This recording of WLS Music Radio from Galway was made in the autumn of 1985 and features two of the station’s top presenters, Pamela Wilson and Keith York (RIP). It begins with a love songs spot on Pamela’s programme, which is packed with local adverts. There are also shout-outs to listeners in shops and businesses around town. News on the hour is read by Chris Ashford. Pamela is followed at midday by Keith York, who was one of the station’s founders. There’s an indirect reference to the Voice of Peace, the offshore station where Keith worked before coming to Ireland.
Cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Made from 102.7 FM on 4th October 1985, part 1 above runs from 1121-1207 and part 2 below from 1207-1253.
Part 2 from 1253.
The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Exterior of WLS at Prospect Hill in 1986/7 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
This recording of WLS Music Radio from Galway features lunchtime programmes from autumn 1985, about six months after the station began broadcasting. Pamela Wilson, formerly of ERI in Cork, is on air until 1400. She is followed by one of the station founders, former Voice of Peace DJ Steve Marshall. News with Laura Landers (not Andrews as indicated on the label) includes a reference to the ‘bay area’, a phrase borrowed from Radio Nova in Dublin, then at the peak of its influence on the Irish radio scene.
Cassette label from Anoraks Ireland collection.
The tape was recorded from 102.7 FM on 26th September 1985. Part 1 above runs from 1241-1327 and part 2 below from 1327-1413. Audio quality is fair with some distortion in places.
Part 2 from 1327
The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Steve Marshall at ERI in Cork c. 1983 (courtesy Lillian O’Donoghue).
This recording of commercial Galway pirate WLS Music Radio (1985-1987) features the Solid Gold Sunday programme presented by one of the station founders, former offshore DJ Steve Marshall. Steve worked in Cork pirates such as South Coast Radio, ERI and WKLR before coming to Galway. Today’s tape was recorded on 22nd September 1985 from 102.7 FM and includes a promo for the station at the top of the hour. Audio quality is fair to poor in places and it is not clear if this is due to a degraded cassette or a problem with the receiver or recorder.
Cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Part 1 above runs from 1458-1544 and part 2 below from 1544-1630.
Part 2 from 1544
The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
This is another recording of Galway pirate WLS Music Radio from 1985. Tony Henry is on air with laid-back music until midnight and is followed by Richie O’Shea with a more upbeat offering. There are few adverts given the time of night but one business featured is Supermac’s, now a successful west of Ireland fast-food company. The weather forecast contains a reference to ‘the bay area’, which was clearly based on the style of Radio Nova in Dublin.
Tape label from Anoraks ireland Collection.
The recording was made from 102.7 FM on 17th September 1985 and audio quality is fair with some distortion and hiss, so it is possible that the receiver was slightly off channel. Part 1 above runs from 2325-0011 and part 2 below from 0011-0057.
Part 2 from 0011
This recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
WLS Music Radio was a commercial pirate station broadcasting from Galway City from March 1985 to June 1987. It was set up by former offshore DJs Keith York (RIP) and Don Stevens who moved from South Coast Radio in Cork after it closed down in the summer of 1984. They joined existing Galway station Atlantic Sound and were later followed by fellow ex-offshore DJ Steve Marshall. The three took over Atlantic Sound and changed its format to chart music and giveaways, but by St. Patrick’s Day 1985 had set up WLS from across the road on Forster Street in the city centre. WLS was supposed to stand for the clumsy ‘West Local Station’ but was in fact based on a jingle package from a longstanding Chicago station of the same name that continues to broadcast today.
WLS broadcast on 846 kHz AM and initially 104 FM and later added shortwave on 6240 kHz. WLS switched to 102.7 in May 1985 in advance of a court case involving RTÉ. The national broadcaster alleged that WLS was interfering with television reception in Galway and had taken advertising revenue. When it moved to new premises on Prospect Hill in December 1986, WLS was praised for its high technical standards by Anoraks UK, who described it as on a par with licensed local stations in Britain. A station newsletter from late 1986/early 1987 (see below) said that its AM signal was designed to cover south Co. Galway and north Co. Clare both day and night, while its ‘superior FM stereo signal’ was aimed at the city. It also claimed to be the first pirate to broadcast in stereo to Galway.
WLS went off the air in mysterious circumstances around June 15th 1987. The City Tribune of 3rd July reported that the station had been off the air for the previous two weeks and its offices at Prospect Hill deserted. Equipment had been removed, the lock broken and the door left open. Attempts to contact manager Don Stevens were unsuccessful and he had vacated his rented accommodation in the city. An edition of the Radio West Anoraks’ Show in July 1987 reported that WLS had gone off the air after an irate investor dismantled equipment because he was unhappy with his return. In the same month, Steve Marshall and Keith York set up another successful Galway station, Coast 103, which broadcast until the end of 1988.
This recording of WLS was made on 23rd and 24th July 1985 and comprises airchecks of various programmes. The voice of Steve Marshall is heard on adverts for businesses in Galway and Castlebar. There are also agency adverts for larger national companies, a sign of the relative success of WLS just a few months after it started broadcasting. Presenters on the tape include Sarah Miles, Richie O’Shea and Brian Walsh. The 8am news is read by David Pollard and there’s also a promo for a Live Aid benefit concert to be held in Galway.
The recording was made from 101 FM in stereo and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Page 1 of 1986/7 newsletter (courtesy Ian Biggar).Page 2Page 3Page 4Page 5
