Full recording: WLS Music Radio (Galway)

Full recording: WLS Music Radio (Galway)
WLS letterhead courtesy of Ian Biggar/DX Archive.

This is a recording of WLS Music Radio from Galway, in the early months of the station in 1985. At this stage WLS was broadcasting from Kiltartan House on Forster Street, just across the road from its rival Atlantic Sound. Leading Atlantic DJs Keith York (RIP) and Don Stevens left Atlantic in March 1985 to set up WLS.

Full recording: WLS Music Radio (Galway)
A current view of Kiltartan House, Forster Street, Galway from where WLS Music Radio broadcast in 1985 (photo by John Walsh).

WLS broadcast initially on 846 kHz AM and 104 FM. This recording is of Richie O’Shea from 1303-1427 (with Sarah Myers on news) on the 28th of May 1985. This was just a few days after RTÉ was granted a temporary injunction against Don Stevens and Keith York of WLS preventing them from causing interference to television reception in Galway. According to the Anoraks UK Weekly Report, WLS moved to 102.7 FM before the court case in order to stop the interference. In June 1986 a permanent injunction was granted to RTÉ preventing WLS from interfering with television reception of RTÉ 2. RTÉ were claiming a £30,000 loss in advertising revenue due to WLS.

Despite the audio processing and clear FM signal on this recording there are a few on-air glitches and adverts are pretty thin on the ground, possibly as a result of adverse publicity around the interference. However following the closure of Atlantic in June 1985, WLS quickly mopped up local advertising revenue and went on to become Galway’s largest commercial station until its closure in 1987. Our thanks to Ian Biggar for sharing this recording.