The Week in Light & Sound

Pirate Radio Pioneer - Tributes have been paid to Ronan O'Rahilly, the founder of Radio Caroline, the first pirate radio station off the UK, who has died aged 79. His death was announced by the current Radio Caroline, which still operates off the Essex coast. The station was founded in 1964 to compete with the BBC and launched the careers of many well-known DJs, achieving enormous popularity. O'Rahilly, who lived in Ireland, had been diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013.
Radio Caroline was the first of several pirate radio stations that challenged BBC radio's dominance in the 1960s. The station played pop music all day, while the BBC only played pop for an hour a week. After the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act was passed in 1967, Radio Caroline continued to broadcast from ships until 1991, when the Ross Revenge was shipwrecked off the Kent coast The station, which started broadcasting again on medium wave in 2017, helped pave the way for modern commercial radio.
One of the presenters who started on the station, Johnnie Walker, tweeted: "Farewell to Radio Caroline founder Ronan O'Rahilly, The man who made the impossible possible and changed radio forever. Thanks Ronan for the incredible experience of being a Caroline deejay and to challenge the Government in 1967. You were an amazing man."
One Night Only - The original West End cast of Dreamgirls has reunited online to perform One Night Only to raise money for charity. Composer Henry Krieger, Amber Riley and other cast members have got back together online to perform the song from their homes during lockdown. They have produced a video - One Night Only in Quarantine - in aid of the charity Mad Trust, which works with the theatre community to fight HIV and AIDS.
All Together Now! - Singer-songwriter Carole King, guitarist Joe Bonamassa, actor Malcolm McDowelll, and actor/comedian Tim Allen are the latest names to sign up for All Together Now!, the online entertainment event helping the City of Los Angeles during the coronavirus pandemic Additionally, Grammy-winners Alan Parsons and David Pack (Ambrosia) will be performing a first-ever digital duet. The event is set to stream on Saturday, 25 April 25, at 2 p.m. PDT.
Times Like These - Dua Lipa, Coldplay's Chris Martin and Rita Ora are among the artists lending their voices to an all-star Radio 1 Live Lounge charity single. They and 20 other acts have recorded a cover of Foo Fighters' 2003 track Times Like These, with proceeds going to Children in Need and Comic Relief. Other participants include Anne-Marie, Bastille, Ellie Goulding, Jess Glynne, Paloma Faith and Rag 'N' Bone Man. The Stay Home Live Lounge will be recorded and filmed by artists from their own homes and produced by Fraser T Smith.
Musical Wallpaper - Two wallpaper prints designed by David Bowie are estimated to sell for up to £56,000 later this month. The singer, who died in 2016, produced the designs in 1995 with British homeware brand Laura Ashley.
The first, titled Conflict, depicts a Lucian Freud nude artwork submerged a formaldehyde tank, while the second, called Minotaur, pays homage to Pablo Picasso. The rolls feature in auction house Sotheby's Prints and Multiple auction, open for online bidding until 28 April.
(Jim Evans)
21 April 2020

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