Country music Archives - Page 3 of 7 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

1st June 202314th August 2023

Border series: Radio Star Country heard near and far

One of the joys of AM broadcasting is its propagation that allows radio waves to travel long distances beyond the core listening area during the hours of darkness. In our focus on border station Radio Star Country, today we begin a series of posts showing how the Irish pirate sounded on the west coast of Norway in the late 1980s and 1990s. Recorded over 1,200 km from the transmission site on the Monaghan/Tyrone border, these tapes capture the unique audio quality of skywave reception of distant radio signals at dawn and dusk between October and March.

The first such recording begins before 0900 on 17^th November 1988, a few months after Radio Star Country began broadcasting from the Swan Lake Hotel in Monaghan Town. On air is station founder and owner Gerry Byrne with a promo for the forthcoming Radio Star Country Music Awards in Cookstown, Co. Tyrone. The recording was made in Bud, western Norway from 891 kHz on a Hammarlund SP-600 JX1 receiver with a 500-metre Beverage antenna aimed towards the southwest. The antenna ran behind the barn to the left of the large white house (the rectory) on the right in the photo and received stations from Ireland, the UK, southwest Europe, Brazil and Argentina.

We thank Svenn Martinsen for his donation of these unique recordings.

24th May 202324th May 2023

Border series: Mother’s Day requests on Radio Star Country

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This recording of Radio Star Country was made on Mother’s Day in 2021 and features one of the Monaghan station’s popular DJs, Country Girl Claire presenting her Sunday morning breakfast programme. The recording begins just after Showers of Blessings, one of the station’s many religious shows. Claire promises the best of country and Irish music, a gospel corner every hour and community notices. Reflecting the station’s cross-border existence, a phone number in Co. Monaghan is given out for requests, along with a UK mobile number for text messages. The postal address for letters is in Portadown, Co. Armagh. News on the hour is from Sky and Claire promotes another religious show, Let the Bible Speak, coming up later that afternoon. Although there are plenty of listeners’ requests, only a handful of adverts are heard, in stark contrast with earlier recordings in this series.

The recording was made from the station’s webstream on 14^th March 2021. Part 1 above runs from 0940 and Part 2 below from 1040.

Part 2 from 1040-1200.

Radio Star Country broadcasts on 981 kHz AM and online.

10th May 202314th August 2023

Border series: Radio Star Country prepares for Christmas 2010

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This recording of border station Radio Star Country was made in the week before Christmas 2010 when Ireland and the UK were paralysed by a severe cold snap. There was snow on the ground where the station was located north of Emyvale in Co. Monaghan, but DJ Rita plays the usual country and gospel music and shares plenty of seasonal requests from listeners. There are adverts for businesses in Antrim, Armagh, Fermanagh and Tyrone including jarring references to ‘Southern Ireland’. A promo thanks listeners and advertisers for their support during 2010 and businesses are invited to advertise by contacting sales representatives on UK mobile numbers. The religious programme New Life in Christ is broadcast from Killeen Gospel Hall in Co. Armagh and Rita is followed at 4pm by ‘The Cowboy’ on the drivetime programme.

This tape was recorded from 981 kHz from 1435-1640 on 16^th December 2010. Made in Blackpool in England, it suffers from worsening co-channel interference and fading as darkness falls. The recording is courtesy of DX Archive.

3rd May 202314th August 2023

Border series: Radio Star Country still going after 22 years

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Radio Star Country marked 20 years on air in 2008 and continued to broadcast in defiance of the strict broadcasting legislation in the Republic of Ireland. Many pirate stations around the country had been raided or chose to apply for licences but the Monaghan station defied the odds and stuck to its winning formula of country and gospel music aimed mostly at a Northern audience. This recording from the run-up to Christmas 2010 gives a good sense of the station as it entered its third decade on air. On air is ‘The Cowboy’ who reads out seemingly endless requests from listeners across a wide area stretching from the border to Belfast and Ballymena and even Stranraer in Scotland. Christmas songs, often with religious themes, are added to the usual country and gospel mix. The adverts are from Northern counties only in contrast to earlier recordings of Radio Star Country, perhaps reflecting a clampdown on businesses in the Republic advertising on pirate radio. Promos inviting businesses to advertise for the Christmas period refer to the recession that was in full swing at the time. Hourly news is from the Sky News Centre in Britain and the Cowboy is followed by Jenny B with her drivetime show.

This tape was made from 981 kHz from 1233-1640 on 14^th December 2010, 22 years after Radio Star Country began broadcasting. It was recorded in Blackpool in England and reception deteriorates as darkness falls, with some fading and increasing co-channel interference. The recording is courtesy of DX Archive.

26th April 202317th May 2023

Border series: religious shows on Radio Star Country

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Radio Star Country is distinctive from the few pirates that venture on air these days in Ireland. As well as its longevity, it stands out for its musical style – Irish and American country and gospel music – and its daily religious content. The station was sold on by Gerry Byrne in 1992 and after three further changes of ownership was taken over by Dr Albert Chambers from Portadown in Co. Armagh, founder and director of religious organisation World Vision for Christ. A letter from WVFC to a Swedish DXer in 2006 referred to Radio Star Country as ‘our radio station in Ireland’ and said that, as well as playing country and gospel music, ‘the major programmes are the Christian broadcast messages given by pastors of various denominations’. Dr Chambers himself was listed as presenting programmes on Monday and Thursday evenings.

The Radio Star Country website lists daily religious programmes including Showers of Blessing, Let the Bible Speak, New Life in Christ and Foundations of Faith, the latter presented by Albert Chambers. World Vision for Christ is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, whose website states that its ‘aim is to promote Biblical Christianity’ by a number of means, including radio ministry. Its income increased from £57,000 in 2017 to £114,000 in 2021.

This recording begins with the 15-minute religious programme Let the Bible Speak presented by an evangelical minister from Co. Tyrone. It is followed by a music show with Patsy Jordan (McDonald, RIP) who reads out requests from over a wide area including Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Meath, Monaghan, Fermanagh and Tyrone. Long adverts for businesses in Monaghan, Armagh and Fermanagh are also heard. The tape was made in Troon in Scotland from 981 kHz from 1002-1048 on Monday 16^th May 2005. Thanks to Ian Biggar for the donation and for background information.