What Do DJs Dream About?
Posted: January 20, 2013 Filed under: Early Phantom, In My Imagination, Life, offshore, Phantom 105.2, radio, Radio Caroline, Radio presenting, Radio Seagull, Ross Revenge, Ships | Tags: Dreams, life, Phantom, radio, Radio Caroline 1 Comment »Steam-punk style radio ships, terrible choices, but above all: dead air.
I often tell people that many of the ideas for my stories and posts come to me in the small hours of the morning, but this one is very literally so – I’m writing this fresh out of bed, having just woken from one of those dreams . . you know, the ones radio presenters seem to have.
This one was a modern variation on the age-old basic theme, so before I recount my latest fevered imaginings, let’s have a look at the theme.
We all have a vast array of dreams, from the wild and wonderful to the mundane, and of those we can remember amongst the many unique and sometimes inexplicable ones there are also those that come from time to time that fit into certain basic themes that many people share: dreams of childhood, encounters with partners long estranged and parents and other relatives who have passed away. There are the erotic or romantic dreams, repetitive and unfinished dreams, and of course the classic dreams of anxiety.
Many people seem to dream of finding themselves naked in strange places, but I don’t seem to suffer from those.
For me it is usually a different terror – I find myself back on the day of my first Leaving Cert exam, conscious that the results will affect my life and job prospects, but somehow aware at the same time that it has been 30 years since my last class, I’ve forgotten almost everything of the course, and the exam is about to start NOW. (there is also another one I have occasionally, where I have to choose between going back out to sea with Caroline and losing my home and financial stability, or going on shore and being stable, but missing out on wonderful times)
These are all dreams or types of dreams that most, if not all people share
But there is another dream, which comes maybe once or twice a year, which I call the DJs dream.
The details vary slightly from time to time, but the basic formula is always the same (hey, that sounds like a description of commercial radio formats!)
I’m in a radio studio, on air. It’s a really important show. This is make or break for me. I’ve (unaccountably) been asked to fill in for someone on a huge station, BBC Radio 1 or RTE 2FM or some such. It’s a one-off, but if I perform well I will be invited back.
The track is coming to an end and I can’t find my next one. (In years gone by the dream would having me desperately trying to cue a vinyl record but unable to find the right groove on the album for the track, these days it is more often flicking through a set of CDs or playout system and unable to find anything that will play). or perhaps, as the song run out, and the dreaded silence starts, I really want to press play on the next track, but my arms just won’t move . .
Minute follows minute of agonising dead air, and I desperately struggle to hit something that will put audio back onto the airwaves again. I know everyone is listening, judging. My opportunity is slipping away and I am helpless . . .
I thought that was my dream alone, but over the years I’ve heard it back from many other people in the industry, all of whom, like myself, are (or seem to be) normal, well-adjusted presenters, with no particular anxieties, content with their careers etc. I guess it comes from the horror of dead air that fills the radio presenter, and fact that we are so keyed up during our shows to be ready to put something – anything – on that will fill the gap left by a misfiring computer or a suddenly defunct CD.
Speaking of misfiring computers, I had a dream around 8 months ago that I was totally alone on a radio ship miles out at sea (I think it was Radio Seagull) and about to go live on air. I had my laptop with playout system and tens of thousands of tracks with me, and an outstanding playlist prepared. The studio was ready to go, except that no where on board could I find a cable to connect the laptop to the mixing desk, and there was no one else on board to help me, and no other music, only what was on my laptop . .
As I’ve been a newsreader as well as a presenter, I sometimes have a different style of the dream. This comes about once a year also, and in it I am back out at sea with Radio Caroline, which is for some reason broadcasting again on high power AM, and expecting at any moment to see a government tug coming over the horizon to take us away. We’ll only be here for a few days before the powers that be silence us, so it’s really important for us to make those few days count. And day after day after day in this dream I wake up at around 9am to find that I have overslept and missed my morning news shift. That’s bad, but at least I have an evening show. But I fall asleep again and miss that too. Today, and tomorrow, and the day after . . .
The Radio Caroline of my dreams (I’m talking actual dreams here rather than aspirations) is a very strange place.
The ship. seeming perfectly normal above the waterline is yet enormously bigger underneath, with vast Lord-Of-The-Rings style underworld caverns full of clanking machinery, unguarded pits, and hissing steam pipes.
Hissing steam pipes? Yes, for in these dreams the radio ship is steam powered, and down in the very darkest depths our engineer can be found stoking an enormous furnace . .
Above the waterline it is different too, with extra corridors of lavishly furnished cabins, which we discover during the dream, and wonder how we could have been unaware of them all the years that we were previously out at sea.
The dream I’ve just woken from this morning though, was biased in the other direction – modern, clean, but equally frustrating.
Along with Simon Maher, Richie McCormack and other former Phantom 105.2 heads, I am in a makeshift radio studio in London. We’ve decided to bring the goodness of old-style pirate Phantom to London, and are launching a temporary licenced station to bring Irish indie and unsigned music to the UK, convinced that we will take the market by storm.
Richie is presenting the breakfast show, and I’m the news guy.
It’s just touching 8am, and time for the first news bulletin. I have, for some reason, typed it into my iPhone, and will be reading it from that.
As the news jingle tails away I have lost my place on the phone, and am swiping through the various home screens desperately trying to find the notepad app. The dead air is beginning, and Richie starts ad-libbing to fill it, looking at me anxiously. I find the app, but am then confronted with a seemingly endless set of pages of other text i have to swipe aside to get to the news bulletin I have prepared.
This is so unfair – I’ve slaved over this bulletin, I’ve bought stories from AP and reuters, I’ve chased down stories myself, this was going to be the perfect, pithy yet punchy two minutes of news, But i can’t find it and I’m swiping and swiping and swiping . . . time stretches on, it’s five past 8, then ten past, and poor Richie is still ad-libbing, while managing to stay remarkably patient. He should be killing me by now.
I have an idea. We’re an Irish rooted station. Why don’t I go to the RTE news site and give our public some Irish news? I quickly find RTE news on the phone, prepared at this point just to read out their stories verbatim, but all that comes up is a series of ads for an Irish Garden Festival due to be held in five years time . .
As with all these dreams, there is never any resolution, and poor Richie is probably waiting still. It does dawn on me that that it might come as a surprise to the poor guy to find himself starring in my nightmare, but hey, my subconscious was obviously going to go with the top-flight A-list presenters for this important venture, so who else could I possibly have chosen? The guy was a legend on breakfast.
Well, from vinyl to CDs to playout systems to apps, my dreams of radio are adapting to modern technology, but the underlying theme is staying the same.
Well, at least that’s it done for the moment. There won’t be another radio-based nightmare for six to nine months or so, and goodness knows what technology I’ll be using in that one . .
Steve
The Day I Realised I Was One Of THEM
Posted: January 10, 2012 Filed under: Classic Rock, Early Phantom, Events, IT, IT Support, Life, Listeners, Music, New Music, Phantom 105.2 | Tags: Getting Old, Microsoft, Music, New Music, radio, Rolling Stones, Windows 95 1 Comment »
I was always on the rebel side.
It was Us versus Them, the forces of rock and roll and musical freedom struggling against the older generation, those in power, the corporate and musical estblishment whose music was of a bygone age. I was always on the side of “Us” and would never change. Or so I thought . .
Of course, my friend and onetime Caroline colleague Christopher England would tell me differently. Chris has many hobby horses, and one of them is a dislike of “oldie music” and a disdain for how quickly the new young thrusting generation become oldies themselves, despising newer music from a younger generation, and believing that theirs was the only true generation of revolution. Chris talks about this a lot, but it was not Chris who brought me to see the error of my ways, though funnily enough my moment of realisation did come when I was in his company, sitting beside him in a darkened theatre in central London, waiting for a tech launch.
