All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S11E08.High-Rise.Hotel.Battlefield.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

[narrator] A strange structure
at the heart of a Miami suburb

that began as a dream
and turned into a nightmare.

They call us
one of the top murder capitals
of South Florida

but we are waking this city
back up.

[narrator] A Lebanese
high-rise of glitz and glamor,

consumed by hate and fear.

[translator] The battle became
so ruthless that you
could kill your brother,

cousin or your friend
'cause you couldn't tell
who was who.

[narrator] And
a Japanese curiosity

caught in a web of corruption.

[man] He was
a very high-flying
businessman.

with a lot of big plans

and a tendency to cut corners,
ethically, in his businesses.

[narrator] Decaying relics...

Ruins of lost worlds...

Sites haunted by the past.

Their secrets
waiting to be revealed.

In Miami-Dade County, Florida,

are relics of
a storybook fantasy

brought to life.

[Luke] This looks like
a typical Miami suburb.

But then you notice
that the streets have
some pretty unexpected names.

You have Baghdad Avenue,
Sharazad Boulevard
and Sindbad Avenue.

[narrator] In the middle
of the town

is what looks like
a crumbling palace.

Which, much like
the street names,

appears wildly out of place
in Florida

[Luke] It's got
these pink domes,
touring minarets,

castle-like battlements,

and a wide courtyard.

It seems to be a mix
of various Eastern influences.

There's something
a bit fantastical
about it all.

[Hadley] Exteriors
don't really match
the interiors.

Their offices, their spaces
that would be used

for everyday activities.

They're not elaborate
like the outside
of the building.

[narrator] The construction
is just one piece
of a much bigger puzzle.

These structures
aren't as big or impressive

but their coordinated style

suggests there was once
a wider vision for this place.

[Hadley] For a time,
this was a fantasy
you could buy into

but the dream would be
very tragically short-lived.

[Alex] I was living
not far from here,
in a neighboring community.

And was interested
in what homeownership
would look like.

[narrator] Alex Van Mecl
began digging into

the extraordinary history
of this region

when he bought
his first home here

in September 2021.

[Alex] It was very exciting

and was the beginning
of a very long journey

to uncover
a lot about the city

that has, in some instances,
never been seen
or told before.

[narrator] This
curious structure

was to be the beating heart
of a grand vision.

To transform this
once unpopulated area

into a thriving city.

The driving force behind it

was American Renaissance man,
Glenn H. Curtiss.

[Luke] Curtiss was a pioneer
of American aviation.

And one of the nation's
wealthiest men.

He had helped develop
the first aircraft career

for the US Navy,

and built the first sea plane.

[narrator] While Curtiss
was vacationing in Florida,

he recognized
the money-making potential
of this area.

In the years
after the first world war,

Florida experienced
a land moon.

The number of skilled workers
in the country was rising

and they were benefitting
from higher wages
and paid vacations.

Suddenly people
had the resources

to travel
and to buy vacation homes.

[Hadley] Everybody had cars,
everyone had a Modet T.

They wanted to be
in the sun.

And there was
no better place to go
than Florida.

Curtiss and his partners
bought 17,000 acres of land.

And Curtiss entered
a new business.

Real Estate development.

[Hadley] Fortunately,
there was this new craze
that was sweeping the nation,

and it would inspire
his next project, Opa-Locka.

[narrator] Opa-Locka
was to be something
entirely unique.

Never before attempted
in the United States.

It was a big gamble,

based on architecture
and literature
from the Islamic World.

[Sascha] In 1925,
the architect
Bernhardt Muller.

read the collection of
middle eastern folk tales

known as the 1001 Nights.

He was so inspired
that he relived it
in his dreams that night.

He soon came up
with a vision

of a city
built around the theme
and design of the stories.

[narrator] And in Curtiss,
Muller had a partner

with the resources
to make it happen.

And advertisement
that was placed
in The Miami Herald in 1926,

began with the words
"one thousand
and one reasons".

It encouraged investors
to get in on the ground floor

of a never to be repeated
opportunity.

[narrator] This
administration building

was intended to be an icon
of the city's success.

The construction
of this building began

in early 1926.

It took approximately
seven months to construct.

At that time,
they estimated cost
$150,000.

