I managed to record a few of my shows whilst I was at 2 YOU FM, with most of those 'preserved' being half-centuries, centuries or specials. Occasionally I threw a tape in to record a random show or an hour here and there as well. Recording them was problematic. Most of the time, it was a radio/cassette player/recorder which had to be placed in another room at the station to prevent feedback, though one just had to remember to place your longer songs at the right times (or time it for news breaks) so you could switch sides or change cassettes. Occasionally, I used an old-fashioned reel-to-reel player/recorder which was hooked up in the main studio, which was good considering one could usually record an hour's worth of material on one reel, but changing them quickly took a lot of practice, and you didn't want to make too many of them go missing from the library. (Meh. I wasn't the only one.) The bigger problem is converting the material, seeing I know nobody with access to a reel-to-reel player these days that could turn it into an MP3. A couple of shows were even recorded onto video tape, which was great because you could record an entire show on one cassette, but again there's the transfer issue.
I still have all of the audio cassettes (and some of the other recordings), and I'm very slowly working my way through them. It's just finding the time to be able to convert them. The recordings are over 20 years old (in some cases, 25), and were recorded onto devices of varying quality, by machines of varying quality, they vary considerably in playability and listenability. Some (so far) have been quite good, considering their age, whilst others have been quite unplayable, with very little being able to be preserved with the technology I currently have access to, which is an AWA E-6880 turntable with cassette, CD player and recorder. All playable files below are in MP3 format.
Heavy Metal Special December 1992 (#1)
What was going to be a one-off exploration into various genres of loud guitar rock, turned into the first of a series. At the time, I was training a fellow TADWASC member, Robert Mion, and he joined me on 12 & 13 Dec 1992, along with a few other members of TADWASC (and you'll hear them towards the end) to present this four hour show. Unfortunately, the tape containing the first half of the show (with mostly Robert announcing) isn't in the best of health, but I was rather successful in converting the second half of the show. The sound quality, for the most part, is quite good, though the tape is a little warped here and there with the music sounding a little muffled. Anyway, this section of the show starts with me announcing at the end of a George Thoroughgood track, then finishing nearly two hours later with The Angels We've got to get out of this place, just as the tape has had enough. Must say, there's quite a bit of stuff in here I haven't heard in decades, including Faith No More, Candy Harlots, Nirvana, Scatterbone, Lita Ford, Ozzy Osbourne, Motorhead, Bolthrower, Megadeath and Push Push.
Hour 3: Part One - 13:24. Part Two - 11:56. Part Three - 12:42. Part Four - 2:26. Part Five - 18:57. Hour 4: Part One - 6:22. Part Two - 13:48. Part Three - 18:40. Part Four - 12:24. Part Five - 3:53.
Heavy Metal Special June 1993 (#3)
This was recorded 19 & 20 June 1993, with a few members of TADWASC in attendance. The first song is Ugly Kid Joe's Mr Recordman. It features tracks from AC/DC, Anthrax, Faith No More, Golden Earring, Jimi Hendrix, L7, Mantissa, Motorhead and others. The quality of this recording is quite good, though some of the music and my announcements are a bit strained. The audio tapes were copied onto two CDs with around 91 mins playing time.
Part One - 17:12. Part Two - 28:46. Part Three - 18:30. Part Four - 26:55.
Show 400 - February 1996
By this stage, I was regularly presenting a Saturday show from 6-9pm, Memories & Hits. I also had a regular sidekick, Tony Miller, whom I got along with quite well. Though the shows were good, it wasn't quite the same without the TADWASC crew. I was including a regular sports report, as well as unusual items from the papers that we could have a little fun with, which meant I was talking more and playing less music. This was more my type of show, but I have to admit that I cringe a bit when I hear myself waffle on about random rubbish, with my naivety clearly displayed at times. The quality of the recordings was quite good, though one section of the original recording (parts 4-6) was a little soft and there was a little interference in part 11. The first track that I play after the opening promo is Marcella Detroit's I Believe, and I closed with A K Soul's I like it, which lead very nicely into the following dance/techno show after mine, which was co-hosted by Tony. In-between, there's Flash & the Pan, DIG, Chocolate Starfish, Westworld, Screaming Jets, Underworld, even some Pink Floyd. All up, there's 175 minutes of music and chatter which was recorded on 3 February 1996.
Part One - 13:39. Part Two - 22:51. Part Three - 9:01. Part Four - 27:01. Part Five - 10:04. Part Six - 8:29. Part Seven - 19:41. Part Eight - 11:02. Part Nine - 14:39. Part Ten - 16:39. Part Eleven - 15:45. Part Twelve - 6:10.
The Last Show
At the time I was living in Church Street in Tamworth, within easy walking distance to the station. I simply stuck a cassette into the recorder at home and left, preserving the first forty minutes of what would be my last radio show. It was recorded in January 1998, and turned out surprisingly good, though the tape was a little warped in a couple of places and caused the player to stop, resulting in a shortened first part. I talk quite a bit during this show, waffling on about the deterioration in quality of modern music and James Bond films, as well as reminiscing about other presenters that I worked with whilst I was there. After the promos, the first track is Sheryl Crow's Tomorrow never dies, whilst the recording ends with Mental as Anything's The nips are getting bigger.
Part One - 1:59. Part Two - 15:14. Part Three - 16:55. Part Four - 4:56.
Various Items
I saved a few miscellaneous recordings, namely promos, and one on-the-spot review of a show that I scored a free ticket to (along with a few other presenters and extended entourage at the station) that was recorded by Greg Henry. The Greedy Smith promo was recorded backstage after a Mental As Anything show in January 1992 (at around 3am in the morning), the tape though being a little warped. The somewhat smothered promo for the first heavy metal special was recorded in October 1992, as was the live review of a Margaret Urlich show. It was recorded live on air whilst the encore was starting, with Greg placing the receiver near the microphone in the studio. Such was the technology in 1992. lol
Greedy Smith Promo - 0:19. HM Promo - 0:33. Margaret Urlich Review - 2:19.
19 October 2020