Energy 103 Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

16th August 20246th August 2024

Music in the early hours on Energy 103

Energy 103 was one of Dublin’s most popular radio stations in the 1980s. Emerging from the ashes of Radio Nova, it began broadcasting on 29^th April 1986 and quickly built a solid listenership and advertising base. The station closed suddenly on 11^th March 1988.

These days, live radio programming is rare in the evenings, let alone overnight but back in the pirate era, many stations broadcast live around the clock. Although automatic options were sometimes used, larger stations could afford to pay an overnight DJ and maintain a live connection with listeners in the early hours. This recording gives a flavour of such overnight programming on Energy 103 in the autumn of 1986.

First up is Mike Kingston’s show from 0131-0219 on Monday 15^th September. He is followed by Alan Burns from 0127-0215 on Tuesday 16^th September. Given the time of night, the musical mix is relaxed and talk is minimal. There are no adverts or news but a smattering of requests intersperses the records.

The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 103 FM. Energy 103 also broadcast on 738 kHz AM.

14th June 20243rd June 2024

The sound of Dublin pirate radio in June 1986

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The Dublin pirate scene was alive and well in the summer of 1986. Radio Nova had closed suddenly in March, to be replaced by Energy 103. Other super-pirates Sunshine Radio and Q102 took advantage of the change to consolidate their positions in the crowded market. Smaller stations continued to chug along serving their own niche audiences or communities while pirates from nearby counties could be heard easily in the capital, particularly on AM.

This airchecked recording captures some of the variety to be heard in Dublin that summer and includes excerpts from KISS FM (Dublin 1), Capitol Radio, Radio Dublin, Q102, Sunshine 101, Energy 103, Bray Local Broadcasting (BLB), Community Radio Fingal (CRF) and Boyneside Radio. It was made on 19^th June 1986 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

20th May 202120th May 2021

Pirate.ie in three minutes

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This three-minute clip gives a sense of the variety of content in the Pirate.ie archive. It covers stations big and small, in Dublin and elsewhere, playing mainstream pop or featuring specialist programming. The first segment features Ireland’s best-known pirate Radio Nova and its ‘Dublin Today’ programme on 30^th August 1983, the day of the giveaway.

The second segment is from the Irish Christian Broadcasting Service from 3^rd September 1983, just four days before a divisive referendum about inserting a ban on abortion into the Irish constitution. The presenter announces an interview with a US campaigner.

The third segment features a promo for community radio broadcast in 1987 on Bray Local Broadcasting south of Dublin. Among the voices is the then Minister for Communications, the late Jim Mitchell, whose party did not favour community radio. BLB was a leading member of the National Association of Community Broadcasters.

The next segment is a jingle for Boyneside Radio (1978-1988) based in Co. Louth which became a regional station covering an area stretching from Belfast to Dublin. The station had transmitters along the border and an opt-out service aimed at Northern Ireland.

The next segment features one of Ireland’s best-known pirate broadcasters, the late John ‘the Man’ Frawley opening Raidió Luimní on 20^th April 1983. The station broadcast from Limerick for ten years from 1978-1988 and the popular Frawley had listeners over a wide area. He begins by greeting listeners in Irish.

Finally we hear the late Bob Gallico reading the news on New Year’s Day 1988 on Energy 103, a popular professional station that emerged from the ashes of Radio Nova in 1986.

1st January 202131st December 2023

Bob Gallico reading news on Energy 103

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This is a recording of veteran newscaster the late great Bob Gallico reading the lunchtime news on New Year’s Day 1988 on Dublin super-pirate Energy 103. Bob’s voice was one of the most familiar and iconic of the 1980s Dublin pirates.

Energy 103 emerged from the ashes of Radio Nova on 29^th April 1986 and broadcast until 11^th March 1988, when it closed suddenly. Within hours its frequencies were taken over by Q102. Bob Gallico died in 2013 at the age of 83 in Massachusetts. You can read tributes here.

10th July 20206th August 2021

Full recording: Q102 (Dublin)

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Q102 logo from Alan MacSimoin collection.

This recording of Dublin super-pirate Q102 from May 1988 was made just before it was relaunched as ‘Super Q 102’. The new format was the work of American radio consultant Bill Cunningham, who had transformed Sunshine Radio into ‘Sunshine Hot Hits 101’ in 1986. Q102 had acquired the transmitters and equipment of Energy 103 the previous March and, along with Sunshine, was one of the two biggest players in the Dublin pirate radio market.

The recording is from 1218-1340 on the 17th of May 1988 and features Jason Maine, followed by the start of Greg Gaughran’s show. There are regular mysterious promos for the new ‘super sounds’ format to be launched within hours, and a competition to win tickets to the Michael Jackson concert in Cork at the end of July. The recording also contains advertisements for the Mosney holiday centre north of Dublin (now a direct provision centre for asylum seekers), an event to choose Miss Ireland 1988 at Rumour’s Nightclub, regular promos for the Evening Herald small ads and a Tony Allan voiceover for Bewley’s coffee.

We thank Ian Biggar for his donation of this recording.