It's primary focus
was to sell
the idea and dream

of what it was to become
an Opa-Lockan

[Hadley] This was to be
a completely
self-sufficient community.

with its own airport,
golf course, pool,

parks, country club, zoo.

All the things
that make life fun.

Muller personally approved
each and every design.

He specified
all the paint colors
and finishings to be used.

And even suggested
landscaping around
the buildings.

[narrator]
In less than a year,

over 30 homes were built
and residents moved in,

while the rest
of the city's construction

was still underway.

Curtiss' ambitious risk
appeared to be paying off.

But before the city
can be completed,

Mother Nature
interfered.

In 1926, a massive hurricane
swept through the Miami area

and although
it didn't really
affect Opa-Locka,

it affected Florida
as a whole.

And sent it into this
economic tailspin.

Florida's reputation
as Heaven on Earth,

was shattered
in the wake of the destruction

[Sascha] Suddenly,
both, investors
and new residents

became harder
and harder to find.

[narrator] But railroads
had helped

other planned communities
in Florida prosper.

And Curtiss was certain

a new train line
coming in 1927,

would keep his vision alive.

He also had
one last trick up his sleeve.

He was an astute marketer.

And when
the first train arrived,

through Opa-Locka,
on the new line,

he decided he was
gonna put on a show.

[narrator] In the late 1920s,

the visionary
planned community
of Opa-Locka,

was failing to attract
new residents.

It's founder,
Glenn H. Curtiss,

aw the arrival
of the new Sea Board railroad

as a vital opportunity

to generate some
crucial publicity.

Onboard was
the governor of the state,

the president of the railway

and a host
of other dignitaries.

They were greeted
by something straight out
of the movies.

A representative
of the company,

dressed as the Grand Vizier
of the empire of Opa-Locka,

charged on horseback out of
the administration building.

He was flanked by others
dressed as Arabian horsemen,

who were racing out
to meet the iron horse.

Homeowners from
all across the city

joined in the celebrations.

Nobody wanted to see
Opa-Locka crash and burn.

[Hadley] Most of the town
had costumes

that had been rented
from New York theaters.

And the whole community
put on a show for visitors.

[Luke] The event
was a big success.

And the newspapers
gave it plenty of coverage.

All of which provided
great advertising
for the city.

[Sascha] These days,
that type of naked
cultural appropriation

would definitely
be frowned upon.

Though there are certainly
outrageous stunts

pulled by real estate
developers on a daily basis.

[narrator] The so-called
Arabian fantasy

may have captured
people's attention,

but it failed to get them
to open their wallets.

The future of Curtiss'
$1.5 million investment

was uncertain.

Less than two years later,

the aspiring city
was dealt another
devastating blow.

[Sascha] In the wake
of the Wall Street crash,

things weren't really
looking good for Opa-Locka.

[narrator] Curtis pulled out
all the stops to try
and salvage his dream.

And save his city's
struggling residents.

[Alex] He helped pay for
people's landscaping.

He started paying
people's mortgages.

I think he had
every reason to believe

that Opa-Locka
still could become

as great, as thriving
as a Coral Gables,

or Miami Beach,

or even Palm Beach,
at that time.

[narrator]
Curtiss was convinced

that development
could continue expanding

after the economy recovered.

Fate disagreed.

On July 23rd, 1930,

the aviation pioneer
died suddenly.

It's my school of thought

that Curtiss would very much
have stuck his vision through.

And it still would have been
the fully-built environment

that he dreamed
of it becoming,

had he not passed away.

[narrator] In the years
that followed,

he suburb declined
beyond all recognition.

And its crime rate soared.

By 2009,

the one-time centerpiece
of Opa-Locka,

had been left
to fall into ruin.

John H. Taylor Jr.

was elected mayor
of Opa-Locka in 2022.

The city he grew up in
was very different

from the one
originally envisioned.

[John] I'm 34 years old
and Opa-Locka
is all that I know.

During the early '70s,
'80s, '90s, early 2000s,

they called us one
of the top murder capitals
of South Florida.

It's not the same Opa-Locka
that you see today.

Our crime is down 30%.

I wanted a community
where my daughter

and my family
can grow, live, play

and be safe here.

[narrator] Today,
Taylor hopes to finish

what Glenn H. Curtiss started.

[John] We want it
to be a cultural art center.

