Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive - Page 42 of 160

5th September 20224th September 2022

Gerard Roe on Radio Dublin Channel 2 (15 December 1982)

Gerard Roe presented the Free Radio Campaign (FRC) show on Radio Dublin Channel 2 from 1982-1984. The FRC quickly became popular with watchers of the Irish radio scene at home and abroad. It was broadcast on a Wednesday evening from 2000-2100 on Channel 2 and repeated on Sunday morning from 1100-1200 on the shortwave station Westside Radio International.

This edition of the FRC begins with Gerard’s usual recap of news items from a year before, when many Dublin stations were off the air due to a snow storm. Gerard notes that Big D is back on AM after a break and plays a recording of a discussion about local radio between James Dillon of Big D and Jim Kemmy of Radio 257 on 1st January 1980. There is news about the offshore Radio Caroline and Dublin pirates using the same name and KELO is said to be behind the relay of Radio Nova on 298 metres. The start of Christmas station Radio Snowflake on 199 metres is also noted.

Channel 2 was established in April 1982 on FM only as a specialist opt-out service from Radio Dublin. It began on FM only but later added AM. There were technical problems due to lack of investment and poor audio quality because of bleedthrough from the powerful transmiters in close proximity. The signal was often weak on AM and FM was limited to the Inchicore area. Interference from Radio Dublin Channel 1 can be heard clearly on this recording, which was made from 98.8 FM from 2001-2110 on 15^th December 1982.

This recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. Listen here to Pirate.ie Podcast #10 featuring our interview with Gerard Roe about his memories of pirate radio.

2nd September 202231st August 2022

Last night of Galway station WLS

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This unconfirmed recording may be part of the final night of broadcasting of Galway pirate WLS Music Radio. The cassette label refers to ‘last night’ but it is not clear from the recording that this is the case. It begins at either midnight or 1am as the unidentified DJ refers to both. He sarcastically thanks Brian Mackay for letting disco music run on without waiting for him to arrive, perhaps an indication that things were not well at WLS.

If this is in fact the final night, it would date from sometime in the second half of June 1987. The Anoraks UK Weekly Report of 28^th June said it had received several reports during the previous week that WLS was off the air. It repeated a claim made on the Anoraks Show on Radio West that ‘an irate WLS investor arrived at the studios and seeing no immediate return forthcoming for his investment, proceeded to remove first transmitters, then studio equipment’. The Galway City Tribune on 3^rd July reported that WLS had been off the air for the previous two weeks and its premises emptied of equipment. The owner of the premises at Prospect House where the station was located said he arrived on Monday morning to find the lock broken, the door ajar and everything gone. Manager Don Stevens was unavailable for comment and had left Galway. The City Tribune on 10^th July reported that a listener who had won £1,000 in a phone-in competition in May was never paid by WLS.

Whatever about the circumstances of its closure, WLS established a slick on-air sound over its more than two years on air and changed the nature of pirate radio in Galway city. WLS developed a commercial model similar to the ‘super-pirates’ in other cities and a style that would influence subsequent stations. Indeed, two founders of WLS, Steve Marshall and Keith York, went on to set up Coast 103, another successful Galway pirate that broadcast from July 1987 to December 1988. However, despite a high quality FM signal for its time on air, WLS still managed to cause interference to television reception in the city, which led to RTÉ being granted an injunction against it.

31st August 202229th August 2022

Steve Marshall and Richie O’Shea on WLS

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This recording of Galway pirate WLS was made towards the end of the station’s life in June 1987. It begins with the end of Steve Marshall’s show and a promo for the Solid Gold Sunday programme with Don Stevens. The top-of-the-hour ident mentions ‘VHF stereo’ only as AM had been discontinued at this time. Steve is followed by Richie O’Shea from midday who mentions a £1,000 giveaway. Commercials include local businesses and agency adverts. The sound is tight with good music and slick jingles but WLS would be gone within the next few weeks.

Made on 4^th June 1987, part 1 above runs from 1150-1238 and part 2 below from 1238-1326. The tape was recorded from 96.4 FM in stereo with excellent audio quality.

Part 2 from 1238.

This recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

28th August 202226th August 2022

Richie O’Shea on WLS Music Radio

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By mid-1986, WLS was well-established as the leading pirate in Galway city. Professional on-air standards led to strong advertising revenue, as this recording from May of that year indicates. Commercial breaks feature local businesses including a private bus company and there are agency adverts for national brands. A station newsletter from late 1986/early 1987 claimed a market share of at least 54 percent of listeners in the city and included testimonials from a range of advertisers.

In this recording, Richie O’Shea takes over from Steve Marshall for his early evening show which includes an interview with Galway band Manic Depression. A top-of-the-hour promo for WLS mentions both AM and FM and describes it as the ‘West’s local station’.

Part 1 above is from 7th May 1986 from 1757-1842 and part 2 below from 1843-1928.

Part 2 from 1843.

Both were made from 102.7 FM and are from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

27th August 202226th August 2022

The Pirate.ie Podcast #10: Interview with Gerard Roe

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We’re delighted to bring you an interview with Gerard Roe, one of the most respected voices in Irish pirate radio circles from the 1980s to the 2000s. Gerard presented weekly Free Radio Campaign (FRC) shows on various pirate stations in Dublin, bringing the latest free radio news and industry gossip to fans of the medium in Ireland and further afield. Gerard’s first FRC aired on Radio Dublin Channel 2 in 1982, a specialist offshoot of the original Radio Dublin. A recording was carried on shortwave station Westside Radio International on Sunday mornings, bringing the FRC to a wider European audience.

Poor technical standards and unreliable coverage prompted Gerard to move to new station Radio Annabel when it was established in autumn 1983, where he remained until its closure in 1985.

FRC-style programmes on 1990s pirates run by Simon Maher also benefited from Gerard’s input and expertise. He contributed to the Anorak Hour on Coast FM (1991-1996), Spectrum FM (1996-1997) and Phantom FM (1997-2003). Gerard became CEO of Phantom when it was licensed as a full-time alternative rock station in 2006.

In this interview with Brian Greene, Gerard reflects on his long career in radio from the pirate years of the 1980s and 1990s to the licensing and eventual demise of Phantom FM.