Anoraks Ireland Collection Archives - Page 13 of 33 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

16th April 20239th April 2023

New Q102 breakfast show presenters

Q102 changed the presenters of its Good Morning Dublin breakfast show in April 1985 just a few months after the new station’s launch. Scott Williams took over as DJ and Gary Hamill (aka Seán McCarthy) became newsreader. In this recording, we hear the usual morning gossip from the papers and news is read by Gary at the top of the hour and at 0820. There are agency adverts and a promo for a holiday giveaway. The jingle package ‘828, you’re looking great’ refers to Q102’s then AM frequency. It sounds fresh and was an example of the distinctive station imaging.

This recording was made from 0744-0832 on Thursday 16^th April 1985 from 102 FM. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

12th April 20239th April 2023

Final Q102 breakfast show with Chris and George

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This recording is of the final breakfast show presented by duo Chris Barry and George Long on new Dublin super-pirate Q102 in 1985. There’s the usual chat between the hosts including a birthday file and review of the morning papers. News is read by George at the top of the hour and at 0820. The agency adverts reflect Q102’s growing impact on the radio advertising market in Dublin.

The tape was made from 102 FM on Friday 12^th April 1985 from 0738-0826. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

7th April 202324th March 2024

Radio Nova on Good Friday 1985

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This is a recording of the popular breakfast show with John Clarke and Bob Gallico on Radio Nova from Good Friday 1985. There is no paper review given the holiday but the programme features the normal friendly banter between the hosts and Bob reads out a fan letter from a group of listeners. John gives a traffic report for the northwest of England but by contrast the streets of Dublin are quiet. Although Nova was still a leader in the Dublin radio market in early 1985, new Irish-owned station Q102 would soon make its presence felt and Chris Cary’s radio empire began to unravel by the autumn of that year. Nova closed suddenly on March 19^th 1986.

The recording was made from 102.7 FM from 0703-0751 on 5^th April 1985 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

6th April 202326th March 2023

Q102 prepares for Easter weekend 1985

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By Easter 1985, new Dublin station Q102 was just over two months on air and already making waves as a professional and slick choice for listeners in the capital. In this recording from Holy Thursday that year, Chris Barry presents the Good Morning Dublin show including news, weather, sports, a birthday file, the papers and Hollywood gossip. News is read by George Long and there’s a promo for a £10 giveaway for drivers stuck in traffic who are listening to Q102. Chris Barry was a familiar voice on many Dublin pirates and subsequently had a long career in licensed radio.

This recording was made from 102 FM on Thursday 4^th April 1985 from 0640-0728. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

3rd April 20234th April 2023

Evening shows on Premier County Radio

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Premier County Radio was the new name given to Tipperary station Centre Radio in 1987. Based in Clonmel in the south of the county, Centre Radio had been set up in April 1986 as a youth-oriented offshoot of the long-running Clonmel Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). In this recording from 1988, we hear a flavour of two specialist evening shows on Premier County Radio.

First up is Brendan Kenny with oldies and he is followed by John Savage until midnight with a mix of country, folk and rock and roll. Requests from listeners are heard on both shows but there are no adverts. Part 1 above runs from 2116 and Part 2 below from 2202. The date of recording is 1^st November 1988.

Part 2 from 2202.

The cassette label logs a link frequency of 87.3 MHz but this is incorrect as the broadcast FM band begins at 87.5. Premier County Radio was announcing 87.9 and 104.3 FM at this time, and also broadcast on 1251 kHz AM. The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.