Cork’s unlicensed alternative music radio station Freak FM were ordered to ceased broadcasting following a visit by ComReg, and did so on the first day of January 2006. This is their final broadcast, recorded off 105.2MHz starting at 11.20pm and comes with a warning that it contains adult language.
Radio Retro: archiving Irish radio broadcasts since 2002
This is a day’s worth of live programming from Capital 90.3FM, Dublin’s Feel Good Beat. The date is January 7th 2006. You can listen to each individual show or listen to the whole lot in two big blocks.
10am: Dave Mooney
11am: Gar Hogan
1pm: Lee Dee
3pm-4.30pm: Dave Maguire
5pm: Dave Maguire
6pm: Danny Kearns with Essential 90s Dance
9pm: Paul Mac
10am-4.30pm
5pm-11pm
This Capital FM recording is a Radio Retro original
Adrienne O’Hora on Friday evening duty for LMFM, the licensed radio station for the Louth and Meath areas. This recording dates from January 27th 2006 and we join the programme at 9.10pm.
Tonight, one of Ireland’s most well-known broadcasters, Val Joyce, will present his last Late Date radio programme on RTÉ Radio 1 from 11.25pm.
Ana Leddy, Head of RTÉ Radio 1, complimented Val today saying; “Val has made an enormous contribution to Irish broadcasting over the past few decades, with groundbreaking music programmes and a unique approach. Val will continue to contribute to RTÉ Radio 1 and his loyal listeners can look forward to hearing his familiar voice on the airwaves again soon.”
Val has been presenting Late Date for over fifteen years. He began his broadcasting career presenting sponsored programmes including the Irish Hospitals Sweepstakes programme.
He presented Sound of the Light, the broadcasts of the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra, now known as the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and in the 1960s Val started the programme, Pop Call on Radio 1, the first ever phone-in pop request programme. On Saturday afternoons Val presented Airs and Races, a horse-racing and music programme that brought Val’s two great interests together.
Val presented Ireland’s Choice with Val Joyce on Radio 2 from its launch in 1979. At the time it was the only programme to come from the four corners of Ireland. In recent years, Val has presented Late Date on RTÉ Radio 1.
Radio Retro: archiving Irish Radio broadcasts since 2002
Val Joyce, a long night’s journey – Magill September 6th 2006
After more than 50 years on RTÉ radio, Val Joyce, host of Late Date, was axed during a curt meeting with his new boss. He talks to Colin Murphy
Val Joyce had no warning that his late night programme on Radio 1, Late Date, was being dropped from the schedule. “What happened was, there was a new broom, and the new broom decided to sweep me out under the door, and to put John Creedon in that slot,” he says. He thinks Creedon will be “too brash” for the slot.
The “new broom” is Ana Leddy, the new head of Radio 1, who in June brought Val Joyce, John Kelly and Myles Dungan into her office and, in a series of curt meetings, told each of them their shows were being axed.
Ana Leddy has said Val Joyce “will continue to contribute” to Radio 1, and he hopes to be back on air. But for now, he has no plans. He hasn’t thought about it. “Tonight’ll be the first Tuesday I’ve been at home for years,” he says. He seems bemused, tired, maybe a little angry – or at least disappointment – underneath his careful words.
There was no party. “They wanted to do something in Studio One [the largest radio studio in RTÉ]. Wine, and anybody who wanted could come in. And speeches. I said no. I couldn’t bear the hypocrisy of it.”
On his last night, on Friday 1 September, some of his old-time colleagues and friends surprised him at the studio when he came in for work and drank their way through his programme, sitting in the control room. He sat in studio with the curtain drawn over, as always, oblivious to the craic outside, as if he were, as usual, alone in the building.
When he left, at three am, there was a limousine waiting for him, organised by his daughter, but he didn’t believe it was for him and got into a taxi that had arrived as well. Arriving home, his wife, Vera, sent him back to RTÉ to get the limo.
He has had hundreds of letters and cards wishing him well. If he could use email, there’d be many more. He’ll have time now to reply to everyone, he says.
The telephone rings in his house and Vera Joyce answers it. “No he’s not retiring, nor has he retired,” she says. Val Joyce sits on the couch, nodding. “Correct,” he says to himself. Then: “Except by nature.”
