About Tony...
There are so many stories about Tony - mine is that, despite having been a Caroline listener for a number of years, when I met him in 1979, I actually knew very little about him, so it certainly was not a feeling of meeting a celebrity – he just seemed to be a really nice guy, making a teenage anorak at the (Caroline) road show feel so welcome, chatting with the band who were performing live that evening, offering them nothing but praise and support! I make no apology for the fact that this is more of a tribute than a biography!
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“Loving awareness is free – for me, that means being free, thinking free – Tony spoke from the heart and was not afraid to support the causes he felt were important – not afraid to be openly gay.
So where did it all start? Tony was growing up in London in the sixties, listening to the new offshore radio stations. At the age of only 15, he would make his way to the Caroline offices and help the staff deal with the fan mail. He was determined to ‘get on the radio’, and approached Ronan O’Rahilly, (founder of Radio Caroline) only to be told he was too young and lacking in experience. Tony considered trying for some of the other stations, and finally headed north to Radio Scotland and found himself on the Comet until closedown in 1967.
After this, Tony worked for a while in television (Grampian, Granada and L.W.T.) and in clubs on the continent, but radio was his love and he returned to sea, initially broadcasting for RNI (Radio Nordzee International), and later on Radio Caroline itself. True to his ideals, he cooperated with Abie Nathan and launched the Voice of Peace in the Middle East .
Tony traveled a lot in the mid 1970s working at various times for Caroline (when, along with Mike Hagler, he produced the memorable Loving Awareness jingles), the Voice of Peace, as a freelance voice over and for a short time at Radio Forth. Radio Caroline had major problems during winter 1978-79, and Tony was one of the crew brought ashore when the Mi Amigo was at risk of sinking in January 1979. Despite this, Tony was ‘the voice’ re-launching the station on Easter Sunday ( April 15 1979 ) with the words: ‘This is us, we’re back”.
Later that year, Tony ventured over to Eire , lured by the exciting things happening on the radio scene there. He stayed many years and was influential for stations such as Nova and Sunshine, as well as holding instructional classes for potential radio talent.
Tony was probably not heard on UK radio again until 2001 when he returned to the now land-based Radio Caroline, but with the devastating news that he was suffering from throat cancer, which seemed to be incurable. Tony endured these last few years undergoing treatment for his illness - not complaining, but regularly supporting those causes close to his heart. His last show on Radio Caroline was on his birthday, Monday 22 September 2003 , but he made sure to attend as many Caroline events as possible, especially the open days on the Ross Revenge, and completed the sleeve notes for a recently released CD of unsigned musicians – The First Step.
“Go along to your local pub or club and check out the zillions of (other) bands who are trying to climb that ladder of success,” he urges!
For a while, Tony kept a diary on this website, although once he became too ill, the diary ceased.
Tony’s condition deteriorated, and towards the end of June he was admitted to the Marie Curie Cancer Hospice, Hampstead, London . Sadly, he left us at about 11am on Friday 9 July 2004 .
There were so many aspects to Tony’s life, it would be impossible to record them all – he was a very individual character, a master of communication, a bit of a rebel. Of course, there have also been negative things said about him, the drinking and the acerbic wit were often difficult to cope with – but that’s part of the package, the whole that is Tony Allan.
Tony was so special, he touched so many people during his life and he will always be missed.
Pam
THANKS TO: The Tony Allan Story,The Radio Production Company 2002
