there was a strong storm at sea. Couple of times they would play an extra long music set, especially if the sea was very rough.
I listened to Radio Luxembourg daily when I was stationed at Spangdahlem. Afternoons were devoted to European pop/rock. Great station!
I was highly disappointed in that British film about pirate radio that came out a few years ago.
I thought it would be about pirate radio. Turns out it was all about shagging.
I think another pirate radio station in the North Sea was Radio Caroline. I remember one radio station would broadcast in Dutch during the day and then switch to English at night. Most of the young airman thought the music was better and the BBC radio stations just played crap.
RIP.
Luxembourg is THE legendary channel where British rock and roll and pop is concerned, esp the mid-50’s to late 60’s/early 70’s. In 1967, chastened by the success of Luxembourg and pirate radio, the BBC finally started Radio 1, which became and still is the biggest radio channel in the UK.
But the effect and legend of Luxembourg on British pop and pop culture of the 50’s and 60’s is immeasurable. And its still a station with great affection in the UK and Ireland.
Is it still on the air?
Radio Luxembourg was not a pirate radio station but a legitimate one located in Luxembourg City. I listened to it when I was a student Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany, but I couldn’t always get it very well. I also kept up with the US news and the pop charts at the US Armed Forces Radio Network station in Kaiserslautern.
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