Thameside Radio Revisited

7-9pm with Paul James and The Intrepid Birdman show. Dave Birdaman (photo) has passed his motorbike test. Paul assures us that Radio Caroline will be coming back. He also tells us about a new film called Polyester  (produced by John Waters). The exciting thing  about the film is that it was released in in in Odorama so Paul got a scractch’n’sniff card to use at key points in the film. Sounds better than 3D. I wonder why it never caught on?We also hear from Ian the engineer. The news includes an item about 2 members of Thameside Radio staff who appeared at Marylebone court last Tuesday charged with stealing ¼p of electricity. The magistrate was more concerned at the waste of police time than the negligible theft of electricity. Thameside Radio listenerers mantioned include: Cindy of Ealing. Gary in Hillingdon. Martin Gould of Greenford and Janice.  Jamie Witcombe in Colin Gardens NW9.  Alan of Kingsbury for Francine. Nigel Collins from Muswell Hill.

Bob talks a lot about his upcoming birthday. He also discusses a new book called Alternative London which has a section on pirate radio and mentions Thameside

It is a sunny day and the show starts late because the Thameside Radio team were distracted by a girl walking past the studio. (It’s 1982 and sexism hasn’t yet been discovered yet). Paul has passed his driving test thanks to Tony Gregory his driving instructor. Dave is about to take his test too.  The Paul James competition asks for “Thameside” in the phonetic alphabet: (Tango, Hotel, Alpha etc) At the time Eric Gotts from the Home Office used to refer to Thameside Radio as “Tango Hotel”. The team are collecting sponsorship for a walk which they are doing for OxfamThe second hour comes from the Intrepid Birdman.  The superquiz needs you to be in the bath!Bob starts the third hour and tells us that he is going to be 24 years old next week. The show was broadcast from the Arndale Centre in Wandsworth which has good coverage over south and east London but is not so good to the west and north so reception is a bit poor on this recording.

Two hours of Thameside Radio with Bob Edwards between 9 and 11pm this Sunday. He has a demo from South Side Dynamos, chats about how often we have baths and pays a lot of Status Quo. Sarah from Kew turns up. She’s been down the pub with The Birdman. (She’s definitely grown older while we’ve been listening over the last few years hasn’t she?)  Dave talks about the new fangled Walkman radios – and mentions obliquely  listening in to the Home Office radio channels on the Bernardphone. Bob chats with some of the crew about the favourite songs. We discover that: Dave’s favourite record is Grooving with Mr Bloe by Mister Bloe which he remembers from the juke box at  The Macabre coffee bar in Meard Street in Soho. (Probably the coolest place in the universe in the 60s) Sarah’s favourite record is Follow you Follow me by Genesis. It reminds her of her 16th birthday party which ended in total chaos with broken banisters and broken doors. (How did she explain it all to her long suffering parents?) Bob’s fave is Dire St

After a major raid a couple of weeks earlier the Thameside Radio team are back with an extended broadcast Paul James is about to take his driving test. The Birdman tell us that story about a couple who were served their dog in a Chinese restaurant. He also reads out a pamphlet on the Dangers of Knitting in a public place.   The first 50 minutes of the show are missing from the archive - but may turn up yet.

Bob Edwards plays Sailing by Rod Stewart for 'The boys sailing out to the Falklands.'  The computer continues to tell the presenters what  to say.  Paul complains that he didn’t get a cup of coffee from the tea lady when he was doing a show. Dave says he was overcharged for his tea (55p instead of 20p). Where can you get tea fpr 20p now?Not many letters or dedications this week (apart from a very flattering note from Jo English in Teddington). No jingles either. The music is great though. This is part two of the Thameside Radio broadcast which went through until 11pm. There’s a lovely snatch of BBC Radio 3 right at the end. Goodness me didn’t the presenters sound stuffy back in 1982?

Paul James starts the show followed by Dave.   Bob is apparenly installing a fully computerised system in the studio that will tell the DJs what to do on a digital display in the studio. All sounds very unlikely to me – surely it’ll never catch on! Dave says that all computers seem to achieve are inflated phone bills.  Dave plays a fabulous selection of records – from the sublime to ridiculous, literally - as well as some great sketches. The tea lady also makes an appearance on the Intrepid Birdman show with her trick tea spoon. She pretty much steals the show really.The show was broadcast from a tower block on the South Acton estate which has since been demolished. This is the first half of a 4 hour programme. The second half with a full Bob Edwards show is coming next week.

Bob chats with the lovely Buzby about the Kew Green OB a fortnight ago. (Whatever happened to Buzby?) and announces the Thameside Radio Pen friends / lonely hearts club. Mazzy gets box number 1. Later we hear Bob’s “Desert Island Discs” where Alex interviews him and we discover a bit more about his holidays and that  beloved Triumph Spitfire. We also learn what started Bob (and his older brother) on being radio pirates. He talks about Thameside Radio’s  early days when the station transmitted from Hampstead Heath for an hour each Sunday.   Dave’s DIY spot tells us how to make a nuclear fall out shelter out of sticky tape, vacuum cleaner tubing, and old cornflake boxes. (Protect and Survive anyone?)   The music is so perfectly early 80s. Motels, Silicon Teens, Gary Numan, Siouxie and the Banshees, Stiff Little Fingers, The Police (as well as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and The Who) Listeners mentioned include: Graham Copeland of Cobham. Gary Williams. Mick Taylor. Alan Jameson. Basil of Harpenden. Jilly Newman. M

Bob announces that there is a surprise outside broadcast – listeners meet at the Star and Garter pub at the north end of Kew Bridge where they will be escorted to the OB site. Alex is running the OB at Kew Green which is linked back live to the studio. He is joined by Bob Edwards, Sarah and Dave when they’re not actually doing their shows. There are games and competitions including a race to a mystery phone box with 20 people in the box.  There’s fabulous music too. The Intrepid Birdman has a live superquiz. Someone made it from Brentwood in Essex. Pretty much the other side of London!There is an article about a new pub cinema called “The Hollywood Greats” in Acton – There was a Thameside listener visit there a few months later. The airwaves were busy that night with superbeams – There was a radio mic linking from Kew Green to the studio near Kew Gardens station, then the the studio linked to the transmission site (Trellick Tower) and from Trellick the signal was broadcast all over London. Thameside Radio lis

Alex reports on the first Thameside Radio Circle Line picnic. He also meets Thameside listener  Vanessa Newman. There are lots of complimentary letters even one from America. The Birdman has Marks (Marx?) in the studio demonstrating his award winning scream. He also tells us that the July 29th Evening News (a one time competitor to the Evening Standard) had an article about  Thameside Radio . Listeners include: Paul Dancer. Susan Baker. Roger Vosene. Len Galbraith. Tommy Reisley. Ashcombe School.  Park High School. Rupert Bailey. Susan Baker. Martin Baker. Arlene Philips. Mandy Squires. John Firth. Karen Hardy. Dermot Scanlon. Robert Bly.  The Southall punks. Andrew du Pre

Bob was meant to be on holiday touring southern Europe and North Africa but as his P reg orange Triumph Spitfire was stolen in Spain so he is back  after just 1 week. It wasn’t insured either. (The car was found by the Spanish police a few weeks later). Alex who was was standing in for Bob  is going to hosting the first Thameside Radio Circle Line Picnic at 2pm next Friday. It’s in a no smoking carriage (remember those). Listeners have to wear a hat, daffodil or something Thameside and bring sandwiches to swap and a bottle. Songs include Sue Wilkinson's “You’ve got to be a hustler if you want to get on” – one of my favourite records that no-one else remembers. You can see it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0HHQ7s2R3w.  Banana Split by Lio   is the listeners most popular new release (and another of my favourites)Dave makes up for playing long records the previous week by playing a lot of his old sketches – remember Dangerous Animals of the World?  The superquiz is impossible as ever. He also has the winne

The fifth of the regular Intrepid Birdman shows on Thameside Radio 90.2 - Dave is  definitely getting into his  stride now: it's full of fun, horror and fiendishly difficult quizzes.

This recording starts with a some of the ten minute "warmup" which Thameside Radio used to broadcast before the official 7pm start. The warmup originally formed part of the early broadcasts because the entire  transmission setup was portable and needed setting up afresh every week. The 10 minutes of music before the 7pm start time provided a few moments to verify that everything was working perfectly. It would be used to align the link aerial, check power supplies, make sure the leads were  plugged in properly and to check the tape player if the show was prerecorded. After a few months there was a  permanent transmitter installation in Trellick Tower and fixed studios in Kew, Chiswick and Ealing so you could be sure that everything would come to life at the flick of a switch. But by then  warmup had proven itself useful in catching listeners tuning over from Radio 1 charts just after (or before) the Number 1 record was played (lets face it - there are only so many times that you want to listen to "Mull of K

This was the  second week that Dave Birdman took over  from Tony Lloyd. Also clue 2 for the treasure hunt and part 2 of Norman Normal. There's a jingle explaining how listening to Bob Edwards can cure dandruff.Bob wants to play all of "the Wall" but Dave won't let him. Bob of Camden Town wins the mystery tune competition - he is a DJ at the Royal Free Hospital. Mentions include: Martin Gould. Another letter from Pat Hickey for her family (big fans they were). The heavy rockers at Ealing College. Su Everett.  Nick Luxford of Chelsea everyone at Notting Hill nick.  Steven Cruickshank. Marcus Gaugales. Hammersmith and West London Collegs. Dave Watson. Andy and Madeleine of Richmond whho are getting married. Tony Alegranza from East Finