Treble TR Christmas card from 1985 (Anoraks Ireland Collection)
Treble TR (sometimes written TTTR) was a country and Irish pirate station broadcasting from Dublin from the spring of 1981 until the end of 1988. The station began on 945 kHz AM, announcing 317 metres, adding FM from 1983. A second AM frequency on 891 kHz was added in 1987. Initially based in Rathfarnham near Radio Nova, TTTR later moved to Harold’s Cross south of the city centre. It closed down on 30th December 1988 in line with new broadcasting legislation.
Other side of Christmas card from 1985 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
This recording was made as TTTR entered 1986. First up is Conn O’Mahoney who shares plenty of New Year’s requests from listeners around Dublin. He signs off at midnight and hands over to Dave Stewart who picks up the pace a bit, although the music is still country in style. Adverts are heard from small and medium-sized businesses around town.
The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 99 FM between 2343-0030 on 31st December 1985 and 1st January 1986.
Ad for Capitol-Nitesky in the Sunday World in 1986 (Alan MacSiomoin Collection).
Capitol Radio was Dublin’s alternative music station, broadcasting for five-and-a-half years from mid-1983 until the end of 1988. It began by playing album tracks but focused more on alternative/indie in its last two years on air, supporting the many new Irish bands on the growing Dublin music scene. In summer 1986, Capitol launched an evening service, Nitesky 96, which experimented with specialist shows and further promoted indie bands. It had a loyal following among listeners unserved by the ‘hot hits’ format that was popular among the pirate stations and ran a weekly ‘Alternative Night’ in the iconic McGonagle’s nightclub in South Anne Street, to where the station moved its premises in later years.
This recording is of the final half-hour of Capitol/Nitesky on New Year’s Eve 1988 as it prepared to close down for good. On air is station manager Conor Brooks with Tony Lewis and Killian Forde in studio. There is a link-up to a closedown event at Side’s nightclub in Dame Street, from where DJs John Kiely and Matt Dempsey give updates via a scratchy phone line. Conor thanks listeners, advertisers and presenters for their support, singling out McGonagle’s which was so important to Capitol/Nitesky in later years. He also underlines the relationship between the station and the emerging Irish indie scene, saying that one fed the other and distinguished Capitol/Nitesky from mainstream radio stations.
The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 95.8 FM on 31st December 1988 from 2333-0002. It is followed by the sound of the FM transmitter being switched off. A longer airchecked version of the final two hours on air is available below and includes other DJs Tony Gahan and Neil Hayes as well as a visit from Bryan Lambert of Class Radio, which had closed down a few hours earlier.
Longer airchecked version of final 2 hours (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
1986 advert for Energy 103 from Health & Beauty magazine including Gareth O’Callaghan (Anoraks Ireland Collection)
Energy 103 quickly made inroads in the competitive Dublin radio market after it emerged from the ashes of Radio Nova in the spring of 1986. This recording is of popular DJ Gareth O’Callaghan presenting the drivetime show on a balmy summer evening in 1986. The show includes gig and event guides, a teaser, birthday slot, weather forecasts from Dublin and across Europe and the usual agency adverts associated with Energy 103. Gareth O’Callaghan continues to broadcast on Irish radio to this day.
The recording was made from 103 FM from 1805-1853 on 7th July 1986 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Tony Dixon (left) in the Sunshine days (courtesy Marisa Dixon).
Tony Dixon (RIP) was one of the best-known DJs on Dublin’s Sunshine Radio in the 1980s, presenting Good Day Sunshine every afternoon and also a popular weekend soul programme. This recording from 1982 features part of Good Day Sunshine with the usual mix of music and chat. A commercial break includes a promo for the Sunshine Radio Roadshow in a Dublin nightclub that weekend and there’s also a weather check at half past the hour.
Tony began his radio career on early Dublin pirate Big D in the late 1970s, before moving on to Sunshine. In the licensed era, he broadcast on Dublin station FM104 but died prematurely on 25th November 2010. This recording is airchecked and was made after 3pm on 29th August 1982 from 100.5 FM. Thanks to Shay Geoghegan for the donation.
Rick Dees in 1986 at KIIS-FM. By Larry Bessel, Los Angeles Times – https://digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:/21198/zz0002w1c0, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=130241684
The American DJ Rick Dees was a familiar voice to Irish radio listeners in the 1980s thanks to the syndication of his Weekly Top 40 show on Radio Nova in Dublin. Dees worked at KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, a station that strongly influenced the original format of Radio Nova, and the Weekly Top 40 was launched in 1983 with an initial syndication on 18 stations. It continues to be produced and has since aired on over 200 stations around the world.
This recording of the Weekly Top 40 is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. It was made on Saturday 1st December 1984 from Radio Nova on 102.7 FM between 1157-1235 and 1240-1328. The familiar high-level agency adverts generated by Nova are heard in commercial breaks. News is read on the hour by David Johnson (Andrew Hanlon), who went on to a career in licensed independent media in Ireland.
