SpeakEasy Films presents

THE SHIP THAT ROCKED THE WORLD

A Feature-Length Documentary on Radio Caroline, and how a band of pirates changed the world of music forever.

The Film 

Based on the Best-Selling book by original Radio Caroline DJ Tom Lodge and from the producer of the feature documentaries SUNSET STRIP, WHEN THE WORLD BREAKS and THE HEART IS A DRUM MACHINE comes THE THE SHIP THAT ROCKED THE WORLD. With a mix of live interviews and never-before-seen archival footage, this feature-length documentary will tell the TRUE STORY of Radio Caroline and the DJ’s that defied the establishment, launched the British Invasion, & made the planet safe for Rock & Roll.

The Production 

The production team will spend three months scouting and shooting this film in England, New York City and Los Angeles. Production is scheduled to begin in late August and will continue through early December with a target premiere of May 2012. Target Interviews for the film include Pete Townsend, Roger Daltrey, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ray Davis, Tom Jones, Donovan, Bob Dylan and surviving DJ’s themselves.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Ship That Rocked Movie, LLC is seeking $1,100,000 in funds from private equity partners and/or Co-Production Companies to finance the feature length documentary film THE SHIP THAT ROCKED THE WORLD. Each unit will require a contribution of $110,000 and will be worth 5% of the film’s net profit revenue along with a 120% shared first position ROI.

Synopsis

Did you ever wonder why so much fantastic music came out of Britain starting in the 60s? Pirates did it. That's right, pirates.  And the story of how they did it seems unbelievable, but it really happened. It completely altered the course of rock and roll.

The young people of the U.K. wanted rock and roll—needed rock and roll. However, they were the children of a more structured society and the authorities were not about to let it go very far, allowing only music they deemed safe and tame. And without commercial radio, they could get away with it.

Some kids could get a hold of American vinyl, but the bands in England that learned to play the music had little outlet for their creative energies. So an entire generation waited. Enter Radio Caroline, Ronan O'Rahilly, a young, revolutionary-minded Irishman with an insatiable desire to poke the establishment in the eye, launched his pirate radio station off the coast in the spring of 1964. Its huge antenna became a symbol to England in more ways than one.

At first, Radio Caroline was a bit stiff in style and substance—more BBC than anything else. Until Ronan brought Tom Lodge aboard. Tom was a Brit with radio literally in his DNA, and adventure in his soul. Tom had lived in America. He knew the energy, and the freedom of spirit that was natural in rock and roll. He relished the chance to bring this spirit to Britain.

Almost overnight, Radio Caroline had millions of listeners, and just as quickly, they had competition. After merging with its rival, Radio Caroline had two ships, and the original ship, MV Fredericia was on its way around the coast to become Radio Caroline North.   Broadcasting as they sailed, the anticipation and excitement built from the even more rock and roll-starved youth of north and western England.

Anchored off the coast of the Isle of Man, Radio Caroline, with Tom Lodge as its program director and top deejay, began broadcasting music by the English bands and musicians that became rock and roll legends: the Kinks, the Animals, the Rolling Stones, the Hollies and so many more. The British invasion was well under way. In America, they took notice of the music and also of the audience awakening across the ocean.  New music from the states began arriving weekly.

Synopsis cont.

The deejays aboard Caroline had an enormous volume of 45s and LPs to choose from.  Not every group was a success, of course, but almost every musician had an opportunity. One band seemed destined to be ignored. They had a funny name and their songs didn't impress most of the crew. Except, that is, for Tom Lodge, who immediately liked their music and made it a point to regularly include them on his playlist. Soon the popularity of The Who began to soar.

By October 1965, a rival pirate ship in the south threatened Caroline's existence. Ronan asked Tom to join Radio Caroline South on the Mi Amigo and gave him free reign. Tom's answer to the American-style competition was to create a completely free-form style of spinning discs. The deejays would play whatever they felt like with no direction from anyone. Before long, Radio Caroline was bigger, more popular, than ever.

The British government did everything it could to stop these radio pirates but Radio Caroline continued to innovate and broadcast the very latest rock and roll.  Drab and dull British society exploded into a panorama of color and free expression.  Everyone was pushing towards greater creativity.

