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Radio Dublin broadcasts World Music Radio

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Radio Dublin broadcasts World Music Radio
WMR QSL via Radio Dublin from 1985 (courtesy Ian Biggar).

Radio Dublin regularly carried programming from the former Dutch pirate station World Music Radio (WMR). WMR broadcast without a licence from 1967 until 1973 when it was raided by the Dutch authorities. In the 1970s and 1980s, its programmes were carried by stations in Andorra, Italy, France and Radio Dublin in Ireland. WMR has been revived on a number of occasions over the past 25 years and has broadcast from Denmark on shortwave. It currently operates an AM licence in Copenhagen. Read more about the station history here.

This relay of WMR via Radio Dublin is from 1985 and features station pioneer Lee Alvin followed by Danish DJ Oscar Hansson with European hits in various languages. A mailing address in Amsterdam is given and there are adverts for the World Radio and Television Handbook. Radio Dublin is mentioned as one of the station’s partners. A break in audio about 25 minutes into the recording is possibly due to the change-over of a cassette.

The tape was made from 1200-1247 on 9th June 1985 from 1188 kHz AM and is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Radio Skywave International was a 1980s shortwave station broadcasting from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.

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World Music Radio via Radio Dublin

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

World Music Radio via Radio Dublin

World Music Radio started as a land-based pirate in the north of the Netherlands in the mid 1960s. It continued broadcasting most Sundays on shortwave until it was raided in August 1973. Our colleague Ian Biggar of DX Archive remembers listening to the station: ‘I missed the original WMR, but first heard it in 1976 on 6230 kHz legally, via the transmitters of Radio Andorra. It tried to be a commercial station on shortwave, but the sponsors were just not there and programmes became sporadic as funds run out. There were religious programmes on shortwave, but regular advertisers just did not seem interested in a worldwide audience’.

Ian describes how WMR was broadcast on Radio Dublin: ‘Eventually they tried to get stations to pay for their programming, but I doubt if this brought in much cash either. I am not sure what the arrangement was with Radio Dublin, but doubt if Eamon Cooke paid for the programmes. Originally the arrangement was that WMR was aired early Sunday mornings on shortwave, but programmes were slotted in on other occasions’.

World Music Radio via Radio Dublin

As well as Andorra and Ireland, over the years WMR was heard via transmitters in Italy, South Africa and nowadays in Denmark. You can learn more here. Ian heard WMR many times on both shortwave and medium wave via Radio Dublin and as the QSLs show, both before and after the 1988 act. The recording features DJ Lee Alvin. This professional broadcaster was very much an influence for some young would-be broadcasters in the 1970s with his programmes on WMR as well as Radio Kaleidoscope and Radio Jackie in London.  

This recording was made from 1100-1145 on the 7th of February 1984 from Radio Dublin’s Channel 2 on 98.7 FM. It is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.