We want, um,
birthday parties here.

We want you
to make memories here.

And by 2026,
you won't be able
to recognize Opa-Locka.

We are waking
this city back up.

[narrator] The Lebanese
capital of Beirut.

Modern buildings
conceal the reminders

of a city divided.

[Jim] You have all these
gleaming high-rises

and fancy shops
and restaurants.

But in the middle of all this,

is one tall building

that is an absolute wreck.

[Geoffrey] This does not look
like normal wear and tear.

And you go inside,

there's no clues
as to what it was,

Everything's been
stripped out.

[narrator] In the beginning,
this was a beacon of progress,

and the height of extravagance
in a modern city.

It became a ferocious symbol
of struggle.

So how did it fall
from that place

to this destroyed shell
of its former self.

[narrator] Haunting clues
are revealed etched
into the crumbling walls.

It's almost like
you can see some kind of
clash of civilizations

playing out in the graffiti.

There's-- Some is in Arabic,

but then you also see
Christian crosses.

[Lynette] This is a building
that had gone from

a beautiful
Middle Eastern destination

into the very epitome
of Hell on Earth.

[narrator] Marwan Ayoubi

first came here in 1976,

when he was 17 years old.

When it was built,
two years earlier,

it was the talk of the town.

[translator] It was the most
luxurious hotel in Beirut.

Not just in the city
but the entire country.

[narrator] But Marwan
didn't check in as a guest.

He was here
for a different purpose.

[Marwan speaks Lebanese]

[translator] Despite
my young age,

I was responsible
for military command.

From the first time
I entered with the guys,

I felt something different.

Honestly, the hair
on my neck stood up.

High-rises like this
were new.

Its importance
was for its height, location,

and very strong build.

[narrator] This is
the Holiday Inn hotel.

Once, the pinnacle
of sophistication,

at the heart
of a destination city.

Different from the one
we see today.

[Lynette] In the 1970s,

Beirut is a Western-looking
French speaking city.

And people
from around the world,

are happy to fly
to Beirut

to enjoy
the Mediterranean climate.

[Jim] It's a place
of openness

and a kind of pride
in their ability,

which was not unusual
in the Middle East
at any time

to co-exist
with so many
different cultures.

Christian, Jews, Muslims.

[narrator] In this booming
cosmopolitan metropolis,

impressive new hotels
sprung up in
the downtown port district,

including this one in 1974.

[Geoffrey] The Holiday Inn
was a very ambitious
hotel chain.

And they would open
these, kind of,
flagship hotels

in important cities
around the world.

to advertise the brand.

[Lynette] It's
the tallest hotel in the city.

It has got
a revolving restaurant

on the roof.

Which is possibly
the most 1970s thing ever.

It opened at a time
when the future for Beirut

and Lebanon
seemed very bright.

[narrator] But
below the surface,

tension was building

between
the country's Muslim
and Christian populations.

Soon, it would spill out
onto the streets.

And the Holiday Inn
would find itself
at the center of the storm.

So, while wealthy tourists
and other visitors
were partying,

the politics in Lebanon
were changing radically.

[narrator] In Lebanon,

are the remains
of the once-luxurious
Holiday Inn hotel,

which opened for business
in 1974.

But beyond
the glitz and glamor,

a vicious conflict
was brewing,

that would
change Beirut forever.

Like many of the countries
in the Middle East,

the borders of Lebanon
were more or less
imposed on it,

by European powers.

The French established
the current borders
after World War I.

[Geoffrey] When Lebanon
was given its independence
in 1943,

power was distributed
among the various
religious groups.

You know, the--
The Maronite Christians,

the Muslims
and the Jews.

It makes no one happy.

It's just a matter
of how long it's gonna take

for Lebanon to fall apart.

[narrator] After the founding
of Israel in 1948.

Palestinians were
forcibly removed
from their homes.

In the years that followed,

the refugee crisis
only intensified.

And by 1968,

400,000 people
had sought shelter
in Lebanon.

But they introduced
a new radicalism
into Lebanese politics.

And you started
seeing the emergence
of sectarian militia

to defend
Maronite interests

or Shia interest
or Sunni interest

or Jews' interests.

All of these different
religious and cultural groups

that had coexisted
peacefully...

suddenly they were
at each other's throats.