Tom Lodge became a star in his own right, greeted by fans whenever he came ashore. One day in March 1966, Tom was sent ashore to conduct an interview.  He wasn't given time to prepare, and didn't even know the subject. He soon found out—it was the Beatles—and that recorded interview has become part of rock and roll lore.

Eventually, the government was able to shut down Radio Caroline and the other pirate ships. Nothing that amazing can last forever anyway. Their influence had already changed British society. A generation of listeners remembers their heyday while we all recall the extraordinary music they encourage and played. That never disappears.

Here is the true story of how it was aboard Radio Caroline. Consider all the great music—go ahead and play one or two of your favorite tunes—as Tom Lodge tells you the inside story, as only he can, of when the pirates sailed free and ruled the airwaves.

The ROCK STARS

Pete Townsend “For The Who, Radio Caroline was an angelic force. Pirates came to our rescue. Without Caroline we would not have sold a single record. Tom Lodge was a vital figure in Caroline’s most vital times. As such he deserves a Knighthood for the indirect millions he helped guide from The pockets of budding UK pop stars towards the coffers of the Treasury. Sometimes the law is more than an ass. Pirates? They were angles.”

Ray Davis “Radio Caroline was more adventurous than most of the stations around In its day. It championed bands like The Kinks who owe much of their early success to Radio Caroline and Tom Lodge.”

Paul McCartney “Pirate radio, and in particular Radio Caroline, was a really exciting part of all of our lives in those days and summed up the spirit of the times culturally and musically.

The Beatles! Bob Dylan!

The Kinks! The Who!Donovan !

The Rolling Stones!

The Animals!

The Spencer Davis Group!

Pink Floyd!

The Team

Tom Lodge- DJ, Author, Executive Producer Tom Lodge was born in Forest Green, England in 1936. His grandfather was Sir Oliver Lodge, scientist and the inventor of wireless technology in 1894, two years before Marconi. The Royal Society installed a plaque in 1995 at Oxford University Museum of Natural History to commemorate this event. Many other innovations and inventions are credited to him, including the spark plug and the loudspeaker.

In 1954, on his eighteenth birthday, Tom sailed to Alberta Canada and became a cowboy on the Alberta Ranch and then the A7 Ranch near Pincher Creek. Later he traveled to Hay River, North West Territories and worked as a fisherman on the Great Slave Lake, using nets through the ice. It was here, while fishing with a colleague that he was blown out into open waters on an ice flow. His friend died, but he survived being finally rescued by some trappers. He described his adventures in his book, Beyond the Great Slave Lake.

In 1959 Tom joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as an announcer on CFYK. Then in 1960 he became the CBC manager for a new radio station CBXH in Fort Smith, N.W.T., and stayed there until he returned to England as a CBC correspondent. Tom remained with the CBC until in 1964 when he met Ronan O’Rahilly and joined Radio Caroline. After the outlawing of the pirate radio ships in 1967 by the Marine Offences Broadcasting Act, Tom worked as a disc-jockey for the BBC on the newly created BBC Radio 1, but soon decided to go back to Canada. He became a deejay on CHLO, St Thomas.

When Radio Caroline began to broadcast legally in the 90s, he joined them for a time. Then in September 2004, he again went on the air with his son, Tom, Junior. He finally decided to retire from broadcasting and did his final Caroline show on April 8, 2007. Now Tom, Junior runs the show on Radio Caroline.

Books by Tom Lodge Beyond The Great Slave Lake

Success Without Goals Circles

The Ship That Rocked the World

The Team cont. Joe Mundo- Producer Specializing in physical production and finance, Joe has extensive experience in business, television and film.  Joe physically produced the feature documentaries THE HEART IS A DRUM MACHINE, JOHN HENRY: THE STEEL DRIVING RACEHORSE (with the producer team behind the Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominated film I.O.U.S.A.) and WHEN THE WORLD BREAKS, which takes a fresh look back Depression era art, cinema, literature, music, architecture, business, culture, and politics. WHEN THE WORLD BREAKS features  interviews with Depression Era survivors such as Mickey Rooney, Phyllis Diller, Buzz Aldrin, Ray Bradbury, Jack LaLanne, Art Linkletter, and Jerry Stiller.

