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Closedown of Westside Radio International

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Closedown of Westside Radio International
Westside Radio International QSL (courtesy Ian Biggar).

This is a recording of the closedown of the long-running shortwave pirate Westside Radio International on December 31st 1988. Westside was set up by the late Dr Don (Don Moore) in 1975 and broadcast on Sunday mornings before Radio Dublin came on the air. It was taken over by Prince Terry (Roger Lloyd) in 1977 and remained a stalwart on the 49-metre band every Sunday for the following eleven years. Westside embodied the pirate spirit and was popular with anoraks because of its regular updates about radio in Ireland and abroad.

This airchecked recording was made from 6280 kHz between 1200 and 1348 on New Year’s Eve. Prince Terry and Gary Lewis present music and discuss the radio scene as the new legal regime was about to come into effect. There are hints that Westside may return in 1989 and in fact the station was heard again under various guises in 1989 and continued to broadcast as Ozone Radio for many subsequent years.

Reception is poor and is of DX standard in places but but this gives a sense of how many shortwave listeners experienced the closedown of Westside Radio International. We thank John Breslin for his donation.

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Dr. Don and Prince Terry on Radio Dublin

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Dr. Don and Prince Terry on Radio Dublin
L-R: Eddie Caffrey, Ken Harley, Brian Greene and Don Moore at the Pirate.ie meet-up in 2018.

This recording features two of the early pioneers of Radio Dublin, Dr Don (Don Moore, RIP) and Prince Terry (Roger Lloyd). It was made from 253 metres on Sunday 22nd February 1976 from about 2pm and is airchecked. Don is his usual flamboyant self and the canned laughter and Tarzan sound effects only add to the atmosphere of anarchy. Other DJs who get a mention are ‘Cool Enough Seamus’ and ‘Jiving Joey’ and we hear a few links from Seamus whose real name is the less exotic Des Byrne. He is followed by Roger Lloyd who is very happy to have received 10 letters during the week. The postal address given is 90 Ranelagh, Dublin 6.

Thanks to Ian Biggar for sharing this recording, which was made originally by Kieran Murray.

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Simon Young from Sloopy’s nightclub

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Simon Young from Sloopy's nightclub
Sloopy’s advert from 1977 courtesy of Retro Now.

The late Simon Young referred regularly to Sloopy’s nightclub in Fleet Street in his soul and disco show on the Big D and there were live broadcasts from there on Tuesday nights.

On this occasion, Simon hosts a round of the Miss Sloopy competition at the club with the assistance of Martin King. The ten contestants are interviewed by Simon, Rose of Tralee style, and at the end there’s a surprise appearance from an eleventh entrant, ‘Julie Carriage’ who sounds like an early version of Agnes Brown!

The recording is undated but we estimate it to be from August or September 1981. Sound quality is poor and it was necessary to aircheck some of the recording.

The advert for the Miss Sloopy contest is from 1977 and before Big D’s time, but there are some interesting names among the judges! Many thanks to Brand New Retro for the image and to Shay Geoghegan for the recording, which was made from 99.5 FM.

Below are two sides of a Big D card sent by Simon Young to Ian Biggar in 1979. The first side features current advertisers with the station and the other provides a schedule. There are some big names among the DJs, many of whom would go on to national prominence on RTÉ Radio 2, including Marty Hall (Whelan), Dave Fanning and Neil O’Shea. Of course, that was where Simon himself ended up.

Simon Young from Sloopy's nightclub
A Big D card from 1979 sent by Simon Young to Ian Biggar (thanks to Ian).
Simon Young from Sloopy's nightclub
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Don Moore (RIP) on Radio Dublin

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Don Moore (RIP) on Radio Dublin
Don Moore in 2015 (courtesy of Don’s Facebook page)

One of the early pioneers of pirate radio in Dublin and Ireland, Don Moore (Dr Don), died in 2021. Here is an early recording of Don on Radio Dublin on Sunday 28th December 1975 from 1400-1630. Don bemoans the fate of another Dublin pirate, Capitol Radio, which had been raided on 21st December and returned to the air on the 28th for a farewell broadcast. Clips from Capitol’s final broadcast are heard, featuring Alan Russell and Ed McDowell, and Don advises listeners to write to the newspapers and the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs to complain. He also refers to Radio Mi Amigo on 252 metres, and says that Radio Dublin is blocking reception of their signal locally. Later in the recording, Prince Terry (Roger Lloyd) reads out some letters from listeners including one in Irish which is translated by Dr Don. Skywave interference from Mi Amigo is heard towards the end of the broadcast.

We thank Ian Biggar for donating this recording, which was made originally by Kieran Murray.

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Peter Madison and non-stop Capitol 98 FM

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Peter Madison and non-stop Capitol 98 FM
Capitol 98 letterhead (courtesy of Ian Biggar).

Capitol Radio on 98 FM was a short-lived radio experiment launched in the summer of 1982, aiming to provide an adult-oriented rock service to the greater Dublin area. Although some big names were involved including Tony Allan, Peter Madison, Steve Marshall, Scott Williams, Paul Allen, Eddie West and Lawrence John, Capitol ran into financial difficulties after a few months and closed down in September. Although Capitol proposed to also broadcast on 999 kHz AM, it was an FM-only station, a relatively rare choice in the early 1980s when medium wave was still an important platform.

This recording begins with a link from the late Peter Madison and is followed by non-stop music. There is no date but we estimate it to be from July 1982. Thanks to Shay Geoghegan for the donation.