Val Joyce started in radio in the 1950s, presenting sponsored programmes, including the Irish Hospitals Sweepstakes’ programme. When the television service started in 1961, he developed a nice sideline voicing commercials. He presented Sound of the Light, the broadcasts of the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra and started the programme Pop Call on Radio 1 in the 1960s.
He would cycle to work in O’Connell St, where RTÉ then had its studios on the top floor of the GPO, with his long-play records in baskets on his bicycle [he still uses the same bicycle].
Late Date, which ran for over 15 years, was characterised by his eclectic musical taste (everything, at least up to the 1970s), his engagingly eccentric chat (the liturgical calendar provided him with nightly news of saints’ feast days) and his nightly struggles with the technology that constantly threatened to overwhelm him. He talked his listeners through these struggles: “One thing I never did was pretend, when I was broadcasting. Tell it like it is,” he says. He had no sound engineer or producer and even the continuity announcers left RTÉ when he came on at night.
It never occurred to him that it was lonely. He had no idea how many people were listening. “My idea of broadcasting is that I was talking to one person all the time.”
“I hope there was more than one,” he adds. His eye twinkles.
From Hallowe’en 2006 this is the licensed launch of Phantom FM, the long-running alt-rock Dublin pirate station. We join the pre-launch countdown with ten minutes to go to the midday commencement of live programmes. We have every minute of the day’s live programming for you to enjoy.
The Phantom team just before the station launched. Front row (left to right) Jack Hyland, Peter Vamos, Simon Maher, Brian Daly, Ger Roe, Neil Austin Photo with thanks to Steve Conway
11.50am Pre-launch; launch with the Phantom team; Simon Maher with Louise Byrne on News
From 3pm Sinister Pete is let loose on the airwaves again. Emer McLysaght is on News. Listen as broadcast….
…or with the music stripped out
From 6pm Darragh Brophy takes over. Listen as broadcast….
…or with the music stripped out
From 8pm John Walshe is in the Phantom studio and Sinéad Ní Mhordha is at the launch party. Listen as broadcast….
…or with the music stripped out
Radio Retro: archiving Irish radio broadcasts since 2002
Day two for the licensed version of Phantom FM. This is every minute of live programming from their second day on air on 105.2MHz in Dublin. The day starts with Sinister Pete serving Breakfast from 7am. Then Coffey is served from 10am with Neill Austin serving up lunch from midday. Simon Maher is on from 2pm; and then Jack Hyland from 5pm. Spiral Stairs is on from 8pm and the final live programme of the day starts at 10pm.
7am Sinister Pete with Pure Morning
From 10am Edel Coffey with Access All Areas
Neill Austin from midday
From 2pm Simon Maher takes over.
At 5pm it’s Jack Hyland
From 8pm it’s Spiral Stairs
And finally from 10pm
The press covered the station’s launch…
Radio Retro: archiving Irish radio broadcasts since 2002
The first Saturday on the air for the licensed version of Phantom FM. This is every minute of live programming from their fifth day on air on 105.2MHz in Dublin. The day starts with Cathal Funge from 8am.
8am Cathal Funge starts the day
From 11am It’s Nadine O’Regan with Kiosk
Richie McCormack from midday
From 2pm it’s Stadium Rock with Richie Ryan
Next from 5pm
At 7pm Sinéad Ní Mhórdha presents The Archive
And finally from 10pm, it’s Amber
Hot Press covered the station’s weekend programming…
Radio Retro: archiving Irish radio broadcasts since 2002
Three programmes from the first Sunday on the air for the licensed version of Phantom FM off 105.2MHz in Dublin. First there’s 3 Rock Census from 6pm. From 7pm it’s Steve Conway. And then the return of Two Petes Talk Rubbish from 9pm.
6pm 3 Rock Census
From 7pm Steve Conway is back
At 9pm the return of The Two Petes Talk Rubbish
Radio Retro: archiving Irish radio broadcasts since 2002
The ninth edition of the licensed version of Phantom FM’s media industry programme presented by Ger Roe as broadcast at 9am on December 31st 2006.
If you have any old cassettes or digitised recordings that we can add here, please get in touch – radiowavesfm@radioanoraks.com or use wetransfer to the same address.