Joe is currently in post-production on SUNSET STRIP, the upcoming documentary feature film on the 100+ year history of the loudest street on the planet. SUNSET STRIP stars Johnny Depp, Ozzy Osbourne, Hugh Hefner, Keanu Reeves, Mickey Rourke, Slash and many more. In addition to his work in documentaries, Joe worked on the feature films AWAY WE GO, JAKE’S CORNER, S.I.S. and MIDDLE MEN. Joe worked as a remote broadcast producer for NBC Sports. Joe received his B.A. in Mass Communications and Business from Arizona State University. 

Jamie Talbot- Producer Jamie Talbot is an accomplished, respected and decorated music executive having had success in many facets of the industry. As an artist manager he has worked with the likes both Multi-platinum legends as well as up and coming groundbreaking acts. As a record executive he has Executive Produced both audio and video projects for a wide range of labels and companies including VH-1 Classic, Rhino Records and Immortal Records. In addition Jamie is a published writer having written, reviewed and interviewed for several esteemed publications.

Presently Jamie in an executive artist manager at Sanctuary 5B Entertainment where he helps guide the careers of both iconic and developing artists. Their roster includes: Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top, Slipknot, Stone Sour, Tonic, Lone Star, Filter, Duff Mckagen’s Loaded, Camp Freddy, Ratt, Brook White, Six Pence None The Richer, The Darkness, and Black Tide. Additionally Jamie is currently executive producing two film projects for a well known writer/director and developing a new reality based music TV show and recently was the Executive in charge of music talent for the soon to be released SUNSET STRIP, based on the history of the famous stretch of road called Sunset Strip.

Our Previous Work

SUNSET STRIP (Early 2012) Produced by Joe Mundo, this feature doc is about the 100+ year history of the Loudest Street on the Planet, the Sunset Strip, This feature-length documentary film tracks the history, the styles, the sounds, the venues and the personalities that shaped world culture from a 1.5 mile stretch of road just outside the Los Angeles city limits. The story of the Strip is told by the people who inhabit it, including Johnny Depp, Hugh Hefner, Mickey Rourke,  Keanu Reeves, Ozzy Osbourne, Slash, Richard Lewis, Dita Von Teese, Sharon Stone, Sharon Osbourne, Dan Aykroyd, Sofia Coppola, Peter Fonda, Paris Hilton, Tommy Lee, Billy Corgan and many more.

WHEN THE WORLD BREAKS (Late 2011) Produced by Joe Mundo, WHEN THE WORLD BREAKS is a documentary feature about Depression-era life that delves into art, music, theater, cinema, comedy, politics, economics and culture with exclusive interviews and never-before-seen vintage film clips to paint a fresh portrait of 1930s America. The cast includes Great Depression experts and survivors such as Mickey Rooney, Jerry Stiller, Phyllis Diller, Ray Bradbury, Buzz Aldrin, Jack LaLanne, Art Linkletter, Rev. Jesse Jackson, among many others.

• World Premiere: 2010 Sedona International Film Festival • International Premiere: 2010 New Zealand Documentary Edge Festival • Official Selection 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival

• Official Selection 2010 Raindance International Film Festival • Official Selection 2011 Palm Beach International Film Festival • Official Selection 2011 Beverly Hills Film Festival

THE HEART IS A DRUM MACHINE (2010) Produced by Joe Mundo, the critically acclaimed documentary film THE HEART IS A DRUM MACHINE looks at why humans make and love music. Tackling the topic is an eclectic cast of musicians and artists including George Clinton, Tool’s Maynard James Keenan, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ John Frusciante, Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse), Elijah Wood, Juliette Lewis, Matt Sorum, Jason Schwartzman, and many more. THE HEART IS A DRUM MACHINE was released worldwide by E1 Entertainment in March 2010.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Joe Mundo 310-721-8985

Joe.Mundo@me.com

Jamie Talbot 310-430-4186

Jamie.Talbot@Sanctuarygroup.com