Chris is my tech mentor in life you see. Even though I have been involved in IT for more than 30 years, and have worked either directly or on projects for the biggest names in the business - Microsoft, Apple, Dell, Compaq, HP – Chris has always been at least two steps ahead of me when it comes to living in the future.
My first ever mobile phone? Reccomended and procured for me by Chris (who had earlier got me into that great yuppie trend of the late 80s, the pager).
It was Chris who told me about the Orange network, which had this unique new geeky feature not available on any other network, the facility to send short SMS text messages. My first messages were to and from Chris.
Christopher England, in hiding.
When, at a technology exhibition in Earls Court in 1992 I tried out a very early video-phone on the BT stand, it was Chris who was the blocky, pixellated face at the other end, jerking around at a rate of about 2 or 3 frames per second (or that’s what it seemed like anyway). Skype was far, far in the future in those days.
It was Chris who first mentioned some weird tech start up called Twitter, long before it was anything other than a curiosity, and at least two years before it became mainstream.
Not all of his playthings went on to success however. I vividly remember a huge, multi-caller, interactive premium-rate phoneline called “The Villa” which he was an administrator of, into which you could dial if you wanted to meet and interact with people. By pressing commands on the phone you could go into different areas of the villa, meet different people in different rooms, play games, chat etc. It was woefully clunky and terribly expensive, but I can’t help thinking back to it when I see some of the interactions on Facebook.
And so it was that when Microsoft were launching their huge step forward that was Windows 95, it was Chris that I was sitting beside in a large theatre or other such place somewhere in central London. I can’t remember the exact date, but a look back at the launch schedule for Windows 95 tells me that this must have been sometime around, or just before, August 1995.
As we sat waiting for the show to begin, I was very pleased to hear a Rolling Stones track “Start Me Up” being played. (of course, prior to the launch we would not have known that this was a planned part of the whole Win95 theme, in reference to the “Start” menu).
I remember thinking that, after years of big corporate giants being very conservative and oldies focussed in their music for events like this, that it was great that finally they were moving forward, and recognising the value of “our” generation’s music, being young and rebellious, rather than middle aged. Maybe we were winning our battles after all!
And then it hit me, and that one single moment changed my whole worldview on music. This was not big business recognising the value of youthful rebellious music. This was my generation, and our music having been around for long enough that people of my age were now moving up into positions of corporate and government responsibility. This was my generation’s music, in effect, becoming the new “safe” choice, favoured by people drifting towards middle age. This was the moment that I realised that, without so much as a whisper of warning, time had played the cruellest trick of all, and now “we” were becoming “them”.
And sure enough, the signs were there. A new generation of music bubbling under that was not really listened to by my generation, the fact that our music was now increasingly playlisted on mainstream radio . .
From that day on, I could see the truth in Christopher England’s polemic about how closed people’s minds became to everything new over time, and I resolved to think and act differently myself. And this was a good time to do it, as around about the same time as Microsoft was launching Windows 95 another giant was rethinking its strategy, as the BBC started a revemp of Radio 1, to howls of protest from established presenters and audience, that would see a new generation of presenters coming on board, bringing with them the new wave of dance, rock and alternative sounds that had been there, but ignored for quite some time.
Later I was to end up at Phantom FM in Dublin, where for 11 years I was constantly fed a diet of new bands and live gigs. That really helped me to stay up to date, and I couldn’t help but smile when, on the station’s message board in the mid noughties, I saw listeners complaining about how the new music it was playing now was not the same as the new music it had been playing five years earlier.
“They are playing crap aimed at 16 year olds” these 21 year olds would complain, “not like when we were 16, the music was much better then”.
Having recently left Phantom to strike out on my own, I’m working harder than ever to keep up to date on new music, and try to feature a minimum of 50% new material on my shows each week on Radio Seagull. I don’t have the dislike of oldies that Chris has, but on the other hand I don’t have the dislike of modern music that so many of my contemporaries seem to have grown into.
And, though it is itself an “oldie” now in computing terms, that’s as good a reason to be thankful for Windows 95 as any.
Steve
Facing Death At Dawn . . And Life Afterwards
Posted: November 20, 2011 Filed under: 10 Things, broadcast engineering, Early Phantom, non-Fiction, offshore, Phantom 105.2, radio, Radio Caroline, Ross Revenge, Shiprocked!, Ships, storms at sea, Technology, Weather | Tags: Change, Goodwin Sands, International Waters, life, Life Changing Experiences, Pirate Radio, radio, Radio Caroline, Rescue, Storms, Survivor, UK, Weather 3 Comments »
The past is indeed another country, but the future is a map that we can draw for ourselves if we dare.
It was 20 years ago this morning, (20th November 1991) that I came to the end of the roughest night I had ever known in all my years at sea with Radio Caroline, and faced what I came to believe would be my last ever dawn.
Aground on the infamous Goodwin Sands, which have claimed hundreds of ships and thousands of lives, we were gradually rolling over, each wave pushing us a little closer to the tipping point where the ship would capsize. Ironically, although there was not enough water to float her, there was more than enough to flood into her and fill her up if we went sideways . . more than enough to drown in.
The waves were towering in the North Easterly Force 11 winds, the seas icy – we wouldn’t have lasted more than a few minutes if we went over.
The brave men of Ramsgate Lifeboat had already tried to rescue us and failed, running aground themselves, losing a man overboard in the process (happily quickly recovered by safety line). Now we were waiting for the helicopter, but it seemed we would be in the water before it arrived . .
Certain that we would be drowning in minutes, the floor beneath us already at a 45 degree angle, we hugged each other, shook hands, and said goodbye. We knew we were going to our doom . .
ITV teletext reports on our rescue - photo Geoff Rogers
The story of that morning, and our eventual rescue by the RAF helicopter R166 is described in detail in my book Shiprocked – Life On The Waves With Radio Caroline, but even the printed word cannot do justice to the memories which are still vividly seared onto my brain, even all these years later.
I absolutely believed that I was about to die, and that morning, and in particular that moment, has changed my life since then.
The 20 years I have lived since that morning on the Goodwins is a bonus, and the older I have got, the more I have appreciated this, and the more I have lived my life with zeast and purpose. The sudden seeming end of Caroline in 1991 (though not the final end, as it has bounced back and is adpating to a new age) instilled in me a knowledge of the impermanance of states of being, and ensured that when I got involved with Phantom FM in later years I treasured each moment, and drove myself to both give and take the maximum from every day that I worked there.
In life too, I reach out with lust for living to take the most from each day, and push myself to do and experience more and newer things.
Life is a bonus, and I am determined to spend that bonus to the full.
Many people around me comment on my seemingly unflappable calm when faced with difficult situations. This too comes from that morning on the Goodwins, for as I see it, I have been minutes from an icy drowning death, so why should anything that happens in a more normal work or life based situation cause me to panic?
Time has been kind to Radio Caroline too, and that morning, seemingly a point of closure for the station was to be in fact the first step in forcing it to adapt to a new path, which though seemingly bleak for much of the 1990s, has blossomed in latter years into an unprecedented period of stable broadcasts, with new technology enabling the station to be heard in undreamed of quality in previously unreachable countries.
20 years on I have spent the night of the 19th/20th November sipping wine with close friends, and thanking my lucky stars for all the richness of life and the benefits of new technology that both I and Radio Caroline have enjoyed in the last 20 years.
It’s right to raise a glass and look back, but the biggest gift of all is to be able to raise my gaze and look forwards.
Steve
You Always Remember Your First . .
