1982 Archives - Page 7 of 19 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

9th April 202212th April 2022

Nightline with Nick Richards on South Coast Radio

Nick Richards was born in London and worked in land-based UK pirates and the offshore Radio Caroline, only leaving the boat just before it sank on 20^th March 1980. After coming to Ireland, he worked at Southside Radio in Dublin before moving to Cork, doing his first show on South Coast on 16^th April 1982. Nick was later heard on the short-lived but highly successful KISS FM (1988), a ‘border blaster’ pirate based in Monaghan Town. These days he is a presenter on Cork’s C103.

This is a recording of Nick presenting his ‘Nightline’ show on South Coast from just after midnight on Wednesday 9^th June 1982. There’s no chance of falling asleep with plenty of loud rock in the first hour. Part 1 above runs from 0008-0053 and Part 2 below from 0053-0136.

Part 2 from 0053

With so much evening and overnight radio automated these days, it’s refreshing to hear a live DJ reading out requests from listeners. Some of the listeners on that night back in 1982 had impeccable pirate radio credentials: Barry and Ruth Johnson of Anoraks UK in Blackpool, Gary Hogg in Leeds, Stuart Clarke of ABC Radio in Tramore and Prince Terry of shortwave station Westside Radio in Dublin.

This recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated by Paul Davidson. You can find more material from the collection on Radiowaves and the Irish Pirate Radio Archive.

Listen here to an interview with Nick about his time at KISS FM in Monaghan.

8th April 202212th April 2022

Peter Madison on South Coast breakfast

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The late Peter Madison was a familiar voice on Irish pirate stations of the 1980s, including South Coast Radio in Cork, Boyneside Radio in Drogheda and Radio Nova, Magic 103 and Sunshine Radio in Dublin. In this recording, Peter can be heard presenting various editions of the South Coast breakfast show in early 1982 not long after the station’s launch.

Peter was a real professional and clearly put a lot of work into his shows. It’s all very up-beat and there are plenty of zany sound effects and corny jokes, some of which are a bit off-colour by the standards of today. Adverts are cut, but the voice of the other late great radio legend Tony Allan can be heard on some of them.

The first part of the recording dates from 13^th April but it is clear that a few editions of the show are included. Although the label refers to June, Peter Madison left South Coast in late April 1982 so this is a mistake. The recording was made from 104 FM in mono and audio quality is fair with some wobble in places. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. You can find more material from the collection on Radiowaves and the Irish Pirate Radio Archive.

26th March 202227th March 2022

Keith York on South Coast Radio

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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 13^th 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.

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.

23rd March 202224th March 2022

Alan Reid on South Coast Radio

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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, 12^th April 1982, recorded from 104 FM in stereo. The recording and photo were kindly donated by Lillian O’Donoghue.

21st March 202221st March 2022

Stuart Clark on ABC Tramore

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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 1^st 1982, with ABC launched two days later.

Part 1 of the recording above runs from 0749-0836 on 31^st 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.