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646:. A number of the station's directors, including Bull Verweij and his brother Jaap, were on board the ship during the final hour, as were many of the staff. In his final speech DJ Rob Out said "Part of the democracy in the Netherlands is dying with the closure of Radio Veronica and that is a tragedy for the country". Following the
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began on 18 or 21 April 1960. Regular broadcasts began on 6 May 1960. The station first named itself as VRON (Vrije Radio Omroep
Nederland; Free Radio Station Netherlands) but later changed to Radio Veronica, after the poem "Het Zwarte Schaap Veronica" — The Black Sheep Veronica — by the
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RNI closed on 24 September 1970, claiming it was trying to stop the Dutch government from passing legislation that might force
Veronica, "so dearly loved by the peoples of the Netherlands", to close. In fact, Veronica had paid RNI 1 million guilders to go off the air for two months and, to
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Despite all the pro-Veronica campaigning, the Dutch government passed its anti-pirate legislation and announced that the law was to come into effect on 1 September 1974. Veronica chose to close down at 6:00 pm on 31 August 1974. The final hour was, like most of
Veronica's programmes,
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Radio
Veronica broadcast a top 40 format during the daytime, but in the evenings and late at night some specialist shows were aired, some in Indonesian. Following its move to 538 metres, Veronica became known for its well-crafted jingles and commercials. News summaries were broadcast each
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into Dutch waters so that the ship would be seized. Verweij denied any intention of endangering the lives of RNI's crew but was found guilty, together with
Jurgens and the crew of the dinghy. All five were sentenced to a year in prison. The damage to Veronica's reputation was incalculable and, just
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coastline. The ship was fitted with a horizontal antenna between the fore and aft masts, fed by a one-kilowatt transmitter. Most of its programmes were recorded in a studio on the
Zeedijk in Hilversum. At the end of the 1960s, the studios and offices moved to bigger premises on the Utrechtseweg in
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Radio
Atlantis and RNI also closed on the evening of 31 August 1974. Radio Caroline had already decided to continue, as it had in 1967 (although as a precaution the ship moved to a new anchorage to reduce the likelihood of a "raid" by Dutch authorities), and after some debate, Radio Mi Amigo
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At noon on 30 September 1972, Veronica broadcast a half-hour retrospective documentary. The station then closed at 12:30 pm, a time chosen to symbolise the station's 12½ years on the air, announcing it would reopen at 1:00 pm on its new frequency of 557 kHz (538 m).
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beach. The ship suffered no serious damage and the crew were taken ashore safely, but it seemed unlikely that the ship could be refloated in time for the rally. RNI offered its facilities, but
Veronica refused because of the bad blood between them. Caroline, although off the air with technical
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station that began broadcasting in 1960, and was on air for over fourteen years. It was set up by independent radio, TV and household electrical retailers in the
Netherlands, to stimulate the sales of radio receivers by providing an alternative to the Netherlands state-licensed stations in
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calls. All on board were rescued and the fire was extinguished. The studios and transmitters were undamaged and RNI went back on the air the following morning. On 17 May 1971, Veronica's advertising director
Norbert Jurgens was arrested and, on the following day, Veronica's director
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transmitter in Switzerland. Originally allocated 10 kW on that frequency, Beromünster had upgraded to 160 kW and was planning 300 kW. Veronica had been considering a new frequency since the late 1960s, and the threat of increased interference made a change imperative.
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RNI's management became unhappy with that arrangement and, once the two months were up, one of RNI's Swiss directors, Erwin Bollier, attempted to refund the money. Veronica refused, claiming the right to renew the contract. On 5 January 1971, Bollier boarded the
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Both Veronica and RNI continued to broadcast without further incident but, as the Government began to draw up plans for anti-pirate legislation, the two stations began to campaign against it.
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equipment. Although power did not guarantee RNI an audience, Radio Veronica's management were sufficiently worried about loss of advertising revenue that they planned to put RNI off the air.
