Remembering Waterford's Super-pirate of the 1980's!
ABC Radio fell silent twenty years ago - in December 1988. For six years the station shone brightly and provided a platform for talented, maverick, young broadcasters to learn their craft, almost all of which still work in broadcasting today.
With the Radio & Television Act 1988, forever closing the door on a period where imagination and technical innovation once ruled the airwaves, many much loved radio stations like ABC Radio, South Coast Radio, Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio have become legend.
Their pioneering efforts might have been frowned on by the establishment but they helped pave the way for legal local broadcasting and their groundbreaking formats were implemented in many European radio stations. The rare picture (left) shows Stuart Clark and Andy Ellis during test broadcasts the day before ABC Radio opened. It was taken in their Tramore caravan studio on March 1st 1982.
Before ABC Radio, local pirate broadcasting had been lacking the expertise and professionalism to make a really serious case for local radio but this new competition on the airwaves helped drive the other stations to up their game. The listeners were the real winners.
For the listeners it was all about the music, and ABC Radio's music loving broadcasters served it up 24 hours a day.
ABC Radio lived up to its early promise of being 'The Music Leader!' - the station was always live (with no computers back then!) the signal was crystal clear and considerably more powerful than the other local stations, meeting exceptionally high (and groundbreaking) technical standards as well as providing the south east with its first, local, stereo broadcasts. Our picture shows Mike Cotee and Stuart Clark in the doorway of Tramore's Hi-B Hotel - a regular venue for the highly popular ABC Radio Roadshow.
In 1989, ABC Radio, like Radio Nova and others entered a forum to license local radio but was ultimately passed over and the chance to broadcast legally was lost forever. Its influence, however, on the local airwaves today remains undeniable.
The business of commercial radio (and perhaps the listening pleasure) isn't
the same today and, due to the iPod and other recent technical innovation, young people will never again understand the viseral thrill of 'tuning in' a pirate broadcast...but over twenty years on from the original broadcasts we 'turn back the clock' and present the sound of a station, which is still fondly remembered today.
To those who took part...they know that this period was a very special time... and it will never happen again.
To those who listened and to those who supported this exciting experiment in broadcasting...we thank you!
If you'd like to learn more about the origins and people behind ABC Radio please click here for more... History of ABC Radio
With the Radio & Television Act 1988, forever closing the door on a period where imagination and technical innovation once ruled the airwaves, many much loved radio stations like ABC Radio, South Coast Radio, Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio have become legend.
Their pioneering efforts might have been frowned on by the establishment but they helped pave the way for legal local broadcasting and their groundbreaking formats were implemented in many European radio stations. The rare picture (left) shows Stuart Clark and Andy Ellis during test broadcasts the day before ABC Radio opened. It was taken in their Tramore caravan studio on March 1st 1982.Before ABC Radio, local pirate broadcasting had been lacking the expertise and professionalism to make a really serious case for local radio but this new competition on the airwaves helped drive the other stations to up their game. The listeners were the real winners.
For the listeners it was all about the music, and ABC Radio's music loving broadcasters served it up 24 hours a day.
ABC Radio lived up to its early promise of being 'The Music Leader!' - the station was always live (with no computers back then!) the signal was crystal clear and considerably more powerful than the other local stations, meeting exceptionally high (and groundbreaking) technical standards as well as providing the south east with its first, local, stereo broadcasts. Our picture shows Mike Cotee and Stuart Clark in the doorway of Tramore's Hi-B Hotel - a regular venue for the highly popular ABC Radio Roadshow. In 1989, ABC Radio, like Radio Nova and others entered a forum to license local radio but was ultimately passed over and the chance to broadcast legally was lost forever. Its influence, however, on the local airwaves today remains undeniable.
The business of commercial radio (and perhaps the listening pleasure) isn't
the same today and, due to the iPod and other recent technical innovation, young people will never again understand the viseral thrill of 'tuning in' a pirate broadcast...but over twenty years on from the original broadcasts we 'turn back the clock' and present the sound of a station, which is still fondly remembered today. To those who took part...they know that this period was a very special time... and it will never happen again.
To those who listened and to those who supported this exciting experiment in broadcasting...we thank you!
If you'd like to learn more about the origins and people behind ABC Radio please click here for more... History of ABC Radio