Nails Mahoney on Sunshine 101

Nails Mahoney on Sunshine 101
Sunshine 101 sticker (courtesy of the late Pat Herbert).

Bee Bop Gold was a hugely popular oldies show broadcast on Dublin super-pirate Sunshine Radio towards the end of its eight-year run on air, by which time the station had been rebranded as Sunshine Hot Hits 101. The presenter was Nails Mahoney, who would go on to have a successful radio and television career in Ireland, the UK and Canada, including on longwave giant Atlantic 252.

Nails Mahoney on Sunshine 101
Sunday World advert for Bee Bop Gold from 31st July 1988 (courtesy DX Archive).

This tape features a special late-night bank holiday edition of Bee Bop Gold, featuring hits from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. An animated Nails Mahoney takes requests from listeners on air and promotes a competition. The show is sponsored by health supplements company Seven Seas and commercial breaks contain high-level agency adverts indicating the commercial success of Sunshine 101. There are several references to a radio survey in 1988 that put the station first in Dublin, an achievement that is also centre-stage in the advertisement above.

Our recording was made from 101 FM on 30th and 31st October 1988 between 2307 and 0037. It is courtesy of John Breslin.