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back on the air on 11 April 1973, transmitting Radio Veronica programmes on Caroline's frequency of 1187 kHz (253 metres, announced as 259). Meanwhile, work on refloating the
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and became a commercial independent broadcasting station in the Netherlands. This ended in 2001; in 2000 it sold its shares, and in 2001 the television station V8 was renamed
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was launched on the same frequency. These broadcasts caused serious interference to Veronica in Britain and Belgium, although Dutch listeners were largely unaffected.
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Meanwhile, Caroline, which had helped Veronica in April 1973, offered it new rivalry in July, in the form of Belgian millionaire Adriaan van Landschoot's
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Hilversum. Initially, advertisers were reluctant to buy airtime, but those that did reported increases in sales and the station's revenue improved gradually.
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Veronica returned to the air on 557 kHz as scheduled, and listeners in the Netherlands and Belgium reported improved reception. On the same day, the
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707:, abbreviated as VOO) in the hopes of applying for a broadcasting license. After some bureaucratic obstruction, which one critic described as a mini-
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650:, a Veronica jingle was played and the transmitter was switched off halfway through. Photos of the scene in the studio show workers openly weeping.
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RNI's equipment but, by February 1971, RNI was back on the air, with a Dutch as well as an English service. In March, Veronica sued RNI for
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by the British government. The jamming stopped when the ship returned to the Netherlands, taking up position just 1 mile (1,600 m) from the
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pre-recorded in the station's studios in Hilversum. However, the station's final news bulletin was read live from the news studio on board the
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The Dutch court found the case inadmissible as the ship Mebo II was anchored in international waters which were out of its jurisdiction.
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shooting had motivated the British government to pass anti-pirate legislation, the RNI fire similarly motivated the Dutch authorities.
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continued. This took several days, but the ship was in fact back at sea on 18 April and soon returned to the air. Thereafter the
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began test transmissions in preparation for Radio Caroline's return. RNI 2 broadcast for a few days and then went off the air.
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service, and the irony was not lost on Veronica, which began its first legal programme by "accidentally" playing a snatch of
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also decided to stay on the air. After Veronica's closure, Radio Mi Amigo "borrowed" many of Veronica's programming formats.
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on 18 April 1973, and planned to broadcast special programmes in support. Unfortunately on 2 April the
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As the Dutch government drew up its legislation Veronica organised a major rally that was due to take place in
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Worse was to come. On the night of 15 May 1971, three men in a rubber dinghy started a fire on the
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After the station's closure, some of its staff applied for a broadcasting licence and continued as a
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A moment after Veronica went off the air, listeners heard RNI's theme tune on 1562 kHz. RNI DJ
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After 1974 some of Veronica's staff set up the Veronica Broadcasting Organisation (in Dutch
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This article is about a historical Dutch radio station. For the current radio stations, see
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was also arrested. In a television interview, Verweij claimed he had paid a man to tow the
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Veronica had been experiencing interference on 1562 kHz (192 m) from the
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anchored off the Dutch Coast. It moved to the British coast in early 1970 but was
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The station faced its first serious competition in 1964 when Radio Noordzee and
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The arrival of a more powerful rival was to cause repercussions for Veronica.
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Test transmissions began in Amsterdam on 16 December 1959. Test broadcasts on
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businessmen, initially broadcast German and English programmes from its ship
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in 1992, referring to the former wavelength of the offshore Radio Veronica.
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which had closed most of the similar British stations by August 1967.
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During 1965, the station was influenced by English-language pirates like
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The original Radio Veronica became the most popular station in the
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radio network on 28 December 1975. Hilversum 4 was a
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Veronica ship "The Norderney", Scheveningen, 7 April 1973
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took over Veronica's broadcasts in November that year and the
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In August 1964, the station acquired a new ship, a converted
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began test transmissions on 557 kHz from an antenna at
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Radio Veronica Reunion, recorded 31 August 1996, Video Menu
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In September 1972, the two radio ships were joined by
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was equipped with a 100 kW AM transmitter as well as
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Working around the clock, Caroline's technicians put the
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problems, also made an offer and Veronica accepted.