Posted: April 20, 2011 Filed under: 1980s, Early Phantom, Irish writing, Literary Agent, Love, Music, New writing, Newsreading, non-Fiction, offshore, Phantom 105.2, Publishing, radio, Radio Caroline, Radio presenting, Radio Seagull, Seven Towers, Sex, Shiprocked! | Tags: First Time, George W Bush, Greenday, life, Love, Memory, radio, Writing 2 Comments »A collection of some of the milestones in my life, some important, some quirky!
First memory . . in a cot in my parents room, playing cars by driving my fingers around the blanket . . into transport and machinery even before I could walk!
First (earliest) memory that I can specifically date: the night before my third birthday, travelling down to Mitchelstown in our old Ford 100E sitting on my mother’s lap. The alternator/dynamo was failing and the car lights were dimming . . I remember being carried up the boreen to my great grandfathers farmhouse at midnight after we had broken down just short of our destination. Then I remember my third birthday itself, and my Great Uncle Billy telling me I was a “big boy” and giving me a toy tractor to play with.
First book read. . Can’t remember what was first, but I was an avid reader. I was really into Greek mythology as a child, and had read the Illiad and Odyssey by the age of 8.
First girlfriend . . When I was only about 6 I had a thing for Laura from down the road. Start as you mean to go on!
First time on TV . . There exists in the RTE Archives some footage of a nine-year-old me wandering through a field in Kerry picking blackberries, as part of a “Landmark” special on farmhouse holidays.
First record bought . . Jeff Wayne “Forever Autumn” from War of the Worlds, in 1978.
First Kiss . . Maggie from New Cross, where are you?
First dance . . some very kind Co. Clare woman took pity on me when I was all alone at the disco on our school trip to The Burren, and whisked me around the floor to the envy of my classmates. I can still remember the smell of her hair . .
First proper job . . (excluding working in the family business), my first actual job was a week as a door to door salesman in 1982. I must have have knocked on half the doors in Dublin, and made only £13 in commission before giving it up.
First car . . A lovely Fiat 500 passed down from my mother. If cars could talk, it would have a tale or two to tell!
First heartbreak . . Yes, it’s Maggie from New Cross again. If you want to know what went wrong, see pages 11/12 of Shiprocked, Life On The Waves With Radio Caroline. It’s true, I really was that innocent!
First record I played on the radio . . Joan Jett – “Bad Reputation” (on South East Sound, July 1985)
First record I played on Radio Caroline . . Percy Sledge – “When A Man Loves A Woman”
First time abroad . . England for the 1966 World Cup. (actually it was my Dad who went for the football, I was just a toddler).
First words written to start writing the book (that became Shiprocked) . . “The call came at the worst possible time . .” (Later I realised that I needed more background about what had happened leading up to my joining Caroline, so that first line written is now many pages into the finished version).
First Draft (of Shiprocked) . . 225,000 words. Redrafted on my own account to 176,000 words to tighten up. But then cut down to 90,000 words for publication . . that was tough!
First (of many!) rejection letters . . 1993 from an agent in London. It would be another 15 years and many more rejections before I came across Seven Towers Agency, who have been utterly brilliant in supporting me, and in refusing to take no for an answer.
First interview as a published author . . The day Shiprocked was published, I was interviewed by Sinead Ni Mhordha on Phantom’s Access All Areas show. I was used to hearing Sinead interview great rock bands, and was just blown away that she was interviewing me. Forget TV3 forget The irish Times, it was sitting across the desk from Sinead that I really felt like I’d arrived!
First show on Phantom . . November 2000, the breakfast show. I started with a news bulletin, so my very first words on air were to inform the world that George W Bush had just been confirmed president following the final court hearing into vote counts. My first record was Greenday – “Minority” – as good a musicical start as any!
That’s it for now – let’s hope I have many more “firsts” still to come.
Steve
After 11 years, I bow out from Phantom
Posted: March 22, 2011 Filed under: Early Phantom, Music, New Music, Phantom 105.2, Radio Caroline, Radio presenting, Radio Seagull | Tags: Dublin, Funny clips, Goodbye, Ireland, Old Phantom, Phantom 105.2, Pirate Radio, radio 2 Comments »
- Feeling relaxed in the Phantom studio on a Sunday afternoon
After 11 very happy and eventful years with the Dublin Indie-rock station Phantom, I presented my last show on St. Patricks Day. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with Phantom, but increasing time pressures from my other activities mean that I have had to make some choices about what to focus my energies on.
I can still be heard every Saturday 6-8am (repeated 6-8pm) on Radio Seagull(AM in The Netherlands and online) with a show devoted to rock in all its forms and featuring a minimum of 50% newly released material, and each Monday 2-4pm on Radio Caroline (Sky Digital ch.0199 and online ) playing album tracks from the last 50 years, including new releases. And I am currently in the planning stages of a new venture that will give exposure to independent and unsigned Irish bands and artists.
I have very many happy memories from my 11 years with Phantom, and I will post some of them here over the next little while.
For now I’d like to thank everyone from all of the eras of Phantom, pirate to temporary to commercial, for making me so welcome, and to wish the great team charged with taking the station into the future all the success in the world.
I’ll leave you with a little memory from my early days with the station, when we broadcast from a secret base above Whelans of Wexford Street, and an “unexpected splash of colour” on the breakfast show:
Phantom Breakfast – Aug 2001 (click to play – format: mp3)
- In Phantom’s old studio, in the pirate days.
Those were the days my friend . . .
Steve
Space, Light & Music
Posted: January 17, 2011 Filed under: Phantom 105.2 | Tags: Dublin, Newstalk, Phantom 105.2, radio, Today FM Leave a comment »
- Phantom 2011 style
Over the weekend I had my first chance tobroadcast from Phantom 105.2′s new studios in Digges Lane, and I have to say I was very impressed.
The equipment is top-notch – but that is the least part of it. Space and light is all around you, and its remarkable how such an uncluttered environment frees your creativity to a greater degree.
The facilities outside studio are a step up too, but the best thing about the location is something that cannot be photographed – the buzz and friendliness of the other occupants of the building, the national stations Today FM and Newstalk. Even though I was only there at odd hours of the weekend, I lost count of all of the people from the other stations who made a point of coming up to introduce themselves to me, and the regular weekday staff on Phantom say it’s just the same in primetime.
It’s great also to be back in the vibrant comercial and musical heart of the city we serve. Roll on the rest of 2011.
Steve
Shows on Phantom this weekend (15/16 Jan 2011)
Posted: January 13, 2011 Filed under: Music, New Music, Phantom 105.2, Random Access | Tags: Dublin, Ireland, P J Harvey, Phantom 105.2, radio Leave a comment »
I’ll be getting to try out Phantom’s snazzy new studios this weekend as I am on covering two shows on 15/16 Jan 2011.
Saturday I’ll be in from midday to 2.30pm, and back in my old stomping ground Sunday 7-9pm hosting Random Access, the all-request show.
It’s also worth mentioning that our Arts show, The Kiosk, hosted by Nadine O’Regan will be giving away P J Harvey’s entire back catalogue on Saturday morning, 11 to midday (i.e. just before me).
Phantom is on 105.2fm in Dublin and surrounding counties.
On UPC cable ch.935 in Irish cities.
Worldwide via the Phantom iPhone app, and at www.phantom.ie
Steve
Phantom moves away from the water – but still makes waves
Posted: January 8, 2011 Filed under: Phantom 105.2 | Tags: Communicorp, Dublin, Phantom 105.2 Leave a comment »
- Studio with a view
Dublin’s Phantom 105.2 completed its move to new studio facilities in the city centre today, leaving behind the old dockside building that was its home since its launch as a legal station in October 2006.
