Anoraks Ireland Collection Archives - Page 52 of 55 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

13th April 20229th April 2022

Oldies on Galway’s Coast 103

Coast 103 was a successful station broadcasting from Galway from mid-1987 until the end of 1988. It later merged with Limerick pirate Hits 954, rebranded as Coast Hots Hits and covered the west and mid-west region from Galway to the outskirts of Cork. One of the two big Galway stations at the end of the pirate era, Coast played mostly chart music but also had some specialist programming outside peak times.

One such programme was the ‘Hitback’ oldies show presented by the late Carl Turner (aka John Steele) on Sunday mornings. This recording was made from 103 FM in stereo on 3^rd April 1988 from 0900-0945 and features an eclectic mix including rhythm and blues, swing, rock and roll, country, soul and folk rock. John Steele had an impression collection of vinyl and also ran his own hobby pirate Swinging Radio Impulse late at night from his home in Galway city centre.

This recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

11th April 202212th April 2022

Twiggs FM from Galway

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Twiggs FM was a short-lived pirate station from Galway broadcasting for about six months at the end of 1987 and beginning of 1988. Called after a nightclub of the same name in Salthill, it was set up by local man Shane Martin and Alan Russell from Dublin who had established another Galway station, Atlantic Sound, in 1984. Alan was also a founder of Dublin station Capitol Radio (1975 and 1978-1981). When Twiggs FM was wound down, DJs either moved to other Galway stations such as County Sound and Coast 103, returned to Dublin or emigrated.

This recording from 11^th November 1987 is of a morning show presented by Mike Richardson, apparently in the middle of a storm (Twiggs FM was located on the promenade facing the Atlantic Ocean). A founder of Big L Radio in Limerick, Mike provided the transmitter and studio equipment for Twiggs FM and did shows when he was in Galway. The recording was made from 98.2 FM in stereo from 0912-0937 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. Thanks to Alan Russell and Shane Martin for background information.

10th April 202230th March 2025

Dublin’s Favourite 50 on Q102

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Q102 logo from 1987 (Alan MacSimoin collection).

Q102 was one of the largest and most successful 1980s ‘super-pirates’ in Dublin. Priding itself as Irish-owned in contrast with other big stations Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio, it launched on January 23^rd 1985 and quickly established a foothold in the Dublin market. In March 1988, Q102 took over the transmitters and equipment of Energy 103 after its sudden closure, given it a range of AM and FM frequencies in the capital. It was relaunched as ‘Super Q 102’ in summer 1988 and closed down on December 30^th in line with new broadcasting legislation.

Dublin's Favourite 50 on Q102 — Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

This recording was made on Easter Monday, 8^th April 1985 and features Dublin’s Favourite 50 with Scott Williams, still a familiar name on the Dublin radio scene. News on the hour is read by Gary Hamill. Part 1 above runs from 1238-1326 and Part 2 below from 1326-1414.

Part 2 from 1326

The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

8th April 202212th April 2022

Peter Madison on South Coast breakfast

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The late Peter Madison was a familiar voice on Irish pirate stations of the 1980s, including South Coast Radio in Cork, Boyneside Radio in Drogheda and Radio Nova, Magic 103 and Sunshine Radio in Dublin. In this recording, Peter can be heard presenting various editions of the South Coast breakfast show in early 1982 not long after the station’s launch.

Peter was a real professional and clearly put a lot of work into his shows. It’s all very up-beat and there are plenty of zany sound effects and corny jokes, some of which are a bit off-colour by the standards of today. Adverts are cut, but the voice of the other late great radio legend Tony Allan can be heard on some of them.

The first part of the recording dates from 13^th April but it is clear that a few editions of the show are included. Although the label refers to June, Peter Madison left South Coast in late April 1982 so this is a mistake. The recording was made from 104 FM in mono and audio quality is fair with some wobble in places. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. You can find more material from the collection on Radiowaves and the Irish Pirate Radio Archive.

26th March 202227th March 2022

Keith York on South Coast Radio

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Originally from Yorkshire, the late Keith York (‘Yorkie’) worked with many Irish pirate stations on both the engineering and presentation side, including the first South Coast Radio in Cork. In this recording, he presents the drivetime show on South Coast from 5pm on Tuesday 13^th April 1982, a few weeks after the station’s launch. News on the hour is read by Mark Lawrence and a promo for the ‘jobline’ service is voiced by another late radio legend, Tony Allan. In the licensed era, Keith worked as chief engineer with Midlands 103 and was well known in the midlands. He died prematurely in 2010.

Part 1 of the recording above runs from 1659-1746 and part 2 below from 1746-1833.

Part 2 from 1746

Both were made from 104 FM in stereo and are from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.