Emperor Rosko

Michael Joseph Pasternak (born 26 December 1942), known by his stage name Emperor Rosko, is an American presenter of rock music programmes, most widely known for his shows on Radio Caroline and BBC Radio 1 in the UK in the 1960s and early 1970s. Early life Born in Los Angeles, California, he is the son of Hollywood film producer Joe Pasternak. He was influenced in his career choice by Los Angeles disc jockeys Lord Tim Hudson at KFWB and Wolfman Jack at XERB the Mighty 1090 (Rosarito Beach MX). Pasternak's opportunity to broadcast came when he was in the US Navy, where he presented a show on the aircraft carrier , using the name Michael Prescott. He then moved to Europe and hosted sponsored programmes in France and Andorra. Origin of stage name In an interview with Chris Edwards, for Offshore Echoes, Rosko explained: "I used to listen to a guy named Roscoe, who used to listen to a guy called Boscoe and the double-syllable name ending in "o" was synonymous with rhythm and rhyme which was a precursor to rap. I also used to listen to several other people like Wolfman, Tom Donahue, etc. So I took a little bit of everybody and became Emperor Rosko to distinguish myself from all the others." Offshore radio He joined Radio Caroline, a pirate radio station broadcasting from a ship off the coast of Britain, in April 1966. There, his American-influenced quick presentation style soon made him one of the station's best-loved DJs. He was often joined on air by his mynah bird Alfie. After his time at Radio Caroline, speaking fluent French, he presented for French-language stations Radio Monte Carlo and Radio Luxembourg as "Le Président Rosko".