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Early Cork series: Various Saturday shows on Radio City

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Early Cork series: Various Saturday shows on Radio City
Dave Johnson in the Radio City Studio in 1980 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).

This recording of Cork pirate Radio City was made on a Saturday evening in spring 1981. Up first is the final part of Dave Johnson’s sports results programme. He is followed by Alan Edwards with his popular early evening show, complete with plenty of requests, a notice about a lost dog, adverts and mashed-up station idents. Among the hits played is Ireland’s entry to the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, which is to be held that evening in Dublin. After Alan we hear the first few minutes of Luke Ward’s Rock City Interviews show.  

Audio quality is poor in the first half, possibly because the receiver was slightly off channel, but it improves in the final hour. The recording was made on 4th April 1981 from 1654-1906 from 95.5 FM. Radio City also broadcast on 199 metres medium wave (1512 kHz). Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.

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Early Cork series: More Saturday evening shows on Radio City

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Early Cork series: More Saturday evening shows on Radio City
L-R Luke Ward and Alan Edwards at Radio City in 1981 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).

This is another example of Saturday evening shows on Cork pirate Radio City from spring 1981. First up is the final part of Alan Edwards’ programme with a mixture of chart music and classics. He is followed by Luke Ward with his Rock City Interviews show. There are also adverts for local businesses and station jingles. Audio quality is generally good, but there is some wobble towards the end due to cassette degradation.  

The recording was made from 95.5 FM between 1808-1905 on 21st March 1981 and is courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue. At this time Radio City also broadcast on 1512 kHz, announcing 199 metres. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.

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Early Cork series: Saturday hits and requests on Radio City

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Early Cork series: Saturday hits and requests on Radio City
Alan Edwards at Radio City in 1981 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).

This is another recording of Alan Edwards on his Saturday evening show on Cork pirate Radio City in 1981. Alan plays current hits and classics and reads out requests from listeners, including one from the station’s number one fan Lilian McCarthy. There are increasing numbers of adverts for local businesses and Alan also reads out a charity appeal to help a disabled child. There is some distortion on the audio in places.

The recording was made from 95.5 FM between 1704-1806 on 21st March 1981 and is courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue. Radio City also broadcast on 1512 kHz, announcing 199 metres, at this time.

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Early Cork series: Saturday evening on Radio City

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Early Cork series: Saturday evening on Radio City
Alan Edwards at Radio City in 1981 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).

This recording of Cork pirate Radio City was made in spring 1981. The early Saturday evening show is presented by Alan Edwards, who was heard on earlier stations such as the Cork Broadcasting Company (CBC). Alan plays hits and memories and plugs discos and gigs around the city and county. Local businesses around Cork are featured in the commercial breaks and for the first time, there are sung station jingles.

The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 95.5 FM on Saturday 14th March 1981 between 1703-1858. There is some distortion on voiceovers and audio levels are variable in places. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.

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Cork’s Big Brother Radio from 1981

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Cork's Big Brother Radio from 1981
Alan Edwards in his CBC days in 1978 (courtesy Lillian O’Donoghue).

Long before the reality television series of the same name, Cork had its very own Big Brother Radio. This Cork station lasted for about 3-4 months at the start of 1981 and was operated from a garage on the Blarney Road. Experimenting with an American style, Big Brother Radio was owned by Philip O’Connor who had worked previously with the Cork Broadcasting Company (CBC). The FM signal on 88.6 MHz was in mono only but the signal was good in the city because of where the studio and dipole were located. An AM transmitter at the snooker club in Blackpool relayed the signal but was weak and didn’t last long. The studio was impressive and was nicely fitted out with professional record decks, cart machines and carpet tiles.

This recording of Big Brother Radio was made from 88.6 FM from 1729-1900 on 3rd February 1981. It begins with a sign-off from Captain Peacock who is followed by Alan Edwards. Alan, who had been a regular DJ previously on CBC, announces a competition for a £10 note. Thanks to Lillian O’Donoghue for the donation of the tape and to Rob Allen for background information.