1987 Archives - Page 3 of 11 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

31st January 202422nd January 2024

Border series: Saturday sounds on KTOK

This recording of Donegal Town station KTOK features Saturday programmes in the winter of 1987. Up first is Brian McLoughlin and he is followed by station owner Russ Padmore with the weekly northwest Top 40, sponsored by a local hifi company. There are plenty of adverts from around Donegal and Sligo, including a promo for a weekly KTOK club night in Glenties. News is read by John Breslin and there are also some local community announcements. The DJs announce the main channel of 96FM but in order to cover the hilly terrain, KTOK also broadcast on other FM frequencies and on AM.

KTOK broadcast from the middle of 1987 until the end of 1988, when it closed in line with new broadcasting legislation. The recording was made on Saturday 7^th November 1987 from 103.9 FM. Part 1 above runs from 1006-1140 and Part 2 below from 1317-1348.

Part 2 of Top 40.

Both are from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

26th January 202421st January 2024

Gareth O’Callaghan on Q102

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Q102 logo from 1987 (Alan MacSimoin Collection).

Gareth O’Callaghan broadcast on various 1980s pirates stations including Radio Nova, Energy 103 and Q102. In this recording, he is heard presenting the afternoon show on Q102 in the autumn of 1987. There’s the usual upbeat mixture of music, chat, comedy, a newspaper review and traffic news along with adverts for local businesses and larger companies or brands. The ’10 in a row’ feature consists of 10 songs without adverts from 1700-1730. News at half-past the hour is read by Anne Cassin, who would go on to work for RTÉ. Gareth O’Callaghan continues to broadcast today on Classic Hits Radio.

Gareth O'Callaghan on Q102 — Original inset from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

Audio quality on this tape is fair as there is distortion throughout, most likely due to an issue with the recording device as Q102 had a highly professional signal. The recording was made from 101.9 FM from 1620-1752 on Thursday 1^st October 1987 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

24th January 202421st January 2024

Border series: mid-morning on Donegal’s KTOK

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KTOK was one of several stations broadcasting from Co. Donegal during the pirate era. It was established in Donegal Town in the summer of 1987 by Russ Padmore, who worked previously for North West Community Radio in Buncrana. KTOK broadcast on 1566 kHz AM and on 96, 98 and 103 MHz FM. As well as Donegal, it claimed to have listeners in Sligo and Leitrim as well as across the border in Derry, Fermanagh and Tyrone. The station closed down in line with new broadcasting legislation on New Year’s Eve 1988. Russ Padmore now works for the BBC.

This recording of KTOK was made on a Wednesday morning in the winter of 1987 and features Paul Cooke on air. There are plenty of adverts for businesses in Sligo and Donegal, many featuring the voice of Russ Padmore. Paul also presents a buy and sell section and local entertainment guide. News on the hour is read by John Breslin, with a half-hourly update by the DJ.

The tape was made from 96 FM from 1104-1247 on 4^th November 1987 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

10th January 20246th January 2024

Northeast series: Friday night on Telstar Community Radio

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Telstar logo (courtesy Ian Biggar).

Telstar Community Radio broadcast from in and around the Dundalk area between 1980 and 1988. Despite stiff competition from bigger local stations Radio Carousel and Boyneside Radio, it built up and maintained its own audience. The station was first located in Dundalk, moving south to the village of Blackrock in 1982 before returning to Dundalk in 1986. The main frequencies used for most of its existence were 1197 kHz AM and 88.5 FM. Telstar closed down along with other pirates at midnight on New Year’s Eve 1988.

This recording is of part of Dave Ritchie’s Friday night show, including chart hits and some oldies, along with adverts for mostly Dundalk-based businesses. There are news headlines on the hour and some notices, including mention of a local gig by British pop star Howard Jones. The tape was recorded from 88.5 FM on 13^th March 1987 from 1830-2006. Another station is heard briefly at about the half-way point, possibly an earlier recording on the same cassette.

The tape was made originally by John Gartlan and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

31st December 20234th January 2024

Galway’s County Sound welcomes 1988

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County Sound broadcast to Galway from 17^th March 1987 until 31^st December 1988 and built up a loyal listenership during its time on air. Based originally in the town of Tuam, County Sound moved into Galway City in January 1988 and slogged it out with another pirate Coast 103 for local advertising revenue. Both stations were professional operations and dominated the Galway radio market at the end of the pirate era. This recording was made exactly a year before County Sound closed down and features regular overnight presenter Jon Richards bidding farewell to 1987 and welcoming 1988. He looks back at the pop music highlights of 1987, reviews the year’s films and previews cinematic releases for the new year. Jon Richards continues to broadcast on local station Galway Bay FM.

This recording was made from County Sound’s Tuam transmitter on 94.3 FM between 2345 and 0030 on 31^st December 1987 and 1^st January 1988. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.