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Radio Nova breakfast show as heard in Britain

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Radio Nova breakfast show as heard in Britain
Declan Meehan at Nova during the raid of 1983 (courtesy Joe King).

The big Dublin pirate Radio Nova made various attempts to break into the British market during its 5 years on air. This recording features part of the breakfast show presented by Declan Meehan and Bob Gallico (RIP) and was made by English radio enthusiast Leon Tipler, presumably at his home in Kidderminster near Birmingham. It includes plenty of fading as is typical for AM propagation at the time of day and year. Although the weather forecast includes northwest England and Nova attempted to gain listeners in that region, clearly the signal was not commercially viable further south at Tipler’s home.

The recording was made from 819 kHz AM on 8th October 1982 between 0648-0718 and is from the Leon Tipler Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

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Early Cork series: First Afternoon Delight show on Radio City

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Early Cork series: First Afternoon Delight show on Radio City
Karl Johnson (Dan Noonan) at Radio City in 1981 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).

This recording is of the first Afternoon Delight show on Cork pirate Radio City, on its first full day on air in 1980. The show was presented each weekday by Karl Johnson (Dan Noonan), who also managed the station. Karl has no phone number for listeners but there are still plenty of requests, presumably handed in to the station at 27 Parnell Place in the city centre. There’s also a promo for the Guaranteed Irish programme on Tuesday and Thursday nights and a single live-read advert for an event in a local hotel.  

The tape was made by Ken Baird from 1512 kHz, announcing 199 metres, between 1509-1555 on Monday 1st September 1980 and is kindly donated by Ian Biggar.

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Radio Dublin as heard in Cumbria

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Radio Dublin as heard in Cumbria
Radio Dublin badge from the Pirate.ie collection.

Radio Dublin was one of Ireland’s longest running pirate stations, on air from 1966 to 2002. This recording was made in Broughton-in Furness on the Cumbrian coast and features Gerry Stevens with the end of the breakfast programme, which was also broadcast on Radio Dublin Channel 2. Gerry announces that Channel 2 is coming on the air with separate programming at 1000 and he is followed by Adrian St James (Nolan) with the Morning Call International programme on the main Radio Dublin frequencies on AM, FM and shortwave. The phone is out of order but Adrian still shares requests from listeners, presumably dropped into the station in Inchicore or received by post. The daily Golden Hour slot begins at 1030 and there’s a promo for the weekly Lebanon Requests Show with DJ Angie.  

There is good AM groundwave propagation on the recording despite the distance of over 230 kilometres from Dublin to Cumbria. The tape was made from 1188 kHz (253 metres) on 26th June 1983 between 0936-1037. It is from the Leon Tipler Collection, donated to us by Steve England. Adrian Nolan continues to broadcast on Irish radio to this day.

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American Country Countdown on Radio Nova

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American Country Countdown on Radio Nova
Nova sticker from the 846 days (courtesy Ian Biggar).

The American Country Countdown was a syndicated country music show from the US presented by Bob Kingsley, aired by Dublin station Radio Nova in its early days. This recording from summer 1982 is of an early morning broadcast of the show, as heard on AM in Britain. It starts with night-time fading and some interference but the signal improves as dawn arrives. There are adverts for businesses around Dublin, including for brands, and mention of a Nova event at Maxine’s nightclub. The American Country Countdown is followed at 0600 by Colm Hayes with the first few minutes of his breakfast show.

The recording was made on Thursday 24th June 1982 from 846 kHz AM from 0407-0610. There are no details on the label but as the tape is from the Leon Tipler Collection, we presume that it was recorded at Leon’s home in Kidderminster near Birmingham. Thanks to Steve England for donating the Tipler Collection to us.

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Early Cork series: The Homerun on Radio City

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Early Cork series: The Homerun on Radio City
Noel Evans at Radio City in 1980 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).

This recording of Cork pirate Radio City feastures Noel Evans (Welch) on the daily Homerun programme. It includes traffic updates, a medical advice slot, a charity appeal from a local nun, adverts for local businesses around Cork and a competition. There’s also a letter from super-fan Lilian McCarthy (O’Donoghue), who donated this recording.

The tape was made between 1700-1730 on 2nd February 1981 from 95.5 FM.