Duncan Larkin broadcast as part of the Caroline South team from 2003 - 2007. He recorded his weekly shows from Vienna, Austria initially broadcast every Saturday night at 22.00 CET (21.00 UTC) and then Sunday nights at the same time. His last job was presenting the morning show on Austrian public radio's (ORF) national youth music network FM4. Duncan has a close affinity with Radio Caroline.

"I used to listen to the original Caroline South ship under the pillows with my transistor radio when I was a young lad back in the 1960s. The excitement and energy of these offshore 'pirate' broadcasts really made me want to get into radio."

At Portsmouth University Duncan was in charge of booking bands for the ents committee.

"I remember booking the Cure before they were really well known, and the week that they played, they had entered the charts for the first time at no.8."

A gifted linguist, speaking French, German, Italian and some Dutch and Spanish; Duncan also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris where he wrote his thesis on the city's radio-libres (free radio) movement of the 1970s.

His first radio job was a short spell with Radio Victory in Portsmouth and then with the London community station Radio Thamesmead. From there he had a short spell with Radio Nova in Italy, before joining Riviera Radio and then Sunshine Radio in Antibes, France working the breakfast shift on both stations. "Sunshine was fun," recalls Larkin explaining, "We were in the heart of the Riviera yachting & tecchie community. I was often joined by listeners on my Sunday lunchtime show and the results were often riotous. On one show, someone let off fireworks in the studio. I was fired, but reinstated after one week following a petition from listeners!"

From Sunshine Radio, Duncan joined Radio Aire in Leeds where he took over James Whales' nightly phone-in show. He then went to World Radio Geneva in Switzerland and Blue Danube Radio in Vienna and stayed with it as it transformed in to the alternative youth music station Radio FM4, broadcasting his morning shows in English and German.

"It is a big thrill for me to broadcast on Caroline, the station that inspired me to get into radio," says Duncan adding "Caroline has a musical freedom which is pretty unique these days when radio has become so formulated and stylised."

Duncan's 1st programme on Radio Caroline 5th July 2003 21.00 1hr 20s MP3 28MB

FM4 Tribute broadcast Tuesday 23rd Sept '08 09-10.00 55min MP3 25MB

FM4 tribute to Duncan Larkin - web site

Tribute on AngloInfo

Blue Danube Radio Profile