Pirate radio's last Emperor [ Courtesy of Variety Magazine, April 6, 1997 ]

NAME: Michael Pasternak, also known as Emperor Rosko
DESCRIPTION: DJ on 1960's pirate station Radio Caroline
LAST SEEN: Reclaiming the airwaves in Calabasas.

In the U.K. of 1965, hip entrepreneurs got around BBC restrictions mandated by Harold Wilson's Labor government by beaming rock 'n' roll music to the mainland from floating transmitters outside territorial waters.

Great Britain's rock-famished listeners tuned in to Radio Caroline, where Emperor Rosko was the "highly rated, often imitated, but rarely duplicated mayor of mayhem."

"We liberated England", says the former "toe-tapping, hand-clapping, lean, mean record machine" now living a quieter existence Stateside at his ranch in Calabasas, a semi-rural area north of Los Angeles. There, Emperor Rosko is known by his given name, Michael Pasternak.

Pasternak/Rosko spun the sounds of Motown and Stax, the Moody Blues, the Kinks, Stones and Beatles from a 200-foot rust-bucket freighter anchored four hours offshore. Beginning at Radio Caroline and going on to Radio One, Emperor Rosko was the toast of Swinging London. He was also the first in Europ to take records on the road with lighting and invented the mobile DJ business.

Most who only knew the voice believed the jive-talking DJ ("I'm rough, tough and hard to bluff") was black. In fact, the young white man behind the voice of pirate radio was a product of Hollywood. He was the rebellious son of producer Joe Pasternak, the man who made "Destry Rides Again" with Marlene Dietrich, and "Spinout" with Elvis Presley.

"I didn't like the movie business, "Pasternak says now, "maybe because I grew up with it"

Today, the Beverly Hills industry kid who grew up with Cyd Charisse, Elvis, and Mario Lanza lounging by the backyard pool has his own recording studio, where he puts together 40 weekly hours of radio shows for 15 radio stations in the U.K. and others in Europe. he also runs his own party DJ business, and has been known to spin discs for wingdings from ABU Dhabi to Hollywood.

But he acknowledges things are tame now compared to when he used to bob about on the high seas beneath a 50,000 watt transmitter for two weeks at a stretch and buzz around London on hi Norton 750 during shore leave with a "bird" hanging on.

Pasternak was notorious for throwing records he didn't like through the portholes, even when they were on the label of the record company that owned the boat. He was fired repeatedly for hijinx such as sabotaging a Christian evangelist, who'd bought time on the station, by mixing in the sounds of lovemaking with the religious chorales. Payola was the norm. ("I never played a record I wouldn't have already played", he shrugs.") And even with lookouts stations on the ship, the crew was forever dodging raids by British mobsters looking to muscle in on the outlaw enterprise.

He recently revisited those days, as the guest of honor at Radio Caroline reunion, playing original Emperor Rosko tapes at a stadium appearance broadcast live. The music he spun was once considered cutting-edge, but is now considered Golden Oldies. But that's fine with Emperor Rosko.

"The Stones are still god as far as I'm concerned."