1988 Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

16th February 202412th February 2024

Various shows on Donegal’s KTOK

KTOK was a successful commercial station broadcasting from Donegal Town between summer 1987 and the end of 1988. This recording features airchecks of various programmes between Christmas 1987 and February 1988. First up is Dave James, formerly of offshore station Radio Caroline, recorded between 1400 and 1800 on 27^th December 1987. Frequencies mentioned are 103 and 96 FM and 1566 kHz AM. There are plenty of requests, promos for Christmas holiday events and gigs, the ‘gosh factor’ trivia segment and a television guide. The KTOK Cinderella Christmas Pantomine is mentioned but is unfortunately edited out of the recording, as are most of the adverts for local businesses. News on the hour with John Breslin is similarly cut, but the DJ is heard reading the headlines at half-past the hour.

At 17 minutes, the recording switches to airchecks of the Dave James show from 8^th February 1988 between 1000-1300. 99 FM is heavily promoted as the new transmitter for North Donegal, with 96 FM serving South Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo. There is no mention of the AM transmitter as it may have been discontinued at this time.

At 58 minutes, station founder Russ Padmore is heard from 18^th February 1988 between 1500-1800. Local gigs and discos are promoted and news on the hour is read in English and Irish but edited out. The inclusion of Irish may have been as much due to impending broadcast legislation as the fact that many parts of Donegal are Irish-speaking. Music is mostly pop but includes some oldies and country, reflect the huge popularity of the latter in rural areas of Ireland.

It is unclear which FM frequency the recording was made from. It is from the Anoraks Irish Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

12th February 202412th February 2024

Dennis Murray on Liberty 104

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By 1988, Liberty 104 had attracted some high-profile Dublin broadcasters to its studios in the heart of the Liberties district and the station was gaining listeners. One experienced DJ who had previously been heard on Radio Nova and its offshoot KISS FM was Dennis Murray, who in this recording presents a drivetime show. Music is a mixture of chart hits and classics and there is a listener competition based on identifying three songs. A promo for factory requests underlines how stations like Liberty 104 catered for this cohort of the population. Confusingly, Dennis refers to 103 FM on a few occasions despite the 104 branding, although there was a lot of variation in the station name during its almost 3 years on air. News at the top of the hour is read by Michael Mahon.

The recording was from 1723-1809 on Monday 4^th April 1988 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. Audio quality is good to fair with some hiss. It is not clear from which FM frequency the tape was recorded but Liberty 104 broadcast on 103.5 and 103.9 FM at this time as well as 1035 kHz AM.

12th January 20247th January 2024

CAU FM moves frequency

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CAU FM broadcast from the southside of Dublin for about 9 months between November 1987 and July 1988. Its origins were in a series of hobby stations in the Foxrock area set up by Locky Butler, which later became Phoenix FM. CAU was supposed to stand for ‘clutterfree and you’, reflecting the continuous music style pioneered by Radio Nova. Other Nova influences can be heard in this recording, including an echo on the DJ’s voice and a holiday giveaway virtually identical in style to a similar promotion used by Nova and KISS FM earlier in the decade. CAU had a professional signal across the city and used a slick jingle package. It was sold to the religious station Hope FM in the summer of 1988.

CAU FM moves frequency — Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

CAU began broadcasting on 103.5 FM but moved up to 104.2 during this recording. DJ Tom Browne announces the change, which is designed to improve the station’s signal. At about 15 minutes in, the transmitter leaves the air and another station, Liberty 104 is heard – it would take over the 103.5 FM slot. Competition for frequencies was fierce in the unregulated pirate scene of the 1980s and smaller stations often had to move position if bigger players claimed more advantageous slots on the dial.

The tape was made on 26^th March 1988 from 1149-1326 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

2nd January 20241st January 2024

Northeast series: Afternoon drive on Zee 103

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Zee 103 (1986-1988) was a high-powered professional station beaming its signal into Northern Ireland from just south of the border at Omeath in Co. Louth. Launched in the winter of 1986, its origins were in KISS FM, a short-lived pirate station in Craigavon, Co. Armagh that was raided by the UK Department of Trade and Industry in 1985. The operation moved south of the border and led eventually to the launch of Zee 103 on November 11^th 1986 from Ardaghy House, a renovated schoolhouse on an elevated site just 3km inside the Republic of Ireland. In line with new broadcasting legislation in the Republic, Zee 103 closed down at midnight on 31^st December 1988 but was one of a handle of pirates to venture back onto the air briefly in January 1989.

This recording of Zee 103 from the summer of 1988 features Paul Maguire who is sitting in for Graham Marks on the afternoon drive programme. Music consists of chart hits and some oldies and all adverts come from businesses in the North. News headlines are read by Lorraine Duncan and similarly aimed at Northern listeners. The tape was made from 103.25 FM between 1622-1708 on 17^th August 1988 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.