Part 1: Beaming Sunshine Back To Britain 

Before the outbreak of World War 2 commercial radio thrived in France, licensed by local prefectures. An entrepreneur fascinated by new technology, Pierre Leroy de Présalé, received permission to launch Radio Cote d’Azur in 1926. His partner in the project Édouard Baudoin no doubt helped his access to a precious broadcasting permit. Baudoin was Conseiller Général of the Alpes Maritimes and Director of the Juans Les Pins Casino.

Another pioneer, the half Dutch half British Captain Leonard J. Plugge was also fascinated by the commercial opportunities of the emerging medium of wireless. Plugge was a World War 1 RAF pilot and became Conservative MP for Colchester in 1935. In 1926 Plugge toured Europe. His vehicle kitted out with the very first car radio made by Philco. Plugge reported on the new continental stations for an amateur wireless magazine. These radio safaris inspired him with an idea to get around the British Broadcasting Corporation’s monopoly of the UK airwaves. The British Government did not only frown upon exploitation of such a valuable patrimony and powerful medium for financial gain, but also viewed commercial radio as a potential corruptor of public morality.

In 1931, Captain Plugge hired airtime from Radio Normandy and beamed sponsored programmes across the channel into Britain, two years ahead of the launch of English programming from Radio Luxembourg. While Radio Normandy with 10 kilowatts of power could be heard along the South Coast, it could not compete with Luxembourg’s powerful 150 kilowatt signal that could be heard over much of the UK, even in daytime. Aware that at night medium wave signals propagated much further, Plugge established a network of stations across the continent to broadcast English sponsored nighttime programmes produced by his International Broadcasting Company (IBC) based just across the road from the BBC’s new broadcasting house in Portland Place, London.  Announcers provided local continuity in English between programmes at most of the relay stations throughout Europe.

The studio of Radio Cote d'Azur in the old Juans Les Pins Casino

At the height of its success in the mid-thirties, IBC programmes could be heard across the nighttime radio dial beaming in from Madrid, Valencia and San Sebastian in Spain, Ljubljana, Rome, Athlone in Ireland, Poste Parisien from the Eiffel Tower, Lyon, Toulouse and Juans Les Pins. Eventually the IBC whose revenues had grown from £400,000 in 1935 to £1,700,000 in 1938 even added Radio Luxembourg to its broadcasting Empire.  

English broadcasts from the IBC were aired by Radio Cote d’Azur every Sunday night from 10.30pm until 1am. Mademoiselle Bailet who was half English and according to Radio Pictorial magazine “spoke English as well as you or I” presented them. A typical schedule consisted of a Light Orchestral Concert, Selections from Musical Comedy and Dance Music with waltzes, foxtrots, tangos and quick steps. IBC’s sponsors included the ubiquitous Ovaltineys and Bile Beans (Out of Sorts? – Don’t blame the spring weather, take Bile beans and tone up your system.) Captain Plugge was such an avid commercialiser that the term ‘to plug’ was coined after him.  

This commercial bonanza was to end with the outbreak of World War 2, the requisitioning of the commercial broadcasters by the French state and the eventual take over of the by now renamed Radio Mediterranée in Juans Les Pins by the Vichy Government.

Following the liberation of France by Allied Forces, commercial broadcasting would not recommence until the 1980s. In the meantime major stations were established from Monaco, Luxembourg, Andorra and Germany to beam commercial programmes into France. These stations were majority owned by a French State holding company Sofirad and only Luxembourg maintained evening English broadcasts.

For several months in 1970 Radio Geronimo owned by Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Smith and The Move's manager Tony Secunda beamed hippy music after midnight from Radio Monte Carlo into the UK. Geronimo was replaced by a more commercial Top 40 project Radio Monte Carlo International in 1971. Despite hiring name UK DJs such as Dave Cash, Kenny Everett and Tommy Vance, RMCI also folded after just a few months on-air due to a lack of sponsorship support.  

It wasn’t until the late 1970s that a posse of former offshore radio pirates set up the first truly local English language station for the Riviera. Sitting just over the border in Italy they exploited the emerging anarchy in Italian radio regulation that allowed anyone to start broadcasting.

More....Part 2