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Big D rings in New Year 1980

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Big D rings in New Year 1980
Big D sticker (courtesy DX Archive).

This is a recording of Dublin station the Big D in the early hours of New Year’s Day 1980. To mark the occasion, there is a link-up with Dennis Murray by a poor quality phone line to a pub at John’s Lane Church in the city centre. Revellers, many of them worse for wear, come on the line to talk to Vincent Stewart in the studio. Clearly Big D is delighted at the departure of rival station ARD, judging by the canned laughter when Vincent announces that the other station has just closed down.

Other DJs and staff are in the studio with best wishes for the new decade. There are pleas for peace given the ongoing horrors of the Troubles and the broadcast ends with the Garda Síochána choir singing ‘Let There be Peace on Earth’. This is followed by pre-recorded music through the night. The recording was made from 273 metres (1116 kHz) from 0054-0120 on 1st January 1980. Thanks to Shay Geoghegan for the donation.

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ARD and Big D on New Year’s Eve 1979

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ARD and Big D on New Year's Eve 1979
ARD flyer (courtesy DX Archive).

The late 1970s was a key period of growth for pirate radio in Dublin, with hot competition developing between Radio Dublin and rival breakaway stations ARD and the Big D. This recording from the medium wave band on 31st December 1979 gives a flavour of how the pirates rang in the new decade that would prove so crucial for Irish radio. It runs from 2351-0035 and switches between ARD on 273 metres, which was due to close down that night, and the Big D on 273 metres.

Paul Vincent winds down ARD in the company of the late Dave C and financial backer Bernard Llewellyn, who explains that the station is closing down in order to apply for a licence. Optimistically, he predicts that local radio will be legalised by June 1980. The late Don Moore, who invited Llewellyn into ARD, is also heard in the background and one of the DJs to say his goodbyes is none other than Ian Dempsey. ARD left the airwaves just after half past midnight but pretty much everyone involved in it – bar Llewellyn – returned in the form of Radio 257 within a few days.

The recording also includes snippets of the Big D’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, including a scratchy phone connection with Dennis Murray who is in the company of drunker revellers in the city centre. We thank Shay Geoghegan for his donation.

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Simon Young from Sloopy’s nightclub

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Simon Young from Sloopy's nightclub
Sloopy’s advert from 1977 courtesy of Retro Now.

The late Simon Young referred regularly to Sloopy’s nightclub in Fleet Street in his soul and disco show on the Big D and there were live broadcasts from there on Tuesday nights.

On this occasion, Simon hosts a round of the Miss Sloopy competition at the club with the assistance of Martin King. The ten contestants are interviewed by Simon, Rose of Tralee style, and at the end there’s a surprise appearance from an eleventh entrant, ‘Julie Carriage’ who sounds like an early version of Agnes Brown!

The recording is undated but we estimate it to be from August or September 1981. Sound quality is poor and it was necessary to aircheck some of the recording.

The advert for the Miss Sloopy contest is from 1977 and before Big D’s time, but there are some interesting names among the judges! Many thanks to Brand New Retro for the image and to Shay Geoghegan for the recording, which was made from 99.5 FM.

Below are two sides of a Big D card sent by Simon Young to Ian Biggar in 1979. The first side features current advertisers with the station and the other provides a schedule. There are some big names among the DJs, many of whom would go on to national prominence on RTÉ Radio 2, including Marty Hall (Whelan), Dave Fanning and Neil O’Shea. Of course, that was where Simon himself ended up.

Simon Young from Sloopy's nightclub
A Big D card from 1979 sent by Simon Young to Ian Biggar (thanks to Ian).
Simon Young from Sloopy's nightclub
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Disco Top 30 with Simon Young on Big D

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Disco Top 30 with Simon Young on Big D
Big D sticker (courtesy Bill Ebrill).

This is another recording of popular DJ Simon Young (RIP) presenting the Top 30 Disco Survey on the Big D in 1981. Sloopy’s Nightclub sponsors the survey and Simon promos the Big D Boogie Night held in Sloopy’s on Tuesday nights. The voices of the late Dave C and Tony Allen are heard on ads and station idents. Simon Young went on to become one of the leading DJs on RTÉ 2FM.

Below is a letter sent by Simon in 1979 to Ian Biggar, confirming his reception report of Big D in Scotland.

Disco Top 30 with Simon Young on Big D
Letter from Simon Young in 1979 to Ian Biggar (thanks to Ian for sharing this).

This recording is undated but it was made from 99.5 FM on a Monday evening from 2215-2300 sometime in the spring of 1981. Thanks to Shay Geoghegan for the donation.

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Simon Young (RIP) on the Big D

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Simon Young (RIP) on the Big D
A 2012 profile picture of Simon Young on his Facebook page.

The death of the popular and talented radio presenter Simon Young was announced on 31st October 2021. Like so many other household names in the radio world, Simon began his career in the pirates. In this recording from 1981, he is heard presenting his weekly American soul and disco show on the Big D. A rowdy crowd in the studio is chatting away in the background and enjoying the tunes. There’s a reference to the Big D Boogie Night broadcast from Sloopy’s nightclub on Fleet St. and indeed Sloopy’s is the sponsor of the disco Top 30. Simon, whose real name was Thomas Meade, went on to become a well-known DJ on RTÉ 2FM.

The Big D was a pioneering pirate station that contributed to the transformation of the Dublin radio scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It began broadcasting on April 10th 1978 as a result of a split in Radio Dublin, was run by James Dillon and backed by businessman Noel Kirwan. The station was raided on June 15th but returned to the air after a short time. In addition to Simon Young, many big names of radio in the 1980s and beyond were heard on the Big D including Marty Whelan, Gerry Ryan, John Clarke, Dave Fanning and Declan Meehan. Several were poached by RTÉ when Radio 2 was set up in 1979. The Big D closed in December 1981 in the context of increased competition in the Dublin radio market.

The recording was made from 99.5 FM on 9th March 1981 from 2140-2245. Big D also broadcast on 1116 kHz AM, announcing 273 metres. Thanks to Shay Geoghegan for the donation.