Late-night love songs on Heartbeat FM

Late-night love songs on Heartbeat FM
Heartbeat FM sticker (courtesy DX Archive).

Heartbeat FM was a popular 1980s Dublin station specialising in love songs. It was launched in November 1986 and was rebranded as Cara FM the following year, before reverting to Heartbeat because its audience preferred the original name. The station closed down at the end of 1988 to comply with new broadcasting legislation. The love song format proved highly popular and was used by some pirates that continued into the 1990s including Radio Dublin.

This recording was made towards the end of the station’s run and features Ian Turner’s evening show with plenty of requests from loyal listeners and a remind that Heartbeat is the most listened to specialist station in Dublin according to the latest radio survey. Ian is followed by Maurice Nevin (RIP) with his Radio Late show until the early hours. The tape was made between 2135 and 2305 on 11th November 1988 from 95.5 FM and is courtesy of John Breslin.

Final Christmas Eve on Heartbeat FM

Final Christmas Eve on Heartbeat FM
Heartbeat sticker (courtesy DX Archive).

This is a recording of the final Christmas Eve on Dublin love song station Heartbeat FM from 1988. John Keogh is on air from an unnamed pub with plenty of festive music and requests. He reminds listeners that there are only six days left before Heartbeat closes down and the iconic ‘final countdown’ promo is aired. Adverts of interest include one for a course in computer keyboard skills and another for ‘Bros-look outfits’.

Heartbeat was launched in November 1986 and quickly gained a strong listenership due to its love song format. It changed its name to Cara 95 FM in 1987 but reverted back to Heartbeat due to popular demand. Heartbeat closed at the end of December 1988 in line with the new legislation.

Final Christmas Eve on Heartbeat FM
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

The tape was recorded from 95.5 FM from 1417-1502 on 24th December 1988 and is partly airchecked. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

The Pirate.ie Podcast #4

The Pirate.ie Podcast #4
David Baker (right) and DJ Lee at KLAS 98 in 1987 (photo courtesy of DX Archive).

In this special episode #4 of the Pirate.ie podcast, we’re delighted to bring you an interview with one of the most familiar voices on Dublin pirate radio in the 1980s, David Baker. David worked in a long list of stations ranging from Radio City, Big D and ARD to KISS FM, Radio Leinster, Heartbeat and KLAS 98. He was also heavily involved in the temporary stations set up by the Community Broadcasting Co-operative and the original Christmas station, Radio Snowflake.

The Pirate.ie Podcast #4
David (second from right) at the Glasnevin North Community Radio caravan in 1982 (photo courtesy of Dave Reddy).

In this interview with John Walsh and Brian Greene, David looks back on his pirate days in Ireland and recalls the many stations where he worked from the late 1970s until 1988. Based in the UK for many years, he also gives his views on the radio scene today and talks about his latest project Chelmer Radio.

The Pirate.ie Podcast #4
L-R David Baker, Paula Walsh (Miss Sandymount) and Dermot Lacey in 1986 (photo courtesy of Dave Reddy).

Many thanks to David for sharing his memories with us in this special podcast.

Pirate.ie would like to thank all of our followers and contributors for their support in 2020. We will you all a very happy Christmas and hope for a better 2021 for everyone.

Heartbeat FM, the love station

Heartbeat FM, the love station
Heartbeat sticker (courtesy of DX Archive).

Heartbeat FM was a popular love song station in Dublin broadcasting from 1986 until the end of 1988 on 95.5 FM. The station changed its name to Cara 95 for a few months in 1987 but reverted to Heartbeat. It was an example of one of the niche stations of the era and featured a format that would be copied in later years by Radio Dublin. Heartbeat returned as a pirate in the 1990s and was awarded a temporary licence in the 1990s.

These recordings of Heartbeat from the Pirate.ie collection from 30th August 1988 include links by John Keogh and Maurice Nevin (RIP), adverts, jingles and news.

Ads into 6pm news from 30.08.88. The newsreader is Maurice Nevin.
Ads and a jingle from 1988.
Aircheck and ads from 1988. The presenter is Maurice Nevin.
Heartbeat jingle from 1987.

Interview: David Baker

Interview: David Baker
David Baker on Radio Sandymount in 1984 (photo courtesy of Dave Reddy).

David Baker was a well-known voice on Irish pirate radio in the 1980s and worked in or managed a large number of stations including ARD, Radio City, Radio Leinster, the Community Broadcasting Co-operative, KISS FM, Heartbeat and KLAS.

In this interview, John Walsh caught up with David Baker and talked about his pirate days, with a particular focus on the easy listening station KLAS. John worked with David in KLAS from 1986-1988.

Interview: David Baker
The garage at the back of 312 Sutton Park, Dublin 13, the location KLAS first broadcast from (photo John Walsh).