While I will be sad to leave the view of passing shipping behind, I’m not sorry to be leaving what must be one of the ugliest buildings in Docklands.
Meanwhile the internet is buzzing with various stories about what lies ahead for Phantom in the future, now it has an investment from, and shares facilities with the Communicorp radio group. The fact that Phantom’s future matters to so many, and is discussed with such interest, shows the interest that Dublin’s alternative music station commands.
Will there be changes? Of course there will be – what doesn’t change, dies.
If Phantom had not being willing to make the change from pirate to temporary legal, and again to full-time legal, it would never have survived to today.
The move to Marconi House, situated between Georges and Grafton Streets puts Phantom right in the vibrant heart of the city, and back in the same part of town where its most creative pirate years were spent.
I don’t know what high-level plans are in place for the station – nor would I expect to know – but I can tell you that everyone from the CEO Ger Roe, down to occasional part-timers like myself, is enthused about the future, raring to go to meet the challenges ahead, and happy to work for the coolest station in the city.
Left behind - the ugliest building in Docklands!
Steve
In 2010, I Lived.
Posted: December 31, 2010 Filed under: 10 Things, 1980s, Dublin photos, Fiction, Irish writing, Love, Music, New Music, New writing, non-Fiction, Odd photos, offshore, Phantom 105.2, Prose, radio, Radio Caroline, Radio presenting, Radio Seagull, Ross Revenge, Sex, Shiprocked!, Ships, storms at sea, Weather | Tags: 2010, Bristol, Dublin Airport, emotion, Growth, Hot Air Balloon, Music, Offshore Radio, Opera, Radio Caroline, Radio Seagull, review, RNLI, Sunrise, Sunset 2 Comments »
- Looking back . . the sun and all that is Dublin can be seen from the very tip of the Great South Wall in the centre of Dublin Bay
Looking back, I can’t recall another year in my life when I have lived as vividly as I did in 2010.
Despite 2010 being bleak economically and politically both home in Ireland and pretty much everywhere else in the west, despite long hours and stress in various workplaces, despite some non-threatening but quite inconveniencing medical blips, despite my car heater dying just in time for the coldest December since records began . . 2010 was a year in which I really lived, in which old emotions were reawakened, and new ones discovered, and my store of life experience grew more than it has done in a long time.
I had set myself a challenge at the end of 2009 to start doing things I had never done before, to open myself to new experiences beyond my comfort zone. And while I didn’t get to the arbitrary goal of “10 things” during the year, I reached 5, two of which were experiences that profoundly moved or enriched me, and a third which brought back childhood memories entwined in a futuristic setting.
Not all of the great things that happened to me during the year were as a result of this self-challenge, but perhaps the attitude it engendered in me of being more open filtered through to other things too.
So what made my year?
Well, some unique experiences came about as i sought to push myself into new things.
Taking part in the Bristol Balloon Fiesta was certainly a “high” point of the year, and my first ever hot-air balloon flight, as part of a mass ascent of more than 80 balloons within an hour at dawn, was a unique and moving experience, so much so that I felt to write about it in purely descriptive journalistic terms would be . . to miss some indefinable element of the experience.
Twisting it in my mind, it instead inspired me to write a short story “A Bristol Awakening” that is neither fact nor fiction, but also both. A very intimate story, it has been received well at a number of public readings, especially by women, and I am hoping to see it published in 2011.
Launching from a Bristol hillside at dwan, with ballons of every shape and size coming before and after us
Drifting lazily and silently through the sky over Bristol, with the Avon Gorge, the Bristol Channel and Wales visible in the distance
Slightly more down to earth, though involving a different sort of (non) flying, as one of my challenges I put myself forward to the Dublin Airport Authority to be one of the special testers of the new Terminal 2 before it opened. Apart from fulfilling my curiosity about the new building, and allowing me a sneak peek at new transport infrastructure, which I’ve always been interested in, the experience reminded me of aspects of my past that I had long forgotten, and also gave me a chance to get my own back on customs, just for once. You can read the details in my post Mr. Beagle Goes To London (Not).
Something I have never wanted to do, and felt I would always avoid, enriched my life and gave me a wonderful experience when i tried it as part of the “going outside my comfort zone” element of my 10-things challenge. A visit to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, accompanied by a an impossibly glamourous companion, opened a whole new world of experience, sight, sound, and stimulation to me. I enjoyed it more than I could possibly have imagined, and do intend to write up the experience here at a later date.
Somewhere I never thought I would see myself!
Pushing myself outside my comfort zone, doing what I would not normally consider doing was one of the elements i wanted to achieve in drawing up my list of 10 things, and I am so very glad I did this.
As the year comes to an end, I’ve so far ticked off 5 things, and have more still in planning, with some space left on the list for spontenaity.
So 2011 should continue in similar vein, and to be honest, when I reach 10, why stop there?
Of course, there were other things which made 2010 an exceptional year for me, some planned, others unexpected.
A couple of things that really moved me were radio related, and did not come about as a result of my challenge list.
Going in March to Ramsgate to do a reading from Shiprocked for the benefit of the RNLI, brought me face to face with the men who came to my rescue on one of the darkest days of my life, 19 years earlier.
Meeting the crew of the lifeboat who battled through a Force 10 NE to come to our aid when the Caroline ship was aground on the Goodwin Sands was a profoundly humbling experience, all the more so because of the warmth of the welcome I received, and the support they showed for Caroline despite having been put through hell that morning and nearly losing their own lives on account of our stubborn decision to stay on board the apparently doomed vessel.
- The high point of my year, meeting the Ramsgate Lifeboat crew, left to right is John G Ray, myself, and Ray Noble.
I won’t forget the men of the Ramsgate Lifeboat, and will be making another fundraising trip to see them in November 2011, on the 20th anniversary of the grounding.
The same weekend I revisited the Ross Revenge for the first time in many years, and was invited to join the current-day lineup of Caroline on satellite, which, despite the many years of my absence, felt like a real homecoming.
(I can be heard on Caroline every Monday 2-4pm, Sky Digital Ch.0199 and via RadioCaroline.co.uk )
Another emotional moment came about in May, after I had been invited to join the crew of the Dutch station Radio Seagull, which was celebrating a month long offshore broadcast, 8 miles of the coast of Friesland.
There were many memories stirred by being offshore for the first time since 1991, though the most intense of these was to come on me unexpectedly.
- Back at sea, and approaching a radioship . . . ah, the ghosts are stirring!
- To raise my head from sleeping, and peer through a murky porthole to see nothing but grey rolling sea is, for me, a heaven of moody solitude.
The week I spent at sea with Radio Seagull was bliss, with old memories awoken, and new friends and new memories made at every moment of each day. (See the posts OFFSHORE AGAIN and Seagull Day 1 and More Seagull Pictures and Clear White Light and A Ferry Large Tender as well as Seagull Offshore – The Pictures for the week as I blogged it at the time)
But the most vivid experience of that week came for me, unexpectedly, in the middle of the night and alone, and had nothing to do with the radio side of the visit. Being given the job of staying up on watch overnight for one of the nights, while usually regarded a something of a chore, for me brought both fear and redemption, as I was finally able to lay to rest the ghosts of what had happened on the Caroline ship, many years earlier, when we drifted, unheeding, onto the deadly Goodwin Sands.
For all that the storm in 1991 had been so fierce, and our ship so run down and unable to navigate that we could not have resisted being swept onto the Goodwin Sands even if we had realised earlier that our anchor chain had broken, I had carried with me these many years a nagging sliver guilt that I should have known, should have been more alert, should have done better.
