The 16th of March 1976 was a day like no other.
For fans of Radio, waiting for more choice on the dial, it was a long time coming - the offshore stations had largely been silenced, and the BBC given pretty much a free run with their Radio 1 service which attempted to fill the void, but fell short in a number of areas, such as ‘needletime’ limiting the amount of records that could be played each day.
For the average listener, they would have been aware through the press and advertising on UTV that a new station was about to launch, and the anticipation had been growing as Tuesday March the 16th approached.
My blog last December takes up the story, so rather than repeat it here, please scroll down for a refresher!
In that I mentioned a forthcoming book, written by Ivan Martin and myself.
Titled ‘It Brought a Smile to Your Ear’ (based on an early sticker slogan), the first section details the timeline from the start of local radio in Belfast - this was commercially funded and opened as far back as 1924 - through the decades up to the 70s when Downtown was established, and onwards to the present day. A colour section of archive photographs then leads to a selection of ‘One to Ones’ where Ivan talks to a range of people that were involved with the station to hear of their memories and reflections looking back.
The book will be available online from https://colourpointbooks.com/product/it-brought-a-smile-to-your-ear/ and initially No Alibis on Botanic Avenue in Belfast will have this in stock.
As for Downtown itself, it was a privilege to be invited to produce and present a two hour documentary called ‘Downtown Radio 50 Years On’, which goes out at 7pm tonight, with a repeat on Sunday the 22nd at 10pm, and then it will be on the Rayo app for a month. Many well-loved names from the past will feature, recalling Day One and the heady years that followed, including the arrival of Cool FM and Downtown Country intended to better serve different audiences, along with audio delights from the archive.
The station is also in the middle of a ‘nostalgia fest’, and rightly so, as there’s much to recall for longtime listeners (and to learn about for newer ones!).
Happy reading and listening then, and most of all, a Very Happy Birthday Downtown!
RSS Feed