[Lynette] A year after
the Holiday Inn opens,

the civil war kicks off.

[narrator] The city's
hotel district

quickly became
the epicenter of the violence.

Beirut's kind of bifurcated

into a Christian
East Beirut

and a Muslim
West Beirut.

separated by something
called the Green Line.

And the Holiday Inn
and the other, you know,
fancy hotels in Beirut

just happened to be
situated along
what is now the Green Line.

[Jim] In any
military encounter

you wanna control
the high ground.

This is how the Union Army

won the battle
of Gettysburg
in the Civil War.

And in Beirut,
these tall hotels,

they were the high ground.

[narrator] The Holiday Inn
was the tallest of them all,

in what would
become known
as the Battle of the Hotels.

[Geoffrey] And
in the early years
of the Civil War,

the phalange militia,

the Maronite Christians,
they controlled
the Holiday Inn,

while the neighboring
Phoenicia hotel
and other structures

are controlled by the Lebanese
National Movement militia.

[narrator] In March of 1976,

a coalition
of Muslim forces

launched an attack
against the heavily guarded
Holiday Inn.

Marwan Ayoubi
led a small unit
into the high-stakes fight.

[speaking Lebanese]

[translator] The battles
were from room to room.

You go up the stairs,
but you don't know
what's in front of you.

So you just shoot
while you go up.

Like you're shooting
for no reason.

[Geoffrey] Muslim militias,
they penetrate the hotel,

They get control
of the lobby
and the lower floors,

and they start to celebrate,
"We've taken the hotel."

[Jim] It seemed
like a victory.

What they didn't
fully appreciate

was that there were still

dozens of Christian
militia fighters

on the floors above them.

The result was total chaos.

-[Marwan speaks Lebanese]
-[translator] In
the counterattack,

the battle became so ruthless,

you could kill your brother,
your cousin or your friend

because you didn't know
who was who.

It was too dark.

[narrator] For three days
and three nights,

bitter fighting
rages across the 26 floors
of the Holiday Inn.

Over 40 men were killed,

and 100 severely injured,

before the Muslim militia
emerged victorious.

All the world
sees the violence in Beirut

heir television screens,

every night.

Everyone sees
once-great hotels

dissolve into
a welter of explosions.

[narrator] The conflict
continued to ravage
the country

for the next 14 years.

During that time,
warring factions periodically
occupied the hotel.

Any trace of
its former grandeur

was obliterated
by the struggle.

[Geoffrey] And the civil war
really isn't resolved

until the Taif Accord in 1989.

When, you know,
the various groups are

all coaxed into this
peace arrangement.

Basically, giving
certain portfolios
of government

to the different groups.

[narrator] Those who
fought in the war,

had to reconcile
the many years spent

fighting against
their fellow countrymen.

[speaking Lebanese]

[translator] As we grow older,
our sense
of humanity increases.

Because we have children,

we have sons,

and we understand
what humanity is.

We killed the country
with civil war

because we differed
in the way
we love this country.

[narrator] Over the years,

the Port of Beirut
has been revitalized,

while the Holiday Inn
has sat untouched,

caught in a legal limbo.

[Jim] The ownership
is split

between a group of
Lebanese investors
who want to refurbish it

and a Kuwaiti shareholder

who wants to tear it down
and-and start over.

For now, it stands there
as this

somewhat horrifying symbol

of just how far off the rails
a modern society can go.

[narrator] In the hills
west of Niigata, Japan,

stands a place that defies
rational explanation.

[Rob] The first thing
your eye's drawn to

is this huge sea
of solar panels.

But, right on their edge,

is a very
unexpected structure.

[Jim] You see an enormous
Russian-style cathedral,

complete with
the onion-type domes

and crosses
on top of each one.

What's it doing here
in the middle of rural Japan?

[narrator] For two countries
that were sworn enemies
for many years,

something doesn't add up.

Yet, whoever ordered
its construction,

clearly invested heavily.

[Alexis]
With the twisted remains
of the stained glass windows

and the gold paint,

you can still get a sense
of its fated grandeur.

If you look straight up,

who's staring back at you?
Jesus.

[narrator] But,
a fire-damaged complex

next to the church

suggests faith alone
was not enough
to save this place.

It seems there was
some kind of
cross-cultural tribute

intended here.