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66:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
1207:Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967
956:"Sixties City - Pirate Radio and Sixties Radio"
571:lost its anchor in a storm and ran aground on
441:enforce that agreement, Veronica replaced the
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629:was launched on 1 January 1974 from the
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993:History of Veronica in English (soundscapes)
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312:For a short time, the station also ran an
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1256:Defunct radio stations in the Netherlands
1251:1974 disestablishments in the Netherlands
909:, the current station with the same name.
902:List of radio stations in the Netherlands
551:1973–1974: Co-operation and rivalry
547:hour, at 2 minutes before the hour.
126:Learn how and when to remove this message
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468:which damaged the stern. RNI broadcast
1246:1960 establishments in the Netherlands
1276:Radio stations disestablished in 1974
591:relayed Veronica programmes from the
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64:adding citations to reliable sources
1271:Radio stations established in 1960
600:Independent Broadcasting Authority
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22:HitRadio Veronica (Sky Radio)
781:Bart van Leeuwen (presenter)
340:began broadcasting from the
18:Radio Veronica (Talpa Radio)
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931:"Pirate Radio Then and Now"
705:Veronica Omroep Organisatie
445:crew with their own staff.
400:Radio Nordsee International
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907:Radio Veronica (Sky Radio)
382:. When another UK pirate,
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666:Norderney - Antwerp, 2011
516:Frequency change and RNI2
332:Expansion and competition
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27:Not to be confused with
849:Tom Collins (presenter)
610:. In October 1973
604:Lots Road Power Station
1130:Swinging Radio England
760:Radio Veronica deejays
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832:Stan Haag (presenter)
648:Dutch National Anthem
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1224:The Boat That Rocked
1021:51.23194°N 4.41611°E
402:(RNI), owned by two
371:was sold for scrap.
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60:improve this article
1281:Rock radio stations
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740:Holland Media Groep
394:Veronica versus RNI
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772: [
744:Veronica TV
721:The Beatles
522:Beromünster
501:MV Mi Amigo
369:Borkum Riff
302:Borkum Riff
295:Netherlands
276:Borkum Riff
252:Listen Live
185:Programming
160:Netherlands
29:Veronica TV
1240:Categories
1186:REM Island
1090:Radio City
1009:51°13′55″N
914:References
793:Hans Mondt
534:Tony Allan
486:Radio City
410:MV Mebo II
343:REM Island
233:1974-08-31
216:1960-05-06
116:April 2011
86:newspapers
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1012:4°24′58″E
769:Ad Bouman
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569:Norderney
565:The Hague
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435:shortwave
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365:Norderney
299:lightship
269:Hilversum
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1170:MV
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1073:Stations
896:See also
606:in west
1164:Mebo II
815:Sandman
380:jingles
262:was an
247:Webcast
231: (
214: (
202:History
100:scholar
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1115:R.N.I.
965:22 May
608:London
471:mayday
416:jammed
361:anchor
353:named
191:Format
102:
95:
88:
81:
73:
940:8 May
934:(PDF)
868:]
856:]
839:]
827:]
800:]
788:]
776:]
404:Swiss
306:Dutch
241:Links
107:JSTOR
93:books
967:2024
942:2024
508:and
433:and
425:The
322:CNBC
318:CNBC
79:news
20:and
1154:MV
1146:MV
736:CLT
723:' "
498:'s
326:NBC
324:or
62:by
1242::
958:.
922:^
866:nl
854:nl
837:nl
825:nl
798:nl
786:nl
774:nl
633:.
512:.
431:FM
283:.
271:.
1058:e
1051:t
1044:v
969:.
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114:(
104:·
97:·
90:·
83:·
56:.
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