Local radio documentary on Capitol Radio in 1979

Local radio documentary on Capitol Radio in 1979
L-R: Chris Barry, Alan Russell and Dave Lee at Capitol in 1978 (courtesy Alan Russell).

This is a documentary about local radio in Ireland as broadcast by Dublin station Capitol Radio in May 1979. Presented by one of the station’s founders Alan Russell, it was aired before the local and European Parliament elections on 7th June and includes interviews with Fianna Fáil politicians as heard on Radio Tralee. There are also clips of early Dublin pirates and audio of a raid on Capitol by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs in 1978. We thank Alan Russell for donating this unique recording and for providing the following background to Capitol.

Imagine if you will – a world with no Twitter or Facebook, Netflix or the other internet bells and whistles, no satellite TV or mobile phones. That was the world less than 50 years ago and perhaps one of the reasons radio entertainment was more diverse and popular than today. It was a time prior to independent radio licencing and dozens of stations were operating throughout the country in an unregulated ‘pirate’ capacity,  providing local news, entertainment and advertising for local businesses. In Ireland it was a time of social change and crossing the threshold into a new decade, the 1980s.

It’s over 40 years since Capitol Radio – one of Dublin city’s pioneering AM radio stations – closed in March 1981 after three years of daily programming. Capitol had previously broadcast on a weekly basis between July and December 1975 and with assistance from music promoters had aired interviews with musicians and bands, including Phil Lynott, Status Quo, Chris De Burgh and Horslips in their weekly programmes. At the time there was just the one national radio channel – Radio Éireann (now RTÉ) and minimal airtime was provided for contemporary music. RTÉ Radio 2 – now 2FM – was launched in 1979 mainly in response to the pirate stations, which were securing a considerable audience nationally.
The station founders Chris Barry, Ed Mc Dowell and Alan Russell had previous airtime experience, Ed having operated Radio Empathy some years before. Another station Director, Tommy Hogarty, secured initial financing from a Dublin publican which helped lease a studio premises.

Local radio documentary on Capitol Radio in 1979
Alan Russell in Capitol in 1980 (courtesy of Alan).

After carrying out test transmissions in March 1978 Capitol launched  daily programmes in April from studios on Bachelors Walk, 100 yards from O’Connell Bridge. Our first aerial was an ambitious quarter-wave dipole which ran from near the Ha’penny Bridge to the roof of our premises and the nearby Bachelor Inn – in exchange for daily adverts! The station frequency was 1358 kHz or 220 metres (later changed to 226 metres) and was heard in the UK and Europe. After the dipole aerial system was repeatedly damaged by nuisance neighbours we changed to an inverted L which was in a more secure area, although we lost the skywave bounce for long distance listeners.

Capitol’s alternative music format was album-oriented and a selective top-40 playlist, with nightly specialist music programmes including jazz, new wave, rock, Irish folk and trad, rockabilly and country and western. From 9pm, free public service broadcasts were aired for the Samaritans, Alone and similar voluntary organisations. Interviews with local singers/authors/celebrities etc. were also a regular feature of daytime programmes. A news service was a later addition, headed by Adrian Horsmann.

Keith York on South Coast Radio

Keith York on South Coast Radio
Keith York on 24.03.82 in the South Coast studio (courtesy Lillian O’Donoghue).

Originally from Yorkshire, the late Keith York (‘Yorkie’) worked with many Irish pirate stations on both the engineering and presentation side, including the first South Coast Radio in Cork. In this recording, he presents the drivetime show on South Coast from 5pm on Tuesday 13th April 1982, a few weeks after the station’s launch. News on the hour is read by Mark Lawrence and a promo for the ‘jobline’ service is voiced by another late radio legend, Tony Allan. In the licensed era, Keith worked as chief engineer with Midlands 103 and was well known in the midlands. He died prematurely in 2010.

Keith York on South Coast Radio
Cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

Part 1 of the recording above runs from 1659-1746 and part 2 below from 1746-1833.

Part 2 from 1746

Both were made from 104 FM in stereo and are from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

Alan Reid on South Coast Radio

Alan Reid on South Coast Radio
Alan Reid (aka Hendy Condon, RIP) in 1982 (courtesy Lillian O’Donoghue).