But, one that obviously

didn't work out
that well in the end.

Unchecked ambition
and corruption

is what brought
this dream to an end.

[narrator] In the
Niigata Prefecture of Japan,

is a majestic structure
driven by one man's vision.

Sasaguchi Yuji
is the caretaker
of this site today.

When he came here
in the 1990s,

it was
as a paying guest.

[Sasaguchi] At first,
I was curious to know
what kind of place it was

and I wanted
to bring my kids.

It was a merry-go-round
and a few stands
for sweets and food.

The folk dancing
was the main attraction.

[narrator] This is
the Russian Village.

It began as evidence
of friendship

between two
bitter rivals.

[Jim] Traditionally,
relations between
Japan and Russia

were not good.

But, towards the end
of the 20th century,

something happened
that established

a certain bond
between the people.

In 1964, a severe earthquake
hit Niigata.

The ground liquified.

Collapsing bridges
and buildings,

even buckling train tracks.

[narrator] In the wake
of the destruction,

help came from the most
unlikely of places.

The earthquake killed
about three dozen people,

destroyed thousands of homes,
it was a real crisis.

And then,
a month later,

in the port,
a huge shipment

of wood for construction,
for rebuilding, arrived

from two small cities
in Russia

that had heard
about the disaster.

It was a gesture
that would allow

those who had lost their homes
to rebuild.

The people of Niigata
never forgot that kindness.

[narrator] Mr. Ryutaro Omori
was one of those people.

[Rob] Ryutaro Omori
was a local businessman

who rose through the ranks
to become the president

of the Niigata Central Bank.

[Jim] The Japanese economy
was booming

and the Japanese people
had a lot of money

and they wanted to spend it,
they wanted to travel.

It led to a boom
in building theme parks
around Japan.

And Omori had an idea for,

not just one theme park,
but a whole chain of them.

So, he started
with his Russian Village.

[Rob] With Niigata's
connection to Russia

and the landscape
of pine trees

and snowy mountains,

it must've felt like
the obvious place to build it.

It had reportedly cost
$150 million to develop.

[narrator]
On September 1st, 1993,

Russian Village opened
to great fanfare.

[Sasaguchi]
In the parking lot,

there would be tens
of hundreds of vehicles.

And then, the visitors
would get the shuttle bus

to the entrance
of the park,

which would go in
back and forth constantly.

In one day, it could've been
1,000 or 2,000 people

visiting the theme park.

[Jim] So, while people
were at the Russian Village,

they could eat at
a Russian restaurant

serving Russian food,

there was a little museum,

there was even an aquarium
that had a certain species
of seal

that lives in
the Siberian Arctic.

[Alexis] There used to be
areas filled with
souvenir shops,

uh, variety of
fast food stands,

places where
they would demonstrate
Russian folk crafts.

[Rob] In later years,

the park even opened up
a bizarre exhibition

of fake, life-sized,
taxidermied woolly mammoths.

[narrator] The star attraction

was the park's most
faithful offering.

The church was closely based
on an actual Russian church

called
the Cathedral of The Nativity.

It's about 100 miles
outside of Moscow.

[Rob] They went
to great lengths

to make it as authentic
as possible.

Even hiring
a Russian painter

to create the murals
decorating the ceilings
and pillars.

I mean, if you were looking
for somewhere a bit different,

somewhere quite grand
to get married,

where better than here?

[Alexis] Fortunately,
for the bride and groom,

they had plenty of facilities
next door for the reception.

The [indistinct] hotel
had 20 rooms,

including luxurious suites
on the top floor,

perhaps where the newlyweds
spent their wedding night.

[Rob] Though little remains
today,

from the size
of the spaces,

you get a real sense of
just how grand

it would've been.

[narrator] But, in 1994,

only months after
Omori's bizarre venture
first opened,

cracks began to show.

[Sasaguchi] In Niigata,

it was the first time
that this kind of attraction
had been opened.

So, at first, there was
a lot of curiosity.

But once you had
been here,

it wasn't as good
as people hoped it would be.

[Jim] So, once you'd looked
at the church,

had a Russian meal,
seen a show,

you were ready
to go home.

[Alexis] With its
poor attendants,

the numbers just weren't
adding up for
the Russian Village.

[narrator] The park managed
to keep going
for the next seven years.

