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Interview with John Clarke of Radio Nova

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Interview with John Clarke of Radio Nova
John Clarke in Radio Nova in 1983 (photo courtesy of Svenn Martinsen)

This is the original full recording of an interview by Leon Tipler with veteran DJ John Clarke on Radio Nova in September 1982. It was conducted in studio in the busy period leading up to 6pm and John chats away in between lining up music and ads on carts. An edited version was included in the documentary series ‘The Irish Pirates’.

He speaks about the history of Nova and describes the differences between it and its great rival, Sunshine Radio. Chris Cary wanted to begin broadcasting on FM and pushed a ‘clutter-free’ format with sweeps of music. The reaction from listeners was very positive from the start and Nova was soon a hit in boutiques, shops and factories with advertising flooding in. AM came later and the powerful signal increased the station’s popularity even more.

John also discusses the recent RTÉ jamming of Nova and a survey that established Nova’s dominance in the Dublin market. He says that most listeners to Nova and Sunshine were unaware of their pirate status because of the stations’ professionalism. The interview concludes with a mention of Kieran Murray’s Free Radio Campaign and the importance of logging pirate radio history. We’ll second that!

This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

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Pirate.ie in three minutes

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Pirate.ie in three minutes
Nova’s big giveaway as advertised in the Sunday World, 19th June 1983 (courtesy Alan McSimoin).

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 30th August 1983, the day of the giveaway.

Pirate.ie in three minutes
ICBS flyer from the station’s later years (courtesy Ian Biggar).

The second segment is from the Irish Christian Broadcasting Service from 3rd 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.

Pirate.ie in three minutes
BLB car sticker from c. 1986 (courtesy DX Archive).

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.

Pirate.ie in three minutes
Boyneside Radio North’s AM mast right on the border (courtesy Eddie Caffrey).

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.

Pirate.ie in three minutes
John ‘the Man’ Frawley of Raidió Luimní (courtesy Svenn Martinsen).

The next segment features one of Ireland’s best-known pirate broadcasters, the late John ‘the Man’ Frawley opening Raidió Luimní on 20th 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.

Pirate.ie in three minutes
Energy 103 flyer signed by Bob Gallico (courtesy DX Archive).

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.

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Sunday morning on Radio Nova

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Sunday morning on Radio Nova
Radio Nova studio in 1982 (courtesy of DX Archive).

This is a recording of Radio Nova as heard on 88 FM on Sunday morning 12th September 1982 from 0930-1016. It begins at the end of the religious programme ‘Good News Tracks’ and is followed by the late Eddie West, who announces that Nova and KISS FM cars will be racing at the Mondello Park motorsports venue later that day. Ad breaks include regular spots for the Sunday World newspaper and the Red Corner Shop and a request is received from the Isle of Man. News is read by Bryan Dobson, who would become a well-known RTÉ journalist.

Eddie West worked at many pirates including Capitol and ARD as well as Nova and became Programme Controller at Downtown Radio and Cool FM in Belfast. He died in 2017 after an illness.

This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection donated to us by Steve England.

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Sunday morning bandscan from 1982

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Sunday morning bandscan from 1982
KISS FM car sticker (courtesy DX Archive).

This is a bandscan of Dublin radio by British radio enthusiast Leon Tipler during a visit to Dublin in 1982. It was made from about 0800-0930 on the morning of Sunday 12th September 1982 and features both AM and FM stations. The bandscan begins with Bryan Dobson reading the news on Radio Nova and is followed by the start of that day’s broadcasting on the brand new Nova offshoot KISS FM. Some of Nova’s main service on 88 FM is also heard. There are snippets of Boyneside Radio, Radio City and Radio Dublin, including a promo for the Lebanon Requests Show presented by DJ Angie. There’s also a short extract of ‘RTÉ Radio 1 on VHF’ and BBC Radio Scotland on FM as well as an unidentified English station on AM.

Sunday morning bandscan from 1982
Nova’s production studio in 1982 (courtesy of DX Archive).

The recording concludes with part of a Christian programme on Radio Nova called ‘Good News Tracks’, featuring religious music and reflections. Nova experimented with such specialist programmes in the early days, and Tipler’s documentary refers to another religious show on the station.

This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

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Radio Nova from September 1982

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Radio Nova from September 1982
Bryan Dobson’s Nova ID card – although they misspelled his name! Image courtesy of Bryan himself.

Continuing our focus on the tapes of British radio enthusiast Leon Tipler, this is a recording of Radio Nova that he made during a trip to Ireland in September 1982. The recording runs from 1728-1808 on Saturday 11th September and features DJ Hugh O’Brien followed by Bryan Dobson (one of RTÉ’s leading journalists up to his retirement in 2024) and Michael O’Brien reading news. After the news is the US syndicated show The American Country Countdown with Bob Kingsley. Nova was announcing 846 kHz AM and 88 FM at the time.

Ads are heard for Hickson Holidays, the Sunday World newspaper, Tiger shoes and the newly-released film Bladerunner with Harrison Ford. This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.