1981 Archives - Page 4 of 9 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

11th August 202111th August 2021

More Stevie Dunne on Sunshine Radio

This recording is of veteran English DJ Stevie Dunne (Stevie Gordon) on Sunshine Radio from 1410-1456 on 12th February 1981. Stevie did stints with the offshore stations Voice of Peace and Radio Caroline and was the last voice to be heard from the Mi Amigo before it sank in 1980. After coming to Dublin, he used the radio name Stevie Dunne to avoid confusion with another English DJ, Steve Gordon, who worked with Radio Leinster and also presented on Sunshine and Radio Nova on a stand-in basis. Stevie Dunne went on to work at Nova and South Coast Radio in Cork before moving to Scandinavia. He is currently Programme Director of Radio Seagull, which broadcasts on AM in the Netherlands.

There is co-channel interference on this recording, as it was made in Scotland by Ken Baird, some distance from the transmitter on 531 kHz. We thank John Breslin for the donation.

9th August 202111th August 2021

Declan Meehan and Stevie Dunne on Sunshine Radio

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This early recording of Sunshine Radio features two big names in the radio business since the 1970s, Declan Meehan and Stevie Dunne (Stevie Gordon). Made from 531 kHz AM (announcing 539 metres) from 1323-1410 on 12^th February 1981, Declan’s lunchtime programme includes the Call and Collect competition based on a car registration number and various adverts, including one for the Sands Hotel in Portmarnock where Sunshine was based. Declan is followed at 2pm by Stevie, who had previously worked at the offshore station Radio Caroline. He would go on to work in other Irish pirates such as Radio Nova and South Coast Radio in Cork. Listen here to an interview with Declan about his radio career from his time at Sunshine.

There is some co-channel interference on this recording as it was made in Scotland by Ken Baird, outside the core Sunshine AM area. Thanks to John Breslin for the donation.

1st August 20219th March 2024

Dublin bandscan from 1981

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This is a bandscan of radio as heard on AM and FM in Dublin in August 1981 by Leon Tipler on one of his many visits in Dublin to document the local pirate scene. The scan gives a sense of the sheer volume of stations on AM and the less crowded FM band, where British stations could regularly be heard due to lack of congestion. We don’t have a precise date but part of the recording was made on a Sunday.

The bandscan begins on FM with Belfast station Downtown Radio’s closedown with a read- through of the next day’s schedule. This is followed by unidentified Irish and British stations on FM and céilí music on RTÉ Radio 1. Leon then switches to AM and tunes past foreign stations before settling on Radio City on 257 metres where Brian Harmon is signing off for the night. This is followed by classical music on what sounds like Radio 1 again. A live ad is read out by the DJ for the new Sunday Tribune newspaper on Sunshine Radio on AM and Leon then switches to Radio Nova on 88 FM. This is followed by exchanges from air traffic control, as was the norm on part of the FM band in those days.

The scan then returns to AM and Radio Leinster on 738 kHz (406 metres) where Anna Craig is signing off at the end of her Sunday morning show. She is followed by Fr. Michael Culloty with a religious programme. The bandscan ends with more AM stations include ARD and part of the Disco Format show on Sunshine.

This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated by Steve England.

14th June 202117th June 2021

Radio Leinster – June 12th 1981

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Radio Leinster logo courtesy of David Baker.

A new recording of what would become Dublin’s easy listening station Radio Leinster has surfaced. It was recorded early in the station’s life on June 12^th 1981, the day after the general election. Paul Vincent is on air. The recording comes to us courtesy of Ian Biggar and the DX Archive.

28th May 202113th May 2021

Roland Burke on Radio Leinster

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Radio Leinster logo (courtesy of David Baker)

This is an early recording of Radio Leinster made from 1722-1809 on 28^th May 1981 from its AM frequency of 738 kHz (406 metres). Roland Burke (RIP) is on air with what he admits himself is a musical mixture, ranging from current pop artists such as Kim Wilde and Toyah Wilcox to the Eagles, Manhattan Transfer and Linda Ronstadt. it’s all a bit confusing and clearly Leinster was still finding its niche and was yet to become the easy listening station which became its hallmark in later times.

Surprisingly there are no ads to be heard in this 45-minute recording even though Radio Leinster was on air for a month at this stage. There’s no sign either of the news service that was promised when the station launched.

Reception is fair as the recording was made in Scotland. We thank Ken Baird for this donation.