WABC antenna in May 1990 (courtesy of Ian Biggar).
In March 1991, Donegal station WABC was preparing to close down for the second time since its estalishment in September 1987. After three-and-a-half years of successfully building the station in the northwest, station owner Paul Barnett (RIP) and his then wife Krissi Carpenter, had decided to return to England. This recording features the final Saturday Breakfast Binge show with Happy Harry, two days before WABC closed down. The programme features mostly chart music, plenty of inane chat and a promo for Krissi’s final oldies roadshow in Coleraine that night. There is no direct reference to the closedown, although Harry drops hints that something is afoot at the station. The breakfast show is followed at 1100 by a music show live from Sweden by satellite.
The recording was made from 0944-1118 on Easter Saturday 30th March 1991 from 101.7 FM and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Paul Barnett at WABC in 1991 (courtesy Ian Biggar).
In this recording of the Donegal pirate WABC, station founder Paul Barnett (RIP) is in top form for his final show as the station prepares to close down for the second time. The music is a mixture of contemporary hits and oldies, like an amalgam of the two original WABC Stations, Hot Hits and Gold.
Adverts are voiced by Paul and his then wife Krissi for businesses in Derry and Antrim and there is a promo for Krissi’s last appearance at the Coleraine Rugby Club. Paul presents the WABC What’s On Guide but there is no mention that the station is being wound down. Similarly, there is no formal sign-off from Paul although Krissi’s show is announced as her last.
WABC closed on Easter Monday 1st April 1991. This recording was made on Friday 29th March 1991 from 0930-1100 from 101.7 FM and is courtesy of Ian Biggar.
WABC owner Paul Barnett in 1991 (courtesy of Ian Biggar).
On 18th March 1991, Ian Biggar received a note from the owner of Donegal pirate WABC, Paul Barnett (RIP), saying that due to family circumstances, he and his wife Krissi were moving back to England. Because of that WABC would close on 31st March 1991, the second time for the station to leave the airwaves since its establishment in 1987. This recording was made a little over a week previously as the station was winding down although this is not referred to on air.
Up first is Paul with the final part of the breakfast show until 1100 and he is followed by Krissi with her usual mid-morning programme. There is no reference to the impending closure on air, although a hint is provided by Krissi who says that she will be finishing up the following week. Adverts feature businesses in Antrim, Derry and Donegal, the latter unusual post-1989 as there were strict penalties for advertisers in the Republic. News on the hour is read by Paul and there is also a What’s On Guide. Music is a mixture of oldies and chart.
The tape was made on Friday 22th March 1991 from 101.7 between 0953-1125 and is courtesy of Ian Biggar.
WABC studio photo from May 1990 (courtesy Ian Biggar).
1991 was the year that the Donegal pirate WABC closed down for the second time, as station owner Paul Barnett (RIP) moved back to the UK. A reminder of the constant threat to the pirates operating in the new legal landscape came at the end of 1990 when on Wednesday 14th November a team from the Department for Communications was operating in Donegal and visited the studios of North Atlantic Radio and Radio North. Both were told to cease transmissions which they did. On hearing of this, Paul Barnett closed both WABC services and awaited developments. No visit was received, and the transmitters were switched back on two days later. Both Radio North and North Atlantic Radio returned over the following days.
By early 1991, WABC had once again combined the Hot Hits and Gold services and was transmitting on both FM channels. Paul had always hoped to get WABC back on medium wave and in a letter to Ian Biggar dated 28th January 1991, he said a 1 kW rig was ready and would be in use soon on 954 kHz. The transmitter was built in England and shipped across to Donegal. It was on air in late January and February before disappearing. It was believed to have been sold to North Atlantic Radio.
This recording of WABC from 101.7 FM was made on 21st January 1991 and seems to post-date the combination of both services as the music contains both chart hits and oldies. Up first is Happy Harry from 1735-1820 who also shares snippets of news from the evening papers. The second part of the recording runs from 2005-2050 on the same date and features Doctor Pat. The voices of Paul Barnett and his then wife Krissi Carpenter are heard on adverts, mostly from the Coleraine area. News at 1800 is read by Barry Owler. Thanks to Ian Biggar for the recording and for background information.
KLAS Radio was one of the second wave of 1990s pirates to defy the new broadcasting legislation that came into force in the Republic of Ireland at the beginning of 1989. It broadcast from 1991 until 1993 from just south of the border in Co. Monaghan, a short distance from Aughnacloy in Co. Tyrone. This recording was made shortly after KLAS began broadcasting. There are adverts for businesses mostly in Aughnacloy, linked to a local festival that was in full swing at the time. An advertising promo says that KLAS is broadcasting from the deliberately vague ‘North of Ireland’ and gives phone numbers for both sides of the border. KLAS had a good signal locally on AM but reception was hampered further afield by the presence of local radio stations in the north of England on the same or adjacent frequencies. There was no link between KLAS and the easy-listening station of the same name in Dublin (1986-1988), established by the late Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel.
The recording was made from 828 kHz AM on 19th July 1991 between 1105-1150 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. The DJ is Michael Barry and he plays a mixture of pop and oldies. Audio quality is good but there is some background signal noise in places and a technical issue with the recording towards the end.
