29 March 2026
► EVENTS ON 29 March;
On this day in 1964, Radio Caroline became England’s first pirate radio station, transmitting from a ship Mi Amigo which was anchored just outside English territorial waters.
Radio Caroline was formed to circumvent the control exercised by record companies of popular music broadcasting, and the monopoly then held by the BBC in radio broadcasting. Today it’s broadcasts are primarily via the internet.
1965, and the Tasman Bridge in Hobart, was officially opened by the State Minister for Lands and Works, Mr Cashion.
1972, in Berlin, Germany, West Berliners were permitted to enter the walled-off eastern half of the city for the first time in 20 years.
1973, and the last United States combat soldiers left South Vietnam, upon the end of the Vietnam War. The principal city, Saigon, was renamed Ho Chi Minh City.
1974, and America’s Mariner 10, which had been launched the previous November, became the first space probe to fly by and return close-up photographs of the planet Mercury.
Also in 1974, but in Xian, China, workmen and archaeologists uncovered a series of pits containing over 8,000 life-size terra-cotta figures, depicting soldiers, chariots and horses. Considered to be one of the greatest archeological sites in the world, some of the figures, known as the Terra-cotta Army, can be visited by foreign travellers.
1987, near Derby, West Australia, A young American woman was taken by a crocodile while swimming in the Prince Regent River. The Federal Minister for the Environment later said that warning signs erected along the river, which was known to be inhabited by saltwater crocodiles, had been ignored.
2004, the Republic of Ireland became the first country in the world to ban smoking in all work places, including bars and restaurants.
► ARRIVALS ON THIS DATE
1932, Sydney, New South Wales: Patricia Lamond Lawman, alias Toni Lamond, singer, actress, dancer and comedienne who performed since the age of 10. As an actress, she has starred in numerous Australian stage, movie and television productions. She died in November 2025, aged 93.
1940, Bahia, Brazil: Astrud Weinert alias Astrud Gilberto, singer famous for her samba and bossa nova music, including the Grammy Award-winning song The Girl From Ipanema. She died 2023.
1941, Delhi, India: Richard Graham Sarstedt alias Eden Kane, British teen idol and pop singer of the pre-Beatles era in the early 1960s.
1943, Volos, Greece: Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou alias Vangelis, musician and composer of electronic jazz, progressive, ambient and orchestral music, best known for his Academy Award winning score for the film Chariots Of Fire, and scores for the films Blade Runner and 1492: Conquest of Paradise. He died in May 2022, aged 79.
1944, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Terry Jacks, singer, songwriter, record producer and environmentalist best known for his 1974 hit, Seasons In The Sun.
1946, Manchester, England: William Richard Thorpe alias Billy Thorpe, Australian pop singer, songwriter and musician. As lead singer of Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs, he had success in the mid 1960s with Poison Ivy, Over The Rainbow, Sick and Tired, and Mashed Potato. These were followed in the 70s with Most People I Know Think That I’m Crazy He died in May 2007, aged 60.
► DEPARTURES ON THIS DATE
1980, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England: Annunzio Paolo Mantovani, alias Mantovani, aged 74. He was an Anglo-Italian orchestra conductor and light-orchestra-style entertainer known for his cascading strings musical signature.
Today’s Playlist :
| TRACK | RELEASE YEAR | PLAY TIME | LAST PLAYED |
| Tres Chic – On The Wings Of A Nightingale | 2026 | 06:06 | – |
| Toni West – Your Days Are Numbered | 2026 | 06:11 | – |
| Ron Callaghan – Poor Man | 2026 | 06:15 | 27/3/2026 |
| Eden Kane – Forget Me Not BORN THIS DAY 1941, Richard Graham Sarstedt alias Eden Kane, in 1941 in Delhi, India. | 1962 | 06:22 | 29/3/2015 |
| Vangelis – Chariots Of Fire | 1981 | 06:24 | 18/7/2025 |
| Lolita – Weisser Holunder | 1981 | 06:28 | – |
| Simon May Orchestra – Orrin (New England) | 06:32 | – | |
| Vintage Vinyl Bing Crosby – Around The World | 1957 | 06:35 | – |
| Terry Jacks – Hey Country Girl | 06:40 | 24/3/2019 | |
| Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs – Most People I Know Think That I’m Crazy | 1972 | 06:45 | 29/2/2024 |
| For A Listener: Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs – Poison Ivy | 1964 | 06:50 | 28/2/2025 |
| Diamond Album – From the L P “THE BEATLES 65” Charting on this day 1966 Beatles – I’ll Follow The Sun | 1966 | 06:54 | 15/6/2025 |
| Celine Dion – River Deep Mountain High | 06:56 | – | |
| Destiny Band Oz – Tell Him | 2017 | 07:06 | 18/10/2024 |
| COUNTRY ROAD + Dianne Lindsay – Bushland Sweetheart | 07:12 | 17/4/2020 | |
| + Slim Dusty & Travelling Country Band – The Three Rivers Hotel | 07:14 | 4/7/2025 | |
| For A Listener: Daniel O’Donnell – That’s Amore | 07:20 | 3/9/2017 | |
| Vintage Vinyl Buddy Holly – Every Day | 1957 | 07:24 | 15/5/2015 |
| Raymond Smith – Between You And I | 2026 | 07:26 | 27/3/2026 |
| Mantovani – The Carousel Waltz DIED THIS DAY 1980, Annunzio Paolo Mantovani, alias Mantovani, in 1980, in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England aged 74. | 07:33 | 29/9/2024 | |
| Behind the Sea – Kiss Kiss Moi | 2026 | 07:38 | 13/3/2026 |
| Bill Anderson – Green Green | 07:41 | 31/5/2024 | |
| Diamond Classic – From the L P “FAIRYTALE” Charting on this day 1966 Donovan – Universal Soldier | 1965 | 07:45 | 17/10/2025 |
| Michael T Wall – Daddy’s Girl | 2021 | 07:47 | 19/4/2024 |
| Sarah & Sabrina Wall – We’re Still Daddy’s Girls | 2021 | 07:51 | 19/4/2024 |
| David McCaffrey – Walk Of Life | 07:56 | 29/8/2025 | |
| Grandpa Jones – Daylight Savings Time | 08:04 | – | |
| For A Listener: Foster & Allen – Nobody’s Darling But Mine | 08:09 | 15/2/2026 | |
| COMFORT ZONE + John Rowles – Island In The Sun | 08:13 | 27/8/2023 | |
| + Tony Barber – And I Love You So | 08:16 | 14/2/2016 | |
| Warren Kearney – Let It Be Me | 2026 | 08:23 | 15/3/2026 |
| Vintage Vinyl Dickie Valentine – The Finger of Suspicion | 1954 | 08:31 | 4/11/2022 |
| Manuel & The Music of the Mountains – A Banda | 08:36 | 11/2/2024 | |
| Diamond Classic – From the L P “SEPTEMBER OF MY YEARS” Charting on this day 1966 Frank Sinatra – It Was A Very Good Year | 1965 | 08:40 | 6/3/2026 |
| Diamond Classic – From the L P “SOMEWHERE THERE’S A SOMEONE” Charting on this day 1966 Dean Martin – I Walk The Line | 1966 | 08:44 | 31/1/2025 |
| David Hammerschlag – One Certain Thing | 2026 | 08:49 | 8/3/2026 |
| Lindsay Butler – Mama’s Hungry Eyes | 2026 | 08:52 | – |