But in 2001,

damning allegations
came to light

revealing how...

[Rob] The visionary
behind the park

and the head of the bank
that financed it,

Ryutaro Omori,

had criminal charges
filed against him.

[narrator] In Japan
are the remains

of a Russian-based
theme park

that opened
in the 1990s.

It operated
for seven years,

before the criminal dealings
of its owner,

Ryutaro Omori,
finally caught up with him.

His bank reported a deficit
of ¥168.7 billion.

That's about
$1.3 billion today.

[Jim] Omori made
a lot of loans

that were
somewhat dubious,

and one of... the shakiest

was to his own
Russian village.

Even when he knew that
the finances were
not that strong,

he pushed through
another loan

for the project.

And that one
really got him in trouble.

[narrator] Omori was forced
to resign as head of the bank.

While he was
awaiting trial,

a group of Russian financers
tried to help save the park.

Their investment
was too little, too late.

[Rob] Whilst this park
was shutting down,

in 2003, Omori was sentenced
to three years in prison.

Just two years later,
he died.

[narrator] In 2004,

a short-lived attempt
to reopen the park

ended in failure.

Many of the buildings
were then demolished

and vandals destroyed
what remained.

[Jim] The future
for this area seems to me...

in the solar energy
being generated

in this massive solar farm

right next door
to the Russian Village.

The hopes that people
might someday travel
to this compound

were really dashed
many years ago.

[narrator] On England's
southern coast,

anchored in the
Blackwater Estuary

is illicit piece
of pop culture history.

At first glance,
this seems like
a perfectly ordinary sight.

A ship moored in a waterway
that leads out to the sea.

But, look again,

there's something here
that doesn't quite add up.

It has this strange mast,

sort of sprouting out
from its center.

What can it be used for?

[narrator] A look below deck
fails to yield
an obvious answer.

Inside is everything
you would expect to find
on an average ship.

Other elements come
as a little bit of a surprise,

they really seem
out of place here.

[Onyeka] We find
these strange machines,

scattered microphones,
record players,

album covers.

This is unmistakably

a broadcast studio.

[Rob] So, you have to
ask yourself,

why put all this equipment
on a ship?

Who were they hiding it
from?

[narrator] Over the years,

vessels like this
were crewed by buccaneers,

hellbent on liberating
the masses.

Not from their money,
but from musical monotony.

[Onyeka] There was a kind of
joyful anarchy

that took place
on this ship.

And the authorities decided
to put this to an end.

[Nigel] I came out here
in 1994

when I was
in my twenties.

The ship glistened
in the sunlight

and I was very excited
uh, to step onboard.

[narrator] Nigel Harris
lived and worked

on this former
North Atlantic fishing trawler
for five years.

But Nigel
was no fisherman.

He operated on the wrong side
of the law.

The authorities were keeping
an eye on us all the time

and getting boats
to bring out these lads

became more and more
difficult.

But when it worked,
I must say,
it did work well.

[narrator] This is
the Ross Revenge.

In the 1980s,

it was the latest
in a long line

of ship-based off-shore
pirate radio stations.

The concept began
as a cunning antidote

to the British establishment's
uptight attitude

to 1960s popular music.

So, we like to think
of the 1960s

as a great moment of change
in music.

And we talk about
the British revolution,

uh, The Beatles,
The Rolling Stones

and of course, in the Americas
we have Motown music.

At that time,
the BBC,

the British
Broadcasting Corporation

were the only ones
with a license

to broadcast on the radio.

[narrator] But,
the rock and roll revolution
sweeping the United States

had no place
on British airwaves.

[narrator] The BBC
considered such music,
to be immoral

favoring a bland diet of news
and light entertainment.

All of these
era-defining artists

were releasing albums

that people just
weren't able to listen to

on traditional,
conventional radio.

[narrator] Irish businessman
Ronan O'Rahilly

was determined to find
a work-around

to Britain's refusal

to give radio licenses
to commercial broadcasters.

He discovered
that by operating
three miles off the coast,

they would be outside
the government's legal reach.

O'Rahilly raised around
$700,000

to launch his passion project.

[music playing]

♪♪ Caroline,
the sound of the nation ♪

When Radio Caroline
first started broadcasting
in 1964,

they were at the forefront
of the pirate radio
revolution.

