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Early Cork series: Lunchtime on Radio City

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Early Cork series: Lunchtime on Radio City
Pete Andrews (O’Neill) at Radio City in 1980 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).

Pete Andrews (O’Neill) was a familiar voice on Cork pirate radio, and was heard on the early stations of the late 1970s before setting up Radio City in 1980 with Dan Noonan. Here he is on the Lunchtime Special from spring 1981 with a mixture of chart, classics and a bit of country. Features include the Golden Year, for sale slot, featured album, record of the week, weather forecast and the Top 10 from the Radio City Top 50. Many of the adverts are voiced by Pete, who also reads news headlines on the hour. Such was the multi-tasking of pirate radio!

The recording was made from 95.7 FM between 1202-1403 on 23rd March 1981 and is courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue.

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Early Cork series: Sunday shows on Radio City

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Early Cork series: Sunday shows on Radio City
Radio City studio in 1981 (courtesy DX Archive).

This recording features a selection of Sunday programmes on Cork pirate Radio City from the spring of 1981. Up first is John Rice signing off at the end of his show, followed by Pete Andrews (O’Neill) with the Radio City Top 50 and then Susan James (O’Connor) with the Groove Galaxy. The last segment is from a Sunday morning show presented by John Mariner, possibly from another date. 

This airchecked recording was made from 95.7 FM from around 1400 on 22nd March 1981. Audio quality is generally good but there is some distortion and wobble due to cassette degradation. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.

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Early Cork series: More Saturday evening shows on Radio City

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Early Cork series: More Saturday evening shows on Radio City
L-R Luke Ward and Alan Edwards at Radio City in 1981 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).

This is another example of Saturday evening shows on Cork pirate Radio City from spring 1981. First up is the final part of Alan Edwards’ programme with a mixture of chart music and classics. He is followed by Luke Ward with his Rock City Interviews show. There are also adverts for local businesses and station jingles. Audio quality is generally good, but there is some wobble towards the end due to cassette degradation.  

The recording was made from 95.5 FM between 1808-1905 on 21st March 1981 and is courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue. At this time Radio City also broadcast on 1512 kHz, announcing 199 metres. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.

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Early Cork series: Saturday hits and requests on Radio City

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Early Cork series: Saturday hits and requests on Radio City
Alan Edwards at Radio City in 1981 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).

This is another recording of Alan Edwards on his Saturday evening show on Cork pirate Radio City in 1981. Alan plays current hits and classics and reads out requests from listeners, including one from the station’s number one fan Lilian McCarthy. There are increasing numbers of adverts for local businesses and Alan also reads out a charity appeal to help a disabled child. There is some distortion on the audio in places.

The recording was made from 95.5 FM between 1704-1806 on 21st March 1981 and is courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue. Radio City also broadcast on 1512 kHz, announcing 199 metres, at this time.

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Early Cork series: Saturday evening on Radio City

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Early Cork series: Saturday evening on Radio City
Alan Edwards at Radio City in 1981 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).

This recording of Cork pirate Radio City was made in spring 1981. The early Saturday evening show is presented by Alan Edwards, who was heard on earlier stations such as the Cork Broadcasting Company (CBC). Alan plays hits and memories and plugs discos and gigs around the city and county. Local businesses around Cork are featured in the commercial breaks and for the first time, there are sung station jingles.

The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 95.5 FM on Saturday 14th March 1981 between 1703-1858. There is some distortion on voiceovers and audio levels are variable in places. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.