Top 100 of 1982 on Cork City Local Radio

Top 100 of 1982 on Cork City Local Radio
Unidentified DJ in the CCLR studio in 1983 (courtesy DX Archive).

This recording of Cork City Local Radio (CCLR) was made from 1830-1900 on 27th December 1982 and features the end of a marathon show featuring the Top 100 songs of the year. DJ Brian Downey has come to the of a long shift and signs off before the jingle at the top of the hour.

In September 1982, CCLR added an FM transmitter on 95.6 MHz in line in changes in radio listening. We have no record of the frequency from which this recording was made but it sounds like FM mono. Perhaps the tape recorder was set to mono on that day, or CCLR may not have had a stereo encoder yet.

Thanks to Ian Biggar for the donation.

Early evening requests on Cork City Local Radio

Early evening requests on Cork City Local Radio
Stairs leading to the CCLR studio on French Church Street in 1981 (courtesy DX Archive).

This recording of Cork City Local Radio (CCLR) is of Philip Knight (Johnston) on his early evening show on 24th August 1980 from 1900-1930. The show gives a sense of CCLR’s popularity at this time as there are plenty of requests and the buzz created by the DJ shines through the poor audio quality. There’s even a reference to Radio Luxembourg, which was a big influence on Irish DJs of the time. As the article below outlines, CCLR had plans in 1982 to make its style sound more American and increase its coverage area. However, the arrival of larger pirates such as South Coast Radio and ERI put smaller stations off the air and CCLR closed in late 1983.

Early evening requests on Cork City Local Radio
A 1982 article about CCLR (courtesy Ian Biggar).

This recording is donated by Lillian O’Donoghue.

Sunday oldies show on CCLR

Sunday oldies show on CCLR
The CCLR AM transmitter in 1983 (courtesy DX Archive).

This is a recording of part of the Sunday afternoon oldies show on Cork City Local Radio. The presenter refers to himself only as ‘BG’ and promises that the music ‘will make your valves glow or your batteries run low’. Audio quality is poor but there are a few interesting retro jingles. The recording was made from 1600-1630 on 24th August 1980 and is donated by Lillian O’Donoghue.

Late Night Extra on CCLR

Late Night Extra on CCLR
Fergus Dalton with Lillian McCarthy in his CBC days (photo courtesy of Lillian).

This recording of Cork City Local Radio (CCLR) is of the Light Night Extra programme presented by Fergus Dalton on Monday 21st July 1980 from 2202-2322. There are plenty of station idents and short comedy segments between records and a special request is played for loyal listener Lillian McCarthy (O’Donoghue). Fergus also previews the following day’s programmes on 261 metres.

Audio quality is poor as this recording was made by placing a tape recorder up against an AM radio. Thanks to Lillian O’Donoghue for the donation.

Requests and Cork’s Top 20 on CCLR

Requests and Cork's Top 20 on CCLR
CCLR badge (courtesy DX Archive).

Continuing our series on the Early Cork Pirates, this is a recording of John Dolan on Cork City Local Radio (CCLR) from sometime in 1980. 261 metres is the announced wavelength. Adverts are heard for Keating’s Butchers and Molloy’s Footwear. Lillian McCarthy (O’Donoghue) gets a mention, as John plays his old signature tune from the Cork Broadcasting Company (CBC) for her. The recording of John’s show runs from 1534-1601 and he is followed by Bob Wilson with Cork’s Top 20.

We thank Lillian O’Donoghue for this donation.