Emperor Rosko

Mike Pasternak, better known by his stage name of Emperor Rosko (born December 26, 1942) is a well known pop radio presenter, not to be confused with American radio presenter William (Rosko) Mercer.

Born Michael Joseph Pasternak, he is the son of Hollywood film producer Joe Pasternak. He was influenced in his career choice by KYA Radio Los Angeles DJs Emperor Hudson and Wolfman Jack. Rosko's opportunity to broadcast came whilst in the US Navy where he presented a show on an aircraft carrier. He then went to Europe and hosted sponsored programmes in France and Belgium.

He joined Radio Caroline, a pirate radio station broadcasting from a ship off the coast of England, in 1964. There, his pacey American style soon made Rosko one of the station's best loved DJs. He then was heard on French language stations Radio Monte Carlo and Radio Luxembourg.

As a disc jockey with Radio 1 at its launch in 1967, Rosko initially recorded shows in France for the Midday Spin programme. On his first Midday Spin show, Rosko introduced himself like "I am the Emperor, the geeter with the heater, your leader, your groovy host from the West coast, here to clear up your skin and mess up your mind. It'll make you feel good all over." He highlighted the new Motown, reggae, and rock music.

John Dunn, BBC news presenter who followed Rosko's show, must have had some difficulty understanding Rosko's 'jive talk' when he announced "Now here is the news - in English!"

Rosko moved to the UK in 1968, so was heard live on Radio 1. Along with fellow DJ Dave Lee Travis he launched the first mobile discotheque, the Rosko International Roadshow.

From 1970 he presented the Friday Roundtable where new records were reviewed by a panel, and a Saturday lunchtime slot. He stayed with Radio 1 until September 1976, when he left for America to join his father, who was suffering from Parkinson's disease [ cite book
last = Rosko
first = Emperor
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title = Emperor Rosko's DJ Book
origdate = 1976
origyear = 1976
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accessdate = 2007-07-26
accessyear = 2007
accessmonth = July
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publisher = Everest Books
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isbn = 0903925 915
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When Rosko returned to Europe, he was heard via recorded shows on Radio Luxembourg. In 1982 he returned to Radio 1 for a 13-week Sunday series of shows, and continued to broadcast at weekends on Radio 1 during the Summer for four years. In 1992 he helped celebrate the station's 25th birthday with a special broadcast, before joining Virgin Radio 1215 in April 1993.

He has since been heard on the Classic Gold network and [http://www.rem.fm/ REM.FM] , his programme being pre-recorded in California. He is currently running Rosko Radio, his own soul station on Live 365.

Rosko also broadcasts a programme called "The LA Connection" from his studios in California and can currently be heard across europe on several stations including [http://www.centralfm.com/ Central FM] in southern Spain, and Radio Ayia Napa in Cyprus.

References

External links

* [http://www.emperorrosko.com/home.asp Rosko's personal website]
* [http://empnow.us Rosko radio]