Sponsors of UK Male Country Singer of the Year.
Don Allen was a radio presenter in North America until crossing the Atlantic to join Radio Caroline South during the summer of 1965. He moved to Radio Caroline North later in the year and became a big hit, renowned for his use of jingles and wacky drop-ins.
As well as his regular “Big Wide Wonderful World Of Daffy Don Allen” programme, he presented Radio Caroline’s weekly “Country And Western Jamboree”. He introduced many people to country music through Radio Caroline in the 1960s.
When the “Marine Offences (Broadcasting) Act” became Law on August 14th 1967, most of the off-shore stations closed down, only Radio Caroline continued, and as the Act did not become Law until August 31st 1967 in the Isle of Man, Radio Caroline North was the only legal station and at midnight on August 31st , Daffy Don Allen announced that Radio Caroline North would continue broadcasting.
Both Caroline ships continued for another year until the Dutch tendering company boarded and towed both ships away to Amsterdam to be scrapped to cover unpaid tendering fees.
Eventually escaping Amsterdam, Daffy Don Allen returned to the Isle of Man where he joined Manx Radio and presented the Country Jamboree on the station and also on BBC Radio Merseyside. He went back to sea in the 1970s on Radio Northsea International on the ship Mebo2.
In the 1980s Daffy Don Allen moved to Ireland and worked on many different stations there, before his untimely death in May 1995.
Daffy Don’s fan club was run by Nutty Norah, who is now established as a presenter on UKCountryRadio.com. It has recently been revived on Facebook and is open to new members who remember Don and the country music he introduced us to in the 1960s.
Visit The Big Wide Wonderful World Of Daffy Don Allen’s Facebook Group
You must be logged in to post a comment.