Suddenly, music fans
could tune in

and hear new artists
whenever they wanted.

♪♪ Caroline ♪

[narrator] By 1965,

around 15 million Brits

were tuning into off-shore
pirate radio on a daily basis.

The BBC didn't like it

and neither did
the British government.

Over the following decades,

the authorities
and the pirates

played a game
of cat and mouse,

with the government
passing new laws
to shut them down

and the pirates
finding new ways
to keep the music playing.

[narrator] In 1980,

Radio Caroline's latest ship,
the Mi Amigo,

sank during a violent storm.

The team needed
a new boat.

Enter,
the Ross Revenge.

Official broadcast
of the new Radio Caroline

began at noon
on August 20th, 1983.

[Nigel] This studio
you see now

is the main on-air
original studio

on the Ross Revenge.

This is the mixer
we used

and it still works,

as far as I know.

Uh, microphone,

faders here,
four turntables,

it was a great space to be,
lots of fun out here.

[narrator] But, Radio Caroline
was treading a fine line.

And the British government's
patience was running out.

They were in
international waters

and that was supposed to
keep them safe.

And they were safe,

until the raiders arrived.

[man speaking]

[narrator] In the 1980s,

the Ross Revenge
was the base

for pirate radio station,
Radio Caroline.

The ship may have operated

in the perceived safety
of international waters,

but that didn't stop
the British government

from cracking down
in any way they could.

[Nigel] Over time,
things did get
more complicated.

The authorities became
warier of boats
getting out here.

So, the time between
our supply boats

would get longer
and longer and longer

as things became
more difficult.

[narrator] Life onboard
was about to get even tougher.

The Ross Revenge was also home
to a Dutch radio station,

which made it a target
for both countries'
governments.

On August 19th, 1989,

Nigel was hosting
his morning show

when suddenly,
all hell broke loose.

[Nigel] I was on the air
in here

and it's a misty morning

and I look through
that porthole

out to the stern
of the ship

and through the mist,
this great, big
Dutch tug appeared.

It came alongside,
slammed alongside.

Faced with a 30-strong,
armed boarding party

the small crew
were in no position
to stop them.

[man speaking]

There were two or three
of us in here

and they came
and manhandled
inside of the studios,

closed the door on us

and then started to pull wires
out of the back
of the mixer.

I just don't understand
how this can be happening.

The strange feeling in your--
in your stomach that, uh,

"Is this the end?
It can't be."

[Onyeka] At 1:08 p.m.,

the Ross Revenge
was silenced,

and Radio Caroline
has gone off the airwaves.

[narrator]
While the pirate crew
was rounded up

and interrogated,

the authorities
went to work.

[Rob] Studio equipment,

records and tapes
were all boxed up
and confiscated.

They even cut
the aerial cables
from the tower.

[Sascha] They knew that
they couldn't remove

the massive transmitters
held below decks.

So, they simply took
sledgehammers
to the delicate electronics.

[narrator] When the raiders
had finally gone,

Nigel was left
to assess the damage.

[Nigel] I saw beer bottles
lying around everywhere.

So, it was almost like
they'd come out here

on a-- on a bit
of a jolly.

Bit of drinking,
bit of smashing

and then they went home.

[narrator] The pirate DJs
didn't give up.

They scavenged
replacement parts

and quickly got back
on air.

We had so much help
from listeners as well.

They donated food,
they donated records.

[narrator] But, the writing
was on the wall.

In November 1990,

the ship was forced
to stop broadcasting

due to a lack of fuel
and essential supplies.

It was left anchored
in the English Channel

to await its fate.

[Onyeka] In 1991,

the Ross Revenge
lost its moorings

and began to drift
onto a sand bank.

And when the ship
was eventually towed
into port,

its 27 year broadcast history
came to an end.

[narrator] Pirate radio,
although illegal,

is credited with
paving the way

for popular music
to be given a voice

in the United Kingdom.

The Ross Revenge
is part of that legacy.

[Rob] Today, the Ross Revenge
is open to the public
for visits.

But, keeping a ship
of this size in good condition

is no easy feat.

[Nigel] Well, it's still
a lot of work to be done, uh,

on the Ross Revenge.

It can't sit
on the water forever.

Unless its work is done,

its future
is uncertain.