JUNE MCMENEMY - PART 1
STRAIGHT OUT OF DARTFORD BY SHANNON RANDALL
This month’s ‘Straight Outta Dartford’ is heading in a different direction with our subject being the lovely June McMenemy. This piece will be split in two due to the sheer amount of content in my and June’s conversation together! Included in this article is a photograph of June -pictured on the far right of the photo below - with three of her friends in the 60’s. This photograph was taken as part of a new shopopening right on Dartford high street and is now being used as part of a campaign by Boom Radio! If similarly to me when I first heard of this story, you are filled with questions then read ahead to find out more and to get some snippets of mine and June’s conversation.
more specifically the stations along the Thames. “You could go down to Sheppey (Isle of Sheppey) and see the forts down there. There were a lot of DJ’s starting- Tony Blackburn, Kenny Everrett, Dave Cash. Being young , you just get swept along with it!” For those who may not know, pirate radios are stations that run without a license in order to have free expression. According to June, at the time pirate radio began to pick up, there was no real radio channel aimed at youngsters, so of course this led to alternatives rising from the midst. “It brings back lots of memories, but apart from that I think it is just such happy music,” was what June said when asked what Boom Radio meant to her!
Boom radio is a radio station specifically broadcasting songs for and by the boomer generation; some artists played include Stevie Wonder, Donna Summer and Chuck Berry. Discussing the station with June, she brought up the pirate radio stations around at the time mentioning Radio Luxembourg from abroad, Radio Caroline from the north sea, but
After hearing an advertisement asking for pictures from the 60’s that ‘told a story’, June’s interest peaked and her mind arrived at the picture we see on this page right now. “It’s quite an iconic picture really. I was in the car driving when I heard the advert on the radio asking for a picture that told a story. That was the thing...it told a story.” The story being that June and her friends were at work
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one day when someone from down the high street came in asking for people to pose in a photograph for their shop opening. June and her friends eagerly volunteered as they were free and voila! The picture came to be. For those curious, the photograph took place a couple of stores down from Boots, but the specific shop it was outside has long since gone. One of the purposes of this article is to reach out to the other three women in the picture. Named Chris, Jennifer and Barbara, June is eager to reach out to her old friends. “I got in contact with Chris. It’s quite funny because when I sent the photograph in I thought, ‘Oh well I’ll put it on facebook just to see if the other three are still around’. Obviously I haven’t had contact with any of them since 1969, so I put it on a Dartford page and Chris’ niece actually saw it and said oh that’s my aunt there! I’ve obviously not spoken to Chris, but looking at Chris through her photograph on facebook, she hasn’t changed at all!” If anyone thinks they may know Jennifer or Barbara or is able to get in touch with them, then please don’t hesitate to shoot me over an email (see below for email address)! shannonrandall44@gmail.com whatis.techtarget .com/ definition/pirate-radio www.boomradiouk.com