Alan Reid (real name Henry Condon, known later on radio as Henry Owens), worked in Irish and British radio from the late 1970s until his untimely death in 2013. He began his radio career in the Cork Broadcasting Company (CBC) in 1978, moving to Cork City Local Radio (CCLR) in 1979 and Radio City in 1980 where he held the popular Afternoon Delight slot. After joining South Coast Radio in 1982, Henry presented evening and late-night shows before taking over the breakfast slot after the departure of Peter Madison. Following South Coast, he moved to super-pirates Radio Nova and Q102 in Dublin and later enjoyed a successful career in licensed radio in Ireland and the UK.

Henry is heard here on South Coast from 2204-2304 on Easter Monday, 12th April 1982, recorded from 104 FM in stereo. The recording and photo were kindly donated by Lillian O’Donoghue.

Stuart Clark on ABC Tramore

Stuart Clark on ABC Tramore
Stuart Clark in the ABC caravan in 1983 (courtesy DX Archive).

This is a recording of another of the founders of Waterford super-pirate ABC on the occasion of its 40th anniversary in March 2022. Stuart Clark was one of four English DJs with experience of the offshore or pirate scene who came to Ireland in early 1982 planning to set up a station somewhere in the southeast. The others were Andy Ellis, Clive Derek and Kevin Turner, who had previous local experience on Suirside Radio, and the four began testing from Tramore near Waterford City on March 1st 1982, with ABC launched two days later.

Stuart Clark on ABC Tramore
A view of the caravan and mast from 1982 (courtesy Brian Kennedy).

Part 1 of the recording above runs from 0749-0836 on 31st March 1982 and includes news ‘from Dublin’at 0800 which is in fact a recording of the 0730 RTÉ bulletin! Most pirates based their news directly on RTÉ and some occasionally rebroadcast bulletins but as the scene became more professional, ABC and other stations went on to develop respectable news services of their own. Part 2 below runs from 0849-0928 and includes Stuart himself reading the news. Both were made from 729 kHz AM in Waterford City and signal strength is fair as the receiver was at the edge of the small coverage area.

Part 2 from 0849.

After ABC, Stuart went on to work with other Irish pirates such as Hits 954 in Limerick. He has remained a close watcher of the pirate and radio scene over the years and is currently deputy editor of Hot Press magazine. Another ABC DJ, Steve Silby, shared his memories in the Radio Blaa Blaa book:

I don’t think ABC had a ‘mission’. It started on a wing and a prayer and stayed that way until the end, but behind it was a force of talented broadcasters who kept the show on the road no matter what. There were lots of technical firsts – live broadcasts from surrounding towns and one particular live broadcast direct from a roller coaster! In many ways ABC was different from most other stations in the country. It was a pirate run initially by imported radio fanatics who had deep links to UK commercial radio with stations like Radio Caroline and Laser 558 that had turned European broadcasting on its head – and all this knowledge was brought to Waterford City. Most of the time ABC sounded bloody great.

Thanks to Ian Biggar and DX Archive for the recording and to Brian Kennedy, author of Radio Blaa Blaa, for permission to use the quotation and photo.

Clive Derek on ABC Tramore

Clive Derek on ABC Tramore
Clive Derek outside the caravan in 1982 with Andy Ellis looking out (courtesy DX Archive).

Continuing our series marking the 40th anniversary of Waterford super-pirate ABC, this is another recording made in the first few weeks of the station in March 1982. ABC was set up by four English DJs, Clive Derek, Andy Ellis, Stuart Clark and Kevin Turner. Kevin had worked previously with Waterford pirate Suirside Radio but parted company after a few weeks. Other DJs from the Voice of Peace and Dublin pirates including Nigel Roberts and Steve Marshall joined ABC in spring and summer 1982 as the station began to expand.

In the book Radio Blaa Blaa, one of ABC’s DJs, Andy Linton, remembers the lifestyle associated with the station:

Yes, we were a commune of sorts! We had the radio station that we all broadcast from but we also rented that house in Tramore that we all ended up in. The ‘full-time’ staff of ABC lived there. The radio station paid for everything (rent, laundry, food) and gave us £15 per week, which was basically fag money (though I didn’t smoke). We didn’t even have a TV so we’d listen to the radio, have a beer and chat. One big happy family!

This recording of Clive Derek’s ‘School’s Out’ programme was made from 1515-1603 on Tuesday 30th March 1982. News is read by Kate Davis and most adverts are from Tramore, reflecting the limited coverage area. The recording was made from 101.3 FM and is courtesy of Ian Biggar and DX Archive. Thanks to Brian Kennedy for permission to use the quotation.