Now, here I was again, and for the first time since that fateful night, entrusted to watch over a ship at anchor at sea, and in the grips of bad weather too. I was both siezed with fear that it would all go terribly wrong on my watch, and grateful for the chance to prove myself dilligent and keep the most careful of watches. I checked our position regularly, I did a full round of the ship and checked the anchoring cables every hour, I saw us safely through to dawn, and I slayed a dragon that had slumbered in a corner of my mind for many years.
3am and all is well on board the Jenni Baynton
The week was over too soon, but I was delighted to be asked to join the staff of Radio Seagull and to contribute a weekly show from my own studio in Dublin, with my own choice of music – a mix of new and alternative music as well as classic rock, with a bit of blues and soul mixed in. Presenting these shows on Seagull have been an immensely satisfying experience for me.
(I can be heard 7-9 am and pm each Saturday, on 1602Khz MW in The Netherlands, and worldwide at RadioSeagull.com )
Phantom 105.2 in Dublin also continued to be a source of great enjoyment for me, and though I had to move away from regular weekend shows towards the end of the year due to domestic commitments, the station and its staff still feels like an extended family for me, and keeps me informed on new music trends.
There were lots of mini high points in 2010 – from an unexpectedly beautiful sunrise encountered one morning on my way to work, to, finally after all my years on this earth, a proper White Christmas.
Sunrise over Dublin Bay on a winter's morning
Snow lies thick on the furze on Christmas Day
There was also another experience, quite unexpected, which made me feel like a teenager again, one unremarkable Saturday afternoon at a railway station in an unremarkable British city . . but I won’t go into that one here!
Suffice to say that, for me at least, 2010 has been a year in which i started living and growing anew, despite being at an age where comfort and stagnation would be more usual.
May 2011 have more of the same . . and new . . for me . . and you.
Happy New Year
Steve Conway
10 years ago on Phantom breakfast
Posted: December 18, 2010 Filed under: Music, Phantom 105.2, Radio presenting | Tags: Dublin, Nostalgia, Old Phantom, Phantom 105.2, Pirate Radio, radio, year 2000 3 Comments »It’s now 10 years since, arriving back in Dublin after years living abroad, I discovered a darn good pirate radio station broadcasting rock and indie music on 91.6fm – Phantom FM (as it was known in those days).
Within a few weeks I had approached the station and become involved myself, my two years on the weekday breakfast show kicking off a very happy 10 years involvement with the station through it’s various phases as a full-time pirate (till May 03), temporary licenced station (twice in 2003/4), web only (while waiting for licence and legal results 2004-2006) and the current incarnation as the fully legit commercial station Phantom 105.2 from October 2006 to the current day.
I’ve had the best of times during these 10 years, and even though I finally had to cease doing regular weekly shows earlier this year due to other commitments, I still can’t tear myself away entirely, and crop up from time to time filling in for other presenters who are away.
I’m going to be doing a series of posts over the next few weeks looking back at my fondest memories from the last 10 years.
To start off, here is a look at the music and ads being played on Phantom back in my earliest days on the breakfast show.
I’ve transcribed this from a recording I hold of a complete shoe from 18th December 2000 - 10 years ago today.
News & Weather was written and produced by myself as was travel, in addition to presenting the show itself.
In my first months back in Ireland I did not have a car, and there was no bus which would get me in to Phantom in time for the start of the breakfast show, so I would arrive in as live programmes were ending at 11pm the night before, and spend the night in the studio, sleeping on the floor with a cushion for a pillow, a coat over me for warmth, huddled up against a little heater.When the show ended at 9am, I took a bus across town to a fulltime job in the IT industry, worked till 7pm, got home by 9, and had an hour to relax before getting the bus back in to Phantom for another night on the floor.
Ah, those were the days . .
In the dead of night, nothing is stirring in the old Phantom 91.6 studio except the needles on the mixer, as a night-time mix went out on auto. Qite a cosy pleace to sleep for the night, if a little cramped, and it was impossible to be late for the breakfast show.
The show below would be absolutely typical of the music played by me at the time. The tracks with an asterix * are A-List tracks, everything else being my own free choice. For the A-lists there were about 30-35 in the studio, refreshed regularly, split between new Irish and new International.
18 December 2000
(7am – news & weather)
*Marvin – No Good At Maths
(link)
Damien Dempsey – Chillin
Turn – Antisocial
Whistler – Faith In The Morning
(link + travel)
(ad – Phantasm)
*The Yo Yos – Home From Home
Offspring – Self Esteem
(link)
(7.30 news headlines)
*P J Harvey – Good Fortune
(link)
Therapy – Screamager
At The Drive In – Cosmonaut
Limp Biscuit –No Sex
(link + travel)
(ad – Wild Eagle tattoo studio)
(ad – Temple Bar Music Centre)
*The Crocketts – 1939 Returning
The Pixies – Here Comes Your Man
(link)
Pedestrienne – Soundwaves
The The – Infected
(link)
(ad – Whelans)
(ad – MCD Finlay Quayle & Primal Scream)
(8.02am – news & weather)
*The Walls – Some Kind Of A Girl
(link)
Smashing Pumpkins – Rocket
*Green Day – Minority
(link)
Bell X1 – Offshore
(link + travel)
(ad – Wild Eagle tattoo studio)
(ad – Temple Bar Music Centre)
(ad – Phantasm)
(link – competition for NPB tickets)
*Amen – The Price Of Reality
(link – winner of tickets to NPB)
Rush – Spirit of Radio
(link + 8.30 news headlines)
The Frames – Rent Day Blues
Liz Phair – Ride
(link + travel)
(ad – Wild Eagle tattoo studio)
(ad – Temple Bar Music Centre)
*Juliet Turner – Dr Fell
Eels – Novocaine For The Soul
(final link)
Candice – Maybe I
*JJ72 – Snow
Ash – Shining Light
(ad – Whelans)
(ad – MCD Finlay Quayle & Primal Scream)
October 2010 JNLR Irish radio audience figures
Posted: October 28, 2010 Filed under: JNLR, Phantom 105.2, radio | Tags: Audience figures, Ireland, JNLR, radio Leave a comment »Just released from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland at www.bai.ie
JNLR FIGURES FOR OCTOBER 2009 – SEPTEMBER 2010 RELEASED
The latest results from the Ipsos MRBI JNLR survey covering the period October 2009- September 2010 were released today (Thursday 28th October 2010).
The survey results indicate that 85% (-1) of the adult population was listening daily to a mix of national, regional, multi-city and local radio throughout the country.
For the purposes of comparison, figures for this survey period are compared with the July 2009- June 2010 figures. The main changes and highlights are as follows:
National Reach and Market Share
Listenership to any multi-city/regional/local radio service remained the same at 58%.
The weekday reach figure for Newstalk increased to 8% (+1) while figures were unchanged for RTÉ Radio 1 at 24%, RTÉ 2FM at 14% and RTÉ Lyric FM at 3%. Today FM recorded a figure of 13% (-1).
With regard to market share, an increased figure of 53.8% (+1.3) was recorded for any multi-city/regional/local station in the 7a.m.-7p.m. period.
Newstalk increased its market share figure to 4.1% (+0.1) while RTÉ Lyric FM retained a share figure of 1.6%. Small decreases were recorded for RTÉ 2FM at 8.7% (-0.6), RTÉ Radio 1 at 22.1% (-0.5), and Today FM at 9.3% (-0.3).
National (excluding Dublin and Cork)-local stations
Changes in both reach and market share were recorded for almost all local stations in the current survey period.
The top five local radio stations for the survey period were as follows:
Local Station Listenership (Reach) Local Station Market Share
1.
Highland Radio 69% (same)
1.
Highland Radio 63.4% (-0.3)
2
Radio Kerry 51% (+1)
Limerick’s Live 95FM 51% (same)
2.
Radio Kerry 56.3% (+0.7)
3.
Mid West Radio 50% (-2)
3.
Tipp FM 54.3% (-3.5)
4.
WLR FM 48% (+1)
4.
Mid West Radio 49.6% (-0.9)
5.
Shannonside/Northern Sound 46% (-1)
5.
Shannonside/Northern Sound 46.2% (-0.6)
Multi-City and Regional stations
Spin South West increased its weekday reach figure to 21% (+2.0) and also increased its market share figure to 10.9% (+0.9).
Beat 102-103FM, serving the south-east, increased its weekday reach figure to 20% (+1.0) and also increased its market share figure to 12.3% (0.8).
In the north-west region, i102-104 increased its weekday reach figure to 20% (+1.0) and increased its market share figure to 14.7% (+1.1).
In the north-east/midlands area, i105-107FM increased its weekday reach figure to 7% (+1.0) and increased its market share to 5.1% (+1.3).
4FM, the multi-city service, maintained a weekday reach figure of 3% (same) and recorded a market share figure of 1.9% (-0.1).
Dublin-local stations
Weekday reach figures remained the same for several local Dublin stations: FM104 at 19%, 98FM at 14%, Spin 1038 at 14% and Dublin’s Q102 at 13%. The other stations, Country Mix 106.8 FM and Phantom 105.2, recorded figures of 3% and 2% respectively.
In terms of market share figures, increases were recorded for FM104 at 11.5% (+1.8), 98FM at 11.3% (+0.4), Dublin’s Q102 at 11.2% (+0.9) and Spin 1038 at 6.5% (+0.2). Country Mix 106.8FM recorded a figure of 3.1% (-0.2) and Phantom 105.2 recorded a figure of 0.9% (-0.2.
Cork-local stations
Cork’s Red FM achieved a reach figure of 21% (+1) and increased its market share figure to 11.3 (+0.9).
The combined reach of Cork’s 96FM/C103 remained at 48% (same) while a share figure of 43.5 (+0.2) was recorded.
July 2010 JNLR (radio audience) results
Posted: July 29, 2010 Filed under: JNLR, Phantom 105.2, radio | Tags: Audience figures, Ireland, JNLR, radio Leave a comment »The latest audience figures for commercial radio in Ireland have been released by the BAI (Broadcasting Authority of Ireland).
Headline details below:
JNLR FIGURES FOR July 2009 – June 2010 RELEASED
The latest results from the JNLR/Ipsos MRBI survey covering the period July 2009 – June 2010 were released today (Thursday 29th July).
The survey results indicate that 86% (same) of the adult population was listening daily to a mix of national, regional, multi-city and local radio throughout the country.
For the purposes of comparison, figures for this survey period are compared with the April 2009– March 2010 figures. The main changes and highlights are as follows:
National Reach and Market Share
Listenership to any multi-city/regional/local radio service remained the same at 58%.
Weekday reach figures are unchanged for Today FM (14%), Newstalk (7%) and RTÉ Lyric FM (3%). Slight reductions were recorded for RTÉ Radio 1 at 24% (-1) and RTÉ 2FM at 14% (-1).
With regard to market share, an increased figure of 52.5% (+0.6) was recorded for any multi-city/regional/local station in the 7a.m.-7p.m. period.
Newstalk increased its market share figure to 4.0% (+0.1) while Today FM and RTÉ Lyric FM retained share figures of 9.6% and 1.6% respectively. Small decreases were recorded for the remaining national stations: RTÉ Radio 1 at 22.6% (-0.3) and RTÉ 2FM at 9.3% (-0.4).
National (excluding Dublin and Cork)-local stations
Changes in both reach and market share were recorded for almost all local stations in the current survey period.
The top five local radio stations for the survey period were as follows:
Local Station Listenership (Reach) Local Station Market Share
| 1. | Highland Radio 69% (same) | 1. | Highland Radio 63.7% (-0.4) |
| 2 | Mid West Radio 52% (same) | 2. | Tipp FM 57.8% (+2.5) |
| 3. | Limerick’s Live 95FM 51% (-2) | 3. | Radio Kerry 55.6% (+2.0) |
| 4. | Radio Kerry 50% (+3) | 4. | Mid West Radio 50.5% (-1.0) |
| 5. | Tipp FM 49% (-1) | 5. | Shannonside/Northern Sound 46.8% (+0.6) |
Multi-City and Regional stations
Beat 102-103FM, serving the south-east, maintained a weekday reach figure of 19% and recorded a market share figure of 11.5% (-0.6).
In the north-west region, i102-104 maintained a weekday reach figure of 19% and increased its market share figure to 13.6% (+1.7).
Spin South West increased its weekday reach figure to 19% (+1.0) and also increased its market share figure to 10% (+0.2).
In the north-east/midlands area, i105-107FM maintained a daily listenership figure of 6% and increased its market share to 3.8% (+0.2).
4FM, the multi-city service, achieved a weekday reach of 3% (+1) and increased its market share to 2.0% (+0.5).
Dublin-local stations
FM104 continues to have the highest weekday reach of local Dublin stations at 19% (same). Spin 1038FM and Q102 increased their reach by 1% each to 14% and 13% respectively. 98FM achieved a figure of 14% (-1).
Weekday reach figures for the other local Dublin stations remained the same when compared to the previous survey period: Country Mix 106.8 at 4% and Phantom 105.2 at 3% .
In terms of market share figures, 98FM again recorded the highest market share figure of the local Dublin stations at 10.9% (-0.7). Increases in market share figure were recorded for Q102 at 10.3% (+0.9), Spin 1038 at 6.3% (+0.3) and Country Mix 106.8FM at 3.3% (+0.3). The remaining stations FM104 and Phantom FM recorded figures of 9.7% (-0.8) and 1.1% (-0.4) respectively.
Cork-local stations
The combined reach of Cork’s 96FM/C103 was 48% (same) while a share figure of 43.3 (-0.3) was recorded. Separate figures for both services are detailed in the tables provided.
Cork’s Red FM achieved a reach figure of 20% (-1) and increased its recorded share figure to 10.4 (+0.1).
For Full details of the reach and market share figures together with the weekly reach figures for all stations please visit the BAI website.
// //
On being a Radio Slut
Posted: July 9, 2010 Filed under: offshore, Phantom 105.2, Radio Caroline, Radio presenting, Radio Seagull, Ross Revenge | Tags: broadcasting, Classic Rock, Dublin, Indie Rock, London, Music, Phantom 105.2, Prog Rock, radio, Radio Caroline, Radio Seagull, Rock, The Netherlands 1 Comment »
Radio can be anywhere . . . or everywhere
Monday 12th July sees my return to Radio Caroline after an 11 year break, and so I will now be presenting regular weekly shows for three stations – Radio Seagull (on Saturdays), Phantom 105.2 (Sundays) and Radio Caroline (Mondays).
So why three stations, and how can I justify each of them as being “the best” to their listeners?
To answer that, I have to track back in time quite a bit, a quarter of a century, to my first steps into the world of radio. This month marks 25 years since I did my first ever radio show, on South East Sound, a small landbased pirate in South London, which was campaigning for a rock music licence for the capital city which had just 2 commercial stations at that time.
Now, 25 years on, we live in a world where there is vastly more choice available, in no small part due to the efforts of the people behind stations such as South East Sound, Caroline and Phantom over the years and I’m delighted to be regularly broadcasting on three unique and strong independent operations in European radio.
Dublin’s Phantom 105.2 is at the centre of music culture in one of the most vibrant and creative cities in these islands, and I feel very privileged to be still going strong after 10 years with the station. I learn something new, discover something fresh and exciting every time I walk into the Phantom studios, and I love that.
Joining the crew at Radio Seagull has allowed me to be really creative in mixing classic and prog rock of 5 decades with new material in an environment where nothing is off limits, and it’s great to be able to bring some of the new Irish rock bands to an audience in The Netherlands and further afield.
And Radio Caroline, still a proud independent voice after all these years, gives me access to a huge potential audience in the UK via the Sky Digital system, and lets me indulge in my taste for a wide range of musical genres. Caroline has always been about real people sharing their passion for music in a down to earth style, and so many of the people I admire as real radio broadcasters have passed through it’s studios – or never left!
Back in 1985 when I joined South East Sound in London we were campaigning for more radio serving more interests, and I think it’s great that we have so much more choice in 2010, and that I can now be involved in three stations which though all different in content and coverage, are all keeping the flag flying for independent, alternative music and diverse voices on the airwaves.
Steve
Programme Times:
Radio Seagull 1800-2000 (UK/Irish time) every Saturday
Phantom 105.2 1200-1500 on Sundays
Radio Caroline 1400-1600 on Mondays.
Back in Action June 26/27th
Posted: June 26, 2010 Filed under: Phantom 105.2 | Tags: Indie Rock, Phantom 105.2, radio 1 Comment »
After a few weeks away for a minor medical procedure, I’m back on the radio this weekend with my regular Sunday show on Dublin’s Phantom 105.2fm, plus I’m covering an extra slot on Saturday too.
Sat 26th 1200-1430
Sun 27th 1200-1500
It’ll be nice to catch up with all the latest music – I never walk out of Phantom Towers without having picked up at least one new band or release that I want to buy.
You can catch me on Phantom via 105.2fm in Dublin and surrounding counties, on UPC Digital Cable Ch 935 around Ireland, and worldwide via Phantom.ie or the Phantom iPhone app
Watch this space for forthcoming details of new regular shows on a station elsewhere in Europe . .
Steve
Phantom audience grows in latest JNLR figures
Posted: May 13, 2010 Filed under: Phantom 105.2, radio | Tags: Audience figures, Dublin, Ireland, JNLR, Phantom 105.2, radio Leave a comment »
Great to see Phantom 105.2 doing well in the latest JNLR Listening figures for Irish Radio, managing to increase market share in a very crowded market.
Steve
JNLR details below supplied by Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI)
JNLR FIGURES FOR APRIL 2009 – MARCH 2010 RELEASED
Results from the JNLR/Ipsos MRBI survey for the period April 2009 – March 2010 were released today (Thursday 13th May). The survey results indicate that 86% (-1) of the adult population was listening daily to a mix of national, regional multi-city and local radio throughout the country.
For the purposes of comparison, figures for this survey period are compared with the January – December 2009 figures. The main changes and highlights are as follows:
National Reach and Market Share
Listenership to any multi-city/regional/local radio service remained the same at 58%.
Weekday reach figures for RTÉ 2FM and RTÉ Lyric FM are unchanged at 15% and 3% respectively. Slight reductions were recorded for RTÉ Radio 1 at 25% (-1), Today FM at 14% (-1) and Newstalk at 7% (-1).
With regard to market share, an increased figure of 51.9% (+1.3) was recorded for any multi-city/regional/local station in the 7a.m.-7p.m. period.
RTÉ Lyric FM retained its market share of 1.6%. Small decreases in market share were recorded for the remaining national stations: RTÉ Radio 1 at 22.9% (-0.5), RTÉ 2FM at 9.7% (-0.4), Today FM at 9.6% (-0.3) and Newstalk at 3.9% (-0.1).
National (excluding Dublin and Cork)-local stations
Changes in both reach and market share were recorded for almost all local stations in the current survey period.
The top five local radio stations for the survey period were as follows:
Local Station Listenership (Reach) Local Station Market Share
| 1. | Highland Radio 69% (+1) | 1. | Highland Radio 64.1% (-1.4) |
| 2 | Limerick’s Live 95FM 53% (same) | 2. | Tipp FM 55.3% (+1.8) |
| 3. | Mid West Radio 52%(+2) | 3. | Radio Kerry 53.6% (-1.1) |
| 4. | Tipp FM 50% (same)
WLR FM 50% (-1) |
4. | Mid West Radio 51.5% (+0.6) |
| 4. | 5. | Shannonside/Northern Sound 46.2% (-0.7) | |
| 5. | Radio Kerry 47% (same) Shannonside Northern Sound 47% (-3) |
Multi-City and Regional stations
Beat 102-103FM, serving the south-east, achieved a weekday reach figure of 19% (-1.0) and recorded a market share figure of 12.1% (-0.1).
In the north-west region, i102-104 increased both reach and share figures to 19% (+2.0) and 11.9% (+0.9) respectively.
Spin South West maintained its 18% reach figure, and obtained a market share figure of 9.8% (same).
Figures for the north-east/midlands regional service i105-107FM demonstrated an increase in daily listenership to 6% (+3) and market share of 3.6% (+1.6).
4FM, the multi-city service, achieved a weekday reach of 2% (same) and achieved a market share of 1.5% (+0.1).
Dublin-local stations
FM104 continues to have the highest weekday reach of local Dublin stations at 19% (-1) Weekday reach figures for the majority of remaining local Dublin stations remained the same when compared to the previous survey period: Dublin’s 98FM at 15%; Spin 1038FM at 13%; Country Mix 106.8 at 4%; and Phantom 105.2 at 3%. Q102 recorded a reach figure of 12% (-1.0) for the current survey period.
98FM recorded the highest market share figure of the local Dublin stations in the April 09-March 10 survey period at 11.6%(+1.2). Other increases in market share were recorded for Dublin’s Q102 at 9.4% (+0.8); Spin 1038 at 6% (+0.2) and Phantom 105.2 at 1.5% (+0.1). County Mix 106.8 retained its market share of 3% while FM104 achieved a market share of 10.5% (-0.2).
Cork-local stations
The combined figures for Cork’s 96FM/C103 showed reductions in both reach and share, at 48% (-2.0) and 43.6% (-1.4) respectively. Separate figures for both services are detailed in the tables provided.
Cork’s Red FM recorded increases in their reach and market share, achieving figures of 21% (+1.0) and 10.3% (+0.5) respectively.
Full details of the reach and market share figures together with the weekly reach figures for all stations are available at the BAI website.
Home By the Sea (almost)
Posted: April 16, 2010 Filed under: Phantom 105.2 | Tags: Dublin, Phantom 105.2, Pirate Radio, radio, Radio Caroline, sea Leave a comment »
Feeling relaxed in the Phantom studio on a Sunday afternoon
It’s funny how places grow on you. For a long time after Phantom went legal, I missed the cosy intimacy of our pirate-era studios in Wexford Street, the classic pirate-type location up flights of stairs in an old building. Looking out the old studio window you could see the bustling street below, a giant neon sign flashed “Eat!” “Eat!” “Eat!” all night long, and the studio was just the right size, with everything within easy reach.
Our current day mansion on North Wall Quay seemed soulless by comparison, although it offered the luxury of space and all mod cons. Not the prettiest building in Docklands, it stood on a section of quayside that could be pretty bleak in winter.
But the river . . and the ships. They won me over.
Not since my Caroline days had i been able to to glance out the studio window and see cargo ships passing by, tugs and navy vessels, or watch the ever-changing moods of light and water.
Studio with a view
I’ve fallen in love with the building now every bit as much as the old one, and am totally at home in my (almost) floating studio.
The days of the radio ships are past now, but I’m still spinning music by sparkling salt water, and I love it.
Steve
But step outside, and smell the salty morning air.
