An ad for Capitol Radio in Hot Press magazine, Christmas 1984 (Alan MacSimoin collection).
Capital or Capitol Radio was a common name for Irish pirates in the late 1970s and 1980s but the Dublin station specialising first in album and later in indie music was one of the best known. On air from 1983 to the end of 1988 it went through a number of format changes, including launching a night-time specialist sister station Nitesky 96 on 1st July 1986. From then on Capitol-Nitesky established a reputation as a leading promoter of the lively Dublin alternative and indie music scene. It also ran the ‘Alternative Night’ every Thursday at McGonagle’s nightclub on South Anne Street.
This recording was made from 1035 kHz AM from 1335-1420 on 28th April 1984. This was the period when Capitol was marketing itself as an ‘album station’ but in fact a variety of styles can be heard. The presenter is Dave Kelly who worked previously in ARD and KELO and would go on to the super-pirate Q102 after its launch in 1985. News is read by Miriam Fitzsimons and one of Capitol’s owners, Stephen Ryan, can be heard voicing the Sunday World ad.
This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.
The Dublin Broadcasting Corporation (sometimes Dublin Broadcasting Company) appeared briefly in 1984, broadcasting music and apparently fake adverts and promos. This recording was made from 98 FM from 1925-2010 on 5th March 1984 and features spoof promos sending up Radio Nova voiced by Nova staff as well as repeated use of an ad for Philips audio. The 98 FM frequency is the only one announced but the cassette box also logs 233 metres (1287 kHz). However, no pirate would dare to place itself right next to RTÉ Radio 2, then putting out high power on 1278 kHz. We have no further information about the Dublin Broadcasting Corporation but given the inconsistency with the name and the unusual content, it seems to have been a purely hobby station having a bit of fun in the crowded radio scene of the time.
This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.
Radio West compliments slip, courtesy of DX Archive.
Radio West was one of the large regional stations of the pirate era and even renamed itself ‘West National Radio 3’ in 1988 as it claimed to be broadcasting nationwide. Its 10kW transmitter on 765 kHz (later 702) gave it good coverage over a wide area and an infill AM on 711 kW was added for Galway in 1988. Radio West also had a chain of low-powered FM relays from Dublin to Galway but it was stretching the imagination to claim national coverage.
This recording is of the end of the Mike Young breakfast show from 0918-1003 on 2nd February 1984, recorded from 765 kHz in Dublin. There is some electrical interference with audio dropout from time to time and there seems to be some drift off channel by the end of the recording. Ads are heard from across the midland counties, some of which feature the voice of station owner Shaun Coyne. Idents are voiced by Tony Allan and interestingly the 10.00 news is a relay of Bob Gallico on Radio Nova in Dublin. We don’t know if there was ever a formal agreement with Nova to rebroadcast its news or if this is an example of piracy by one pirate from another – smaller stations were known to relay news from bigger stations and Radio Dublin infamously rebroadcast bulletins from RTÉ for a time.
This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.
Gary Hardiman at Radio Renmore, 1983 (photo courtesy of Gary Hardiman).
Radio Renmore was one of a number of short-lived low-powered Galway pirates in the early 1980s. It broadcast from August 1983 until early 1985 from a converted garage in the eastern suburb of Renmore with a power of 5 watts on 101 FM. Set up by three teenagers, Gary Hardiman, Tom Breen and Brendan Mee, Radio Renmore broadcast from Brendan’s garage during the school holidays. It was known as Radio Snowflake when it returned at Christmas 1983. The station moved to the house of Brian Walsh in the summer of 1984 and changed its name to Renmore Local Radio. The better site next to Lough Atalia boosted its signal into the city. These undated recordings are from 1983 and 1984 and include station promos, news and adverts for local businesses.
Renmore at Lough Atalia (photo by John Walsh).
We thanks Brendan Mee for background information and for the recording and Gary Hardiman for photos. Tomorrow we bring you an interview with Tom Breen about his memories of this and other small Galway hobby stations.
Brendan Mee at the decks on Radio Renmore, c. 1984 (photo courtesy of Brendan Mee).
KISS FM was one of the many sister stations to Radio Nova, broadcasting from September 1982 to January 1984. Chris Cary set up the station to absorb additional advertising revenue from Nova and experiment with local radio for Dublin. The station was closed down along with Nova on the 18th of May 1983 and did not return until the 30th of September. In January 1984 RTÉ jammed the signals of both Nova and KISS when it was granted permission by Minister Ted Nealon to test broadcast on 88.2 and 102.7 FM and 819 kHz AM. Cary closed KISS at midnight on the 15th of January 1984 as the jamming worsened and laid off staff, some of whom were members of the National Union of Journalists. This sparked a bitter and extended industrial relations dispute which eventually contributed to the demise of Nova in 1986.
KISS FM was known for its lavish competitions, offering listeners prizes ranging from £102.70 to £5,000 in cash for correctly identifying three songs played in a row. One such competition occurred on the 29th of March 1983 when the station gave away £5,000. The giveaway would be repeated by Nova on the 31st of August 1983, when a prize of £6,000 was offered, putting enormous pressure on the Dublin telephone system. There were even bigger problems with the network when Nova gave away another £5,000 over a year later, on the 29th of September 1984.
This recording was made mostly on the final day, 15th of January 1984, is airchecked and not in linear order. It begins with Denis Murray presenting his final rock show and chatting with fellow presenters Chris Barry and Stephanie McAllister. News at midnight is read by David Malone and the Radio Nova news jingle is heard as KISS passes into the history books and Nova is broadcast on 102.7. Mike Moran is then heard on the Nova overnight and then the tape stops and picks up with Chris Barry signing off and handing over to Denis Murray earlier in the evening. The recording continues with airchecks of Denis Murray apparently from the 14th of January on his second last show. We also hear idents for KISS FM Weekend, part of Al Dunne’s final show, Bernie Jameson on news and Geraldine Nugent reading community news. Community news is not something associated with the Nova network, but KISS FM was an experimental station.
Our archive also includes interviews with Tom Hardy and Denis Murray about their involvement in KISS FM and other stations. This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.
