Tony in the Sunshine Review 1985 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
One of Sunshine Radio’s most popular DJs Tony Dixon (RIP) was fondly remembered for his Saturday night Soul Special show in the station’s early years. This edition from 1982 contains the usual mix of the latest soul tracks as well as classics. There are no adverts but several of the familiar Sunshine jingles. Tony mentions three loyal fans who record the show every week and bring the tapes with them to Amsterdam so that friends there can listen to it.
Tony also presented Good Day Sunshine each afternoon, as highlighted by this image from the Sunshine Review, a glossy magazine published by Sunshine in 1985. After a long radio career, he died prematurely in 2010.
This FM recording was made on 11th September 1982 between 1910-1940. No frequency is noted, but Sunshine was on 101.5 FM at the time, as well as 531 kHz AM. Thanks to Shay Geoghegan for the donation.
Wicklow Community Radio (WCR) began broadcasting from Wicklow Town in mid-1982, emerging from a network of temporary community stations set up by the Community Broadcasting Cooperative in Dublin in the early 1980s. It relaunched as Wicklow Local Community Broadcasting (WLCB) in summer 1985, which was more commercially-oriented despite the name. A final change in July 1987 rebranded the station as Viking 105, and it continued as such until the end of 1988.
This is an airchecked recording of WCR from 1983. It begins with the end of the WCR Top 30 Show with David Byrne and is followed by Victor Ryan with Sounds Easy. There are plenty of adverts for businesses around Wicklow and reference to the Maytime festival in Newtownmountkennedy. WCR broadcast on 1512 kHz AM at the time, and station liners feature that frequency. The DJ (and marketing material above) also refers to 198.4 metres, which was unusual as metres were often rounded up or down, sometimes quite generously.
The recording was made by Kieran Murray between 1630-1730 from 1512 kHz on Sunday 1st May 1983 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
This is another recording of Northside Radio, to which Radio North changed its name after some of those involved stepped back from the pirate station in 1989 to apply for a licence for the north Donegal franchise. On air at lunchtime is station manager Francis Callaghan with country and Irish music and plenty of requests from both sides of the border. Francis also reads out community notices and presents the daily Helpline slot. Most but not all adverts are from the North and there is a promo for a Northside Radio roadshow in Co. Derry. The station reverted to Radio North a few weeks later after the licence application was unsuccessful.
This recording of Northside Radio was made from 846 kHz AM on Wednesday 23rd August 1989 between 1309-1440 from 846 kHz AM (the station also broadcast on 98 FM at the time). Reception is fair and consistent with daytime groundwave reception as this tape was recorded in Scotland. Thanks to Ian Biggar for the donation.
Northside Radio rate card from 1989 (courtesy Ian Biggar).
On 16th January 1989, Radio North was relaunched as Northside Radio complete with new jingles, promos and studios and a move to Redcastle on the banks of Lough Foyle. The Donegal Democrat of 20th January reported that a split in the Radio North camp led to the new name, with the original owner Paddy Simpson deciding to apply for the north Donegal licence. At this time, Anoraks UK reported that Northside Radio’s listenership was obviously strong, due to a large number of requests and regular promos for public appearances of DJs on both sides of the border. In March there were rumours that the station was raided and the FM transmitter confiscated but these were not confirmed.
The Donegal News of 15th April 1989 carried a report about a hearing of the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC) with applicants for the Donegal radio licences (the county was divided into north and south for the purposes of the new legislation). Among the applicants for the northern licence, the consortium linked to Radio North was called North Donegal Community Broadcasting Services Ltd. and Paddy Simpson was among its directors. IRTC chairperson Séamus Henchy took some interest in the pirate background of applicants and asked about the consortium’s links to Radio North/Northside Radio. Paddy Simpson said that he was aware that Radio North had continued to broadcast after the 1989 deadline but denied that he was in any way connected with either it or Northside Radio. The consortium promised a musical policy of middle-of-the-road, country and traditional, very much in the same style as Radio North. Another high-profile pirate name, Tony Allan (RIP) was to be appointed programme director.
On 4th August 1989, the Donegal Democrat reported that Highland Radio had been awarded the licence for North Donegal, the only applicant that was not linked to a former pirate. On September 4th, the name of Northside Radio reverted to Radio North once again when Paddy Simpson took back control, according to Anoraks UK. The Donegal Democrat of 8th September reported that Radio North made no secret of the fact that it would continue to broadcast without a licence.
This recording of Northside Radio was made towards the end of its existence and features a mixture of country and Irish music, with some classics, oldies and pop thrown in. Rockin’ Raymond presents the Hits and Memories show, which includes a listeners’ competition. Adverts include new releases by Irish country music stars and promotions for gigs, an important function served by stations such as Northside/Radio North. Most adverts are from businesses in the North, reflecting the stricter new broadcasting laws in place in the Republic. Of interest is one for boat trips to Rathlin Island off the Antrim coast.
The recording was made from 846 kHz AM on Tuesday 15th August between 1038-1210 and is courtesy of Ian Biggar. There is some electrical interference as the tape was made in Scotland.
Exterior of Energy Power 103 in 1988 (courtesy Andy Carter). The auctioneer’s sign indicates this was taken after the station’s closure in April.
This is a snippet from the Breakfast Club on the short-lived Nova Power 103 FM, a merger of the ‘new’ Radio Nova and existing Dublin pirate Energy 103 in late 1987. Sounding crisp and professional are Cassidy Jones, Lisa Moore (Fionnuala Sweeney) and Bob Gallico (RIP) with a mixture of music, chat, papers, sports and news. On a freezing Friday morning in Dublin, Bob Gallico presents the review of the papers and shares his racing tips for the day, while Lisa reads news. The familiar high-level adverts are heard, including for brands, and the classic Nova jingles are played, creating something of an identity problem as they differ from the station’s name. Although Nova founder Chris Cary had promised new jingles on the day the merger was announced (25th November), there was not enough time to complete the imaging of the new station as it was promptly prevented by an interlocutory injunction from using the valuable Nova name, and eventually reverted to Energy Power 103, as in the image above.
This recording was made by Kieran Murray between 0728-0748 on 27th November 1987 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. It is not clear if it was made from 99.9 or 103 FM.
