It's Dave Birdman's birthday today. We're celebrating this Sunday with the Thameside Radio broadcast from 30 Nov 1980 where he plays some of his favourite records.
Greetings. I hope you have a great New Year, and many many thanks to everyone who has sent in tapes or mp3s so far. Last time I looked we had 20,000 downloads!
We’re nearly at the end of the pile now (although there is still a TV interview and a few other gems to go) so if you are looking for a New Year’s resolution: How about finally digging out those remaining Thameside Radio recordings to share with all the other ex listeners out there?
After a summer break we're back with more broadcasts from Thameside Radio 90.2 VHF.
A brief reminder to those of you who said you had some more recordings: please get in touch (you can use the comments field or email al @ fmthen.com) - otherwise I might have run out by Christmas or early in the New Year.
There is a TV interview with Bob Edwards coming up though so stay tuned!
I only have another three months or so of tapes remaining that haven't been uploaded - so I'm looking for more. If you have any Thameside Radio recordings buried in your attic somewhere please do get in touch, or if you've already been in contact then this is a gentle reminder.
While you're waiting for the next podcast - here's a YouTube clip of Sarah Kennedy presenting a 1982 BBC feature about pirates. Not altogether accurate - the Beeb really didn't 'get' radio pirates - but good fun. http://youtu.be/ZVwR9ztvZcE
I've tweaked the site so that you now see all the podcasts on the main page, but that's quite a list.
The shows aren't uploaded in any particular order so if you are looking for a particular Thameside Radio show or a particular era you maight get there more quickly by clicking on a year in the categories section.
There is a 1984 "File on Four" documentary on YouTube about the London pirate radio scene. It was made just after Thameside closed so features more of the next generation of pirates who were more commercial. Still it does capture the scene quite well although in a Radio 4 kind of way.
The people at TheLounge.com have been kind enough to list these shows so you can pick then up on your Pure radio. Just search for Thameside Radio in the podcasts section and you can listen on your portable radio for the authentic Thameside experience!
If all these podcasts aren't quite enough you can indulge in some more chat and nostalga with listeners and staff on a new Thameside Radio fan site set up by the Birdman at http://thamesideradio.wackwall.com/
I was chatting over a pizza yesterday with The Intrepid Birdman who told me that he is updating his website. There's heaps of stuff there about Thameside Radio, Clockwork Wireless and BLR. Why not pop over to http://clockworkradio.bravehost.com/thameside.swf ?
If you're looking for yet more recordings of Thameside Radio shows then the wonderful people at Radio Eric have made their archive available as a BitTorrent file for download. A quick search for "Thameside Radio" on your favourite torrent site should find it. Or just click here:
After a break for Christmas and stuff the regular Thameside Radio 90.2 podcasts will resume next week. There is lots of great stuff to come so don't forget to check your iPlayer sttings.
I've just received loads of great new recordings. So coming soon is some much earlier stuff including the whole first Thameside Radio 90.2 birthday broadcast, one of the earliest live OBs and also a show from the lovely Sarah (be still my beating heart)!
Many thanks to everyone who has sent in recordings or tapes so far, special mention to Dave (not the Birdman) for the 120 cassettes and Stephen Cruickshank who is still unearthing some amazing material. Please please do keep them coming.
I'm happy to do the converting to mp3 so if you don't mind lending your tapes for a couple of days you'll get them back with a high quality digital copy with tape heads aligned etc.
A TDK D C90 dropped into the cassette recorder, press play, a clunk, a whirr, the dry sound of the tape, the meters on the PC bounce and the I've started transferring the first of the cassettes. The hiss in the headphones gets slightly louder and we're asked the question we've heard so many times. "Do you ever have difficulty finding a radio station playing music? Oh yeah. Well here's a tip: Tune to Thameside Radio 90.2 Megaherz VHF"
Sounds OK. A bit muffled but it still makes me smile.
So here it is: Vintage 1981 Thameside Radio 90.2 VHF. 120 cassettes worth. Week by week, show by show. Now available as a podcast for download to your 21st century iPod.
What were you doing on Sunday nights in the early 1980s?
For those of you with kids: You do realise that they are now the same age you were then? Are they listening to pirate radio while doing their homework?
I’ve been
collecting Thameside Radio recordings since, well, it started. Not big
time obsessive collecting, just the occasional stuff that I taped then
and things I got later from friends. Of course I’ve sent copies to
wonderful Radio Eric for their blast of pirate radio nostalga.
So here’s the story. An ex listener emailed me from from out of the
blue, a couple of texts, a call on the mobile number to make sure it
was still on, a clandestine meeting arranged in the BBC reception area
and a few minutes later we spotted each other. He had a large heavy
black case that looked ready to go on on a business trip. Next to it I
put my scruffy blue retro hold-all, empty and crumpled. While the
security guard looked past us we transferred the contents, one
cardboard box at a time, from his to mine.
Layer I unzipped my bag and lifted the flap of one of the 12
identical boxes. Inside were ten neatly labelled rectangular
transparent plastic cases. I hadn’t seen these things for years. Under
the spine of each case was printed “TDK C90″ followed by a neatly
handwritten written date and Thameside Radio. That’s a year’s worth of recordings.
120 cassettes weighs a lot. You could fit the whole lot onto an iPod now.
