Thameside Radio Revisited

The other Thameside Radio DJs have gone to Harrow Hill for a picnic with the listeners and left Bob Edwards in the studio. This predates cellphones so he doesn't hear anything from them for a bit.

We do hear from the "tea girl" and the "record library girl". Bob tell us can see the hill from the studio in a tall building so tries to get the listeners to communicate by jumping up and down and waving their arms around.

Later on there seems to be someone on top of a tall building relaying the view to Bob.

More from the mega broadcast from Harrow. Paul James finishes 5 1/2 hours of programming with traditional local radio stuff like football news. We discover that QPR are playing on Astroturf - that hurt if you fell over. I do wonder if Thameside could have gone on to become something like Radio Jackie FM which is the local station for south west London.

Paul plays A Flock of Seagulls and Lene Lovich (was she related to Bjork?). He is convinced by his sister that the Birdman jingle calls him "Uncle Ball" rather than "Uncle Paul".

We are told that The Thompson Twins are playing the Hammersmith Palais, tickets are between £3 and £4. Carole King is an outrageous £7! Bob is running late so Paul continues past midday. We promised a "big chart show" later on in the day and we will also hear from Mark who is one of the backroom boys.

Mark is in the studio while we wait for Bob and building up for his show later that day. There is lots more about the picnic.

Bob takes over about 12:30. Bob chats with Dave who tell us that Ian has taken over the engineering from "10-1 Teddy" who was thrown off the roof of Thameside Towers.

Mentions include Annette for Karen, Martin and Lisa for Andy and Lynne, Sam and Peter, from Peter in Harrow. Andrew du Pre for Nervous System and all their fans, Winston Smith and Skinny Melanie and her fiancee from Paul in Clapham. The first 5 members of the Intrepid Birdman Appreciation Society at the picnic will win a signed copy of the Birdman we're told.

Paul James continues with the Thameside Radio breakfast show. It’s a lovely morning, the skies are blue and the birds are singing

We hear more about the Free the Airwaves campaign stand at the CB 82 show in Wembley. Dave turns up with some breakfast from the local Wimpy.

Unusually Paul does some weather and traffic reports – just like local radio! We are also promised a live linkup later in the day with Uptown Radio, a listener picnic at the top of Harrow Hill, phantom phone box and other Thameside delights.

Mentions for Steve in the Thameside Radio kitchen and Big Al for the Paraffin Ladies in a shop in Harrow

It's 8am on Easter Monday. Paul James is pretty much alone in the Thameside Radio studio. Dave Birdman is still in bed at home although Ian the Engineer is going there to pick some things up!

The show starts with The Jam and Start - which you don't hear much any more. Did you know that The Beatles sued them for because the riff and the bass line were lifted from Taxman? Of course Taxman was written by Goerge Harrison, who was himself sued for the similarities between "My Sweet Lord and "He's so Fine". That's the start of my question for RBQ! At least now we have standard rates for tracks that use samples from other artists.

Nine minutes in Paul plays the definitve Thameside Radio "Well Corporal" jingle.

There are a couple of technical problems at the start of the show - hum, hiss, setting levels and all that. Usually those issues were dealt with during the 10 minute warmup but it took a bit longer. They are all fixed in the end: so hang in there.

We are told that there will be a treasure hunt for an easter egg hidden somewhere in London. Also a picnic which we will be told more about later (it ended up at Harrow on the Hill).

Loads more from the 1982 Easter Monday show to come

Mentions for Dave in Croydon and Hilly.

This is the second half of the Thameside Radio 90.2 Easter Sunday broadcast starting at 10pm.

We're reminded that the pubs close at 11pm. Remember those days?.

Bob Edwards makes it into the studio and tells us he has been out with the transmitter guys.

Really Saying Something by Bananarama and The Fun Boy Three is a new release. We get the 12" version.

Later in the show Dave tells us about CB radio which has only been a "thing" for a few months - Bob gets a CB radio and has a chat with a number of breakers on Channel 31 live on air.

We also hear a bit about CB 82 show in Wembley which also had a pirate radio stand.

There are still technical problems in the broadcast - interference from TV transmitters. And the transmitter is switching itself off during quiet moments in songs. The technical problems seem to get better about 11:30pm (an hour and a half in to the show)

Mentions include: CBers Orange Club, Action Man, Dopey, Black Jack, Batman, Weazel and Photon

Also: Rupe from Barnes for Trisha and Josh, Dec and Prudence, Miker of Chalfont, Brian of Amersham for Denise, Chris and Sarah of Kew, Les Keely, Dave Booth for Mazzie & Andy, Anthony for Lyomie, Lynne, Kevin Tom and Catherine, CBers, John in Finchley, Elaine in LA, Annette for Karen, Gilllian and Buzz, Tigermoth, Dominic from Strange Pursuasion.

We're told about a game called Obliterate which BT have released on Prestel. You command a submarine and torpedo Argentinian submarines including one called "Fray Bentos". (You may have to look Prestel up on Wikipedia, it was like the internet but 1980).

The phone lines are open for the Thameside listener charts. This week's chart is - 10:Layla/Derek and the Dominoes; 9:I Ran/Flock of Seagulls; 8:Nowhere Girl/B-Movie; 7:More Than This/Roxy Music 6:Fantastic Day/Haircut 100; 5:Is it a Dream/Classix Nouveaux; 4:Ghosts/Japan 3:The Damned Don't Cry/Visage; 2: Love Cascade/Leisure Process 1:Ever So Lonely/Monsoon.

The broadcast is briefly introduced by Bob Edwards, but Paul James takes over. Paul has just come back from a working holiday in Cornwall, Sarah is also in the studio as is Ian the Engineer. After an hour (and a transmitter change) we get The Intrepid Birdman Show. There was a problem in the first 10 minutes with the batteries running flat in the cassette player. You can hear the the show sounding a bit slow. It then goes back up to speed.

Dave tells us about the CB show at the Wembley conference centre which is relaying the broadcast. There is a pirate radio stand at the show.

The first part of the show was broadcast from the Brentford tower blocks on Green Dragon Lane. This was used in 2014's "People Just Do Nothing" which started on YouTube and moved to BBC3 as the location for the fictional pirate Kurupt FM. Now Kurupt FM are real and playing festivals! Life imitating art imitating life.

We learn that the site changes are done by "10-1 Teddy" and Ian the Engineer who has injured himself.

There are brief moments during quiet patches of the songs where the transmitter switches off - the transmitter were designed to switch off quickly when the audio finished because it was the end of the show or when there was a transmitter change but they could be a bit enthusiastic and switch off briefly during a show! We're told about an experiment in 3D TV. However demand for the special glasses is so high they have had to delay the test to make some more. It will be broadcast on May 4th in a programme called "the Real World". 3D TV, 1982, maybe technology isn't moving on as quickly as we think. You can watch it here.

After an hour with Paul and two with Dave this podcast finishes at 10pm or so. But keep an eye on your podcast feed or the siteas there is more to come on Thameside Radio Revisited from the same day and the next. We have Bob Edwards from later on this evening and the Thameside Radio picnic from Harrow on the Hill the next day (it was Easter Monday).

And finally: Did you know that the voice on the "Thameside Radio Plays Good Music" is one of Dave's children? Recorded in Hyde Park during an OB!

Dedications and letters from Robert, Mike of Chalfont, the Intrepid Birdman Appreciation Society, Andrew Pearce from Hindhead, Steve Scribbler, John H, Richard, Annette, Dave and Pete. Hugh Gunning, John of Edgware, Bill Popstar, Tom Grady, Lynne Steele, Wendy and Cathy from Frank Kennedy from Norwood Green who gets a kiss from Sarah. Paul Marshall (age 13) from Chalfont st. Giles. Chalfont Secondary School

Thameside started this live broadcast at 10:30 with Bob Edwards running through the Thameside Radio 90.2 listener charts for 1981. What a year: Fade to Grey - Visage; That’s Entertainment - The Jam; Tainted Love – Soft Cell; Joan of Arc / Maid of Orleans – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark; Imagine – John Lennon; Don’yt you Want Me? – The Human League; Ine the Air Tonight – Phil Collins; Vienna – Ultravox; what an amazing year… The Intrepid Birdman took over at about 11:15 with and extended interview with Eddie Grunt. The show carried on until about 1am on New Year’s Day.

The show was broadcast live from Shepherd's Bush.

The week after the incredibly successful Thameside Radio third birthday party in Chiswick. Bob isn’t there for the start of the show so Dave takes the reins, with a just few technical hitches. Alex and Sarah fill in with an early and extended news section. John Lennon had been shot in the preceding week so Alex does a tribute to him before Bob finally gets to the studio. The lonely hearts club is going strong with a request for box number 69c since a and b have already gone. We hear Rossmore Road by Barry Andrews - yaay!

Although the tape runs out at the end of the Bob Edwards show you might remember that the broadcast finished unexpectedly during the Intrepid Birdman Show because the Thameside Radio transmitter in Trellick Tower was raided by the DTI.

Mentions for: Seth of Hounslow. Tim, Tony, Ralph, Hugh Jars, Lar Jars, Richard and Mike. Andrew Simpson, After the Fire. Chris Brown, John O’Hannon. Michael of Chalfont. Detores and Andrew. Paul Byrne, Francis King and Jeannie, Tahiti Syndrome. Keele University. Samantha from Holland Park. John from N15; Mandy Squires, Lynn Squires. Krishna and Stephen King.

One of the final shows broadcast by Thameside Radio 90.2. The last broadcast was on May 15th, just 5 weeks later.

Thameside Radio have been broadcasting since 10am that morning. There are even some new jingles.

The show was broadcast in stereo, although this is a mono recording.

The recording is of the Paul James show at 7:00. He has just come down from Birmingham so has some bits from the Birmingham local press.

Paul also talks about the “Too Hot to Handle” concert at the Apollo Theatre in Victoria which featured Squeeze, Madness, Hazel O’Connor, Julie Covington, Paul Jones and UB40 amongst others featured. Tickets were between £5 nd £25.

Many thanks to Stephen who used to publish amfm magazine and Radio Today for this recording. Please do visisit his new site http://www.amfm.org.uk/ there is so much to look at.

Mentions for Stephen Garstang from Chalfont and Paul Adan in Ramsgate

Another show from a listener's house. This week Adrian Leaper from Harrow has invited the Thameside Radio 90.2 crew round . The studio is set up in his bedroom. Adrian tells us he saw a UFO hovering over the hill the day before.

Bob Edwards is reading a book that says stupid people are clever people and clever people are stupid. Hmmm. He also reads out listeners letters about the secret of life.

Mrs Leaper has made food and we get a guided tour of the meal and the house. Adrian has dozens of champion gerbils in his shed. Dave interviews Bill the Budgie. (That radio mic really came in useful.)

Listener Andrew Simpson reviews a a concert by by Rockpile (Featuring Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe) at Brunel University. Soundwaves magazine has a feature about Thameside Radio.

Thameside Radio 90.2 listeners mentioned this week include: Philip Chapel from Windsor. John Chapel. John Brennan of Thornton Heath. Students at Kingston Polytechnic. Chris Parry of Ilford. Barbara and Trever Adams from Biggin Hill. Joannie Conway aged 6 3/4 from Hampton Wick Infant School. Ron Stephenson. Kevin Ball from Bromley. Malcolm Fryer of Hendon. Frinton McCarthy of SE5. Mike Boardman of Harrow. John Lyon School. Dave Kenny for the BDXC. Nick Doherty from North London Poly. Rapic Sandec. Andy Richards.

This is only the first half of the broadcast. If you have the other half or any other recordings please please do get in touch - you can use the comment field or email me at fmthen.com Al