The Birth of Radio Geronimo

On the night of 15 February 1970, a new sound drifted across Europe from the transmitters of Radio Monte Carlo. This was the moment Radio Geronimo came alive. From a modest studio in London, the station had pre-recorded its first programmes, then relayed them through Monte Carlo’s powerful medium-wave signal on 205 metres medium wave — reaching listeners who had never heard anything quite like it.

The First Broadcast

The debut programme was presented by Hugh Nolan and Barry Everitt. Among the music they chose was a recording that would forever be tied to Geronimo’s story: Amazing Grace by The Great Awakening. Its haunting sound quickly became the station’s calling card, embodying the spirit of change and defiance that Geronimo represented. Within weeks, the song became inseparable from Geronimo’s identity — an anthem for a station determined to do things differently.

Free-Form Radio for a New Generation

Unlike mainstream stations of the time, Radio Geronimo rejected rigid playlists and commercial jingles. Its founders — Nolan, journalist Geoffrey Bass, publicist Terry Yason, along with support from producer Jimmy Miller and manager Tony Secunda — envisioned a free-form station.

The music moved seamlessly from jazz to blues, folk to classical and psychedelic rock into experimental soundscapes. It was eclectic, boundary-pushing, and deeply in tune with the counter cultural movement of the era.

Geronimo’s reluctance to carry conventional advertising added to its underground credibility, but also made financial survival difficult and by late 1970 the broadcasts abruptly came to an end.