WABC studio shot in May 1990 (courtesy Ian Biggar).
Returning to 1990 and the story of Donegal pirate WABC, today’s recording is from the autumn of that year following the resumption of the twin services WABC Gold and WABC Hot Hits. Tina James is in the afternoon slot on the Hot Hits station with plenty of chart music interspersed by idents claiming to play 10,000 hits in a row. News on the hour is read by Declan Gill and adverts are heard for businesses in Derry and Antrim, including one from as far away as Belfast.
The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made between 1500-1705 on 17th October 1990 from 101.7 FM.
By 1988, Liberty 104 had attracted some high-profile Dublin broadcasters to its studios in the heart of the Liberties district and the station was gaining listeners. One experienced DJ who had previously been heard on Radio Nova and its offshoot KISS FM was Denis Murray, who in this recording presents a drivetime show. Music is a mixture of chart hits and classics and there is a listener competition based on identifying three songs. A promo for factory requests underlines how stations like Liberty 104 catered for this cohort of the population. Confusingly, Denis refers to 103 FM on a few occasions despite the 104 branding, although there was a lot of variation in the station name during its almost 3 years on air. News at the top of the hour is read by Michael Mahon, formerly of Energy 103.
Original cassette inlays from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
The recording above was made from 1548-1721 on Monday 4th April 1988 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. The final section below runs from 1723-1809.
Final section from 1723-1809
Audio quality is good to fair with some hiss. It was recorded from 103.5 FM. Liberty 104 also broadcast on 103.9 FM as well as 1035 kHz AM at this time.
Radio West broadcast from 1982 to 1988 and grew from a local station serving the midlands to a regional station with national aspirations. It re-launched as ‘West National Radio 3’ in 1987 and claimed coverage of 22 counties but in fact the signal was poor or non-existant in many parts of country away from the main transmission site near Mullingar.
This recording was made on a Friday night a fortnight before Radio West closed down at the end of 1988. It consists of continuous music interspersed with station idents and jingles. There are occasional interruptions suggesting that this may be a pre-recorded tape, although it would be surprising that a live DJ would not be on air at that time of the day. Of particular interest is the opening song, ‘Leave the stations on the airwaves’ by Chuck, June and the Gamblers which complained about the impending closedown of the pirates.
The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from Radio West’s Dublin relay on 97.3 FM between 2010-2056 on Friday 16th December 1988. The station also broadcast on 702 kHz AM and various low-power FM relays. The final show was hosted by country music veteran DJ Don Allen (RIP) on 30th December 1988.
WABC studio photo from May 1990 (courtesy Ian Biggar).
1991 was the year that the Donegal pirate WABC closed down for the second time, as station owner Paul Barnett (RIP) moved back to the UK. A reminder of the constant threat to the pirates operating in the new legal landscape came at the end of 1990 when on Wednesday 14th November a team from the Department for Communications was operating in Donegal and visited the studios of North Atlantic Radio and Radio North. Both were told to cease transmissions which they did. On hearing of this, Paul Barnett closed both WABC services and awaited developments. No visit was received, and the transmitters were switched back on two days later. Both Radio North and North Atlantic Radio returned over the following days.
By early 1991, WABC had once again combined the Hot Hits and Gold services and was transmitting on both FM channels. Paul had always hoped to get WABC back on medium wave and in a letter to Ian Biggar dated 28th January 1991, he said a 1 kW rig was ready and would be in use soon on 954 kHz. The transmitter was built in England and shipped across to Donegal. It was on air in late January and February before disappearing. It was believed to have been sold to North Atlantic Radio.
This recording of WABC from 101.7 FM was made on 21st January 1991 and seems to post-date the combination of both services as the music contains both chart hits and oldies. Up first is Happy Harry from 1735-1820 who also shares snippets of news from the evening papers. The second part of the recording runs from 2005-2050 on the same date and features Doctor Pat. The voices of Paul Barnett and his then wife Krissi Carpenter are heard on adverts, mostly from the Coleraine area. News at 1800 is read by Barry Owler. Thanks to Ian Biggar for the recording and for background information.
Undated photo of Gareth O’Callaghan at Radio Nova (courtesy Noel Hiney)
Gareth O’Callaghan was one of the most popular and professional DJs of the pirate era and continues to broadcast on independent radio to this day. In this recording from summer 1986, he winds up his evening drivetime show on Dublin station Energy 103, not long after it emerged from the ashes of Radio Nova in the spring of that year. Gareth has a television teaser for listeners and refers to the Queen concert coming up in Slane that weekend. News is read by George Long (Henry O’Donovan, RIP).
Gareth’s show is followed by Tony McKenzie presenting a syndicated programme in the 7Up Music Machine series, featuring British rock band Supertramp in a live concert in the US. Reflecting the sponsorship deal, many adverts refer to 7Up and the Music Machine albums. The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was recorded from 103 FM from 1834-1922 on Wednesday 2nd July 1986.