Sunday 11th April
Posted: April 9, 2010 Filed under: Phantom 105.2 | Tags: Phantom 105.2 Leave a comment »
This Sunday I’m on Phantom from midday to 3pm, with a classy selection of alternative rock, old and new.
You can listen in on fm105.2 in Dublin and surrounding counties, or worldwide at www.phantom.ie
Steve
Upcoming shows September 2009
Posted: September 10, 2009 Filed under: Phantom 105.2 | Tags: Airdates, Arts, broadcasting, Ireland, Phantom 105.2 Leave a comment »
Despite being closeted away writing my second book (more on that soon) I’m still associated with Phantom 105.2 in Dublin, and will be popping up on air from time to time, when a window in my schedule coincides with a slot they need filled.
Here are my confirmed air-dates for September:
Saturday 12th 0800-1100 (weekend breakfast)
Saturday 12th 1100-1200 (guest on Kiosk the arts show)
Sunday 13th 1900-2100 Random Access (all request show)
Saturday 19th 0800-1100 (weekend breakfast)
Sunday 20th 1900-2100 Random Access (all request show)
You can hear Phantom on 105.2fm around Dublin, nationwide on UPC Cable Ch.935, and worldwide via www.phantom.ie
Hope you can join me sometime
Steve
Extra show Bank Holiday Monday
Posted: May 3, 2009 Filed under: Phantom 105.2 | Tags: Music, Phantom 105.2 Leave a comment »
I’ll be presenting an extra show for the bank holiday Monday on Phantom 105.2, from 0900 to 1300.
As well as the normal selection of Dublin’s Indie Rock, listen out for some Phantom Famous Firstplays from 10am, with clips of Phantom artists describing the first album they ever bought, followed by a track from the album. Some really interesting choices from the best indie rock bands, and the feature runs throughout the whole day until 8pm on Phantom 105.2.
Hear us on 105.2FM - Chorus/NTL Channel 935 – Online at www.phantom.ie - Mobile Phone
Shiprocked! profiled in today’s Irish Independent
Posted: January 17, 2009 Filed under: Phantom 105.2, Shiprocked! | Tags: books, Phantom 105.2, Radio Caroline, Shiprocked! Leave a comment »There is a nice little piece about the forthcoming publication of Shiprocked! – Life On The Waves With Radio Caroline in the Review section of today’s Irish Independent (Sat 17th Jan 2009). it gives some info about the book, and a mention for Phantom too.(the review section is not online yet, so I can’t link to the piece)
Speaking of Phantom, I’m now on regularly on Saturdays 5-7pm as well as every Sunday 7-9pm.
Back here later this week with a review of a great album I picked up this week from a former broadcaster turned singer, Adrianne Sebastian Scott.
Steve
Shiprocked! – publication date 31st March
Posted: January 10, 2009 Filed under: 1980s, 1987, Irish writing, New writing, non-Fiction, offshore, Phantom 105.2, Publishing, radio, Radio Caroline, Ross Revenge, Seven Towers, Shiprocked! | Tags: books, Irish writing, Last Wednesday, Liberties Press, Pirate Radio, Radio Caroline, Seven Towers, Shiprocked!, Steve Conway Leave a comment »A quick update, publication of Shiprocked! has been confirmed for March 31st 2009 by Liberties Press.
It will be available from that date through normal retail outlets in the UK and Ireland, through various online sales sites (including the Radio Caroline Sales operation and the Phantom 105.2 Merchandise Store ).
A special pre-order package for Caroline supporters to include extra content is currently being agreed – more details shortly.
A number of launch events and readings will take place in both the UK and Ireland throughout the spring, and I will also continue to read at the monthly Seven Towers event Last Wednesday in Dublin (next event: 7pm Wednesday 28th January at Cassidys of Westmorland street).
Steve
Christmas greetings ( & shows)
Posted: December 25, 2008 Filed under: Phantom 105.2 | Tags: Christmas, Phantom 105.2 Leave a comment »A very Happy Christmas to everyone reading this in Ireland or overseas, and I hope you have a peaceful and successful New Year too.
2009 looks like being a very challenging year the world over, so all the more reason to wind down and ignore the wider world for the next few days.
I’m takingChristmas with my family, but I’ll be on Phantom 105.2 a lot during the “in-between week”.
Saturday 27th 5-7pm
Sunday 28th 7-9pm with Random Access
Monday 29th 8-11am breakfast
Wednesday 31st 8-11am breakfast
Thursday 1st Jan 2009 - 8-11am breakfast.
If you get the chance to join me on any of these shows, either on FM locally or via phantom.ie, do drop a text or an email to say Hi!
Happy Christmas!
Steve
Missing In Action
Posted: December 13, 2008 Filed under: 1980s, Irish writing, Phantom 105.2 | Tags: books, Phantom 105.2, Radio Caroline Leave a comment »I will be missing my slots on Phantom this weekend, and also some Seven Towers events, as I’ve been laid low by a particularly nasty chest bug all this week, and to top it off have now managed to lose my voice!
Hopefully will be back to normal and back on air next weekend.
On the book front, things are coming along very nicely, the final edit is being submitted to the publishers on Monday, and a large number of interesting photos have been sourced from the John Burch / Caroline Movement archives.
Within the next week I will be able to confirm the final title for publication, and possibly show off the cover art – watch this space!
Steve
Coming Down playlist
Posted: November 16, 2008 Filed under: Music, Phantom 105.2, radio | Tags: Music, Playlist, radio, Sunday Morning Coming Down Leave a comment »
As promised this morning when standing in for Pearl on the Sunday Morning Coming Down slot on Phantom 105.2, below is the complete list of what was played on the show.
I must say, I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to show my more mellow side!
Steve
Sunday 16th/11/2008 1100-1300
Leonard Cohen – Famous Blue Raincoat
Skindive – Salt Peter
Belle & Sebastian – I Fought In A War
Beth Orton – She Cries Your Name
Jubilee Allstars – Pray Loud And With Sorrow
Joan As Policewoman – Christobel
Damien Rice – The Blower’s Daughter
Gerry Stanek – They Know My Name
Kris Finnerty – Turn
Judy Tzuke – For You
Reindeer Section – You Are My Joy
Red House Painters – Between Days
The Bible – Graceland
Patti Smith – White Rabbit
Jeff Buckley – Last Goodbye
Neil Young – Harvest Moon
Kathleen Mock – They Took Me Away In A Station Wagon
Richard & Linda Thompson – The End Of The Rainbow
Ian Dury – Billericay Dickie
Ann Scott – Imelda
Phantom gains more ground
Posted: November 14, 2008 Filed under: Phantom 105.2, radio | Tags: Dublin, Ireland, JNLR, Phantom 105.2, radio Leave a comment »
Great news from the latest audience figures, with Phantom continuing to gain ground (see details below).
Should have some interesting news of my own on here very shortly . .
Steve
Phantom Increases Daily Listenership by 27%!*
13th November 2008 – The latest listenership figures released this afternoon confirm that here at Phantom 105.2 we have increased our daily audience by 27%*
Listenership has increased right across the day with the stations’ evening drive show, Heavy Traffic, and it’s new mid morning show, Finest Worksongs, presented by Michelle Doherty recording substantial gains in listenership.
“We are very happy with today’s results” said Ger Roe, Phantom’s CEO, “In July, we unveiled our new breakfast and morning schedule and the latest book clearly shows that Dubliners are making the switch to Phantom”
Phantom 105.2 plays the best in indie and modern rock and is available in Dublin on 105.2FM, DAB Digital Radio, nationwide on NTL/Chorus Digital channel 935 and online at http://www.phantom.ie
* Source: JNLR-Oct ’07- Sept ’08 (Published Nov ’08)
