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Radio Nova breakfast show as heard in Britain

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Radio Nova breakfast show as heard in Britain
Declan Meehan at Nova during the raid of 1983 (courtesy Joe King).

The big Dublin pirate Radio Nova made various attempts to break into the British market during its 5 years on air. This recording features part of the breakfast show presented by Declan Meehan and Bob Gallico (RIP) and was made by English radio enthusiast Leon Tipler, presumably at his home in Kidderminster near Birmingham. It includes plenty of fading as is typical for AM propagation at the time of day and year. Although the weather forecast includes northwest England and Nova attempted to gain listeners in that region, clearly the signal was not commercially viable further south at Tipler’s home.

The recording was made from 819 kHz AM on 8th October 1982 between 0648-0718 and is from the Leon Tipler Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

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Radio Dublin as heard in Cumbria

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Radio Dublin as heard in Cumbria
Radio Dublin badge from the Pirate.ie collection.

Radio Dublin was one of Ireland’s longest running pirate stations, on air from 1966 to 2002. This recording was made in Broughton-in Furness on the Cumbrian coast and features Gerry Stevens with the end of the breakfast programme, which was also broadcast on Radio Dublin Channel 2. Gerry announces that Channel 2 is coming on the air with separate programming at 1000 and he is followed by Adrian St James (Nolan) with the Morning Call International programme on the main Radio Dublin frequencies on AM, FM and shortwave. The phone is out of order but Adrian still shares requests from listeners, presumably dropped into the station in Inchicore or received by post. The daily Golden Hour slot begins at 1030 and there’s a promo for the weekly Lebanon Requests Show with DJ Angie.  

There is good AM groundwave propagation on the recording despite the distance of over 230 kilometres from Dublin to Cumbria. The tape was made from 1188 kHz (253 metres) on 26th June 1983 between 0936-1037. It is from the Leon Tipler Collection, donated to us by Steve England. Adrian Nolan continues to broadcast on Irish radio to this day.

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American Country Countdown on Radio Nova

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American Country Countdown on Radio Nova
Nova sticker from the 846 days (courtesy Ian Biggar).

The American Country Countdown was a syndicated country music show from the US presented by Bob Kingsley, aired by Dublin station Radio Nova in its early days. This recording from summer 1982 is of an early morning broadcast of the show, as heard on AM in Britain. It starts with night-time fading and some interference but the signal improves as dawn arrives. There are adverts for businesses around Dublin, including for brands, and mention of a Nova event at Maxine’s nightclub. The American Country Countdown is followed at 0600 by Colm Hayes with the first few minutes of his breakfast show.

The recording was made on Thursday 24th June 1982 from 846 kHz AM from 0407-0610. There are no details on the label but as the tape is from the Leon Tipler Collection, we presume that it was recorded at Leon’s home in Kidderminster near Birmingham. Thanks to Steve England for donating the Tipler Collection to us.

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Concord Community Radio explains aims of community broadcasting

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Concord Community Radio explains aims of community broadcasting
Concord Community Radio flyer (Alan MacSimoin Collection).

Concord Community Radio began broadcasting in March 1983 to the Artane district of the northside of Dublin, before changing its name to North Dublin Community Radio (NDCR) in 1984. It was one of a number of stations committed to developing licensed community broadcasting in Ireland and a leading member of the National Association of Community Broadcasters. Like the other pirates, NDCR closed at the end of 1988 but many of those involved went on to form NEAR FM, the licensed community station for northeast Dublin that launched in 1995.

This short recording of Concord Community Radio includes an unidentified DJ and a promo outlining the philosophy of community radio, reflecting the political debate about the licensing of local radio at that time. It was made from 891 kHz AM on Saturday 21st May 1983, just days after the raids on the large commercial Dublin stations Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio. The tape is from the Leon Tipler Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

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Ever-popular Soul Special on Sunshine Radio

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Ever-popular Soul Special on Sunshine Radio
Tony Dixon as pictured in the Sunshine Review from 1985 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

Tony Dixon (RIP) presented the long-running Soul Special show on Saturday evenings on Dublin pirate Sunshine Radio in the 1980s, gaining a loyal following around the city and further afield. This short recording of the popular show is undated but we estimate it to be from October 1982. There are no adverts but some of the iconic Sunshine jingles are heard. The transmitter seems to go off the air at the end although it is possible that the dial of the receiver was adjusted suddenly. After a successful career in radio, Tony died prematurely in 2010.

The tape was recorded from 100.5 FM between 2003-2027 and was kindly donated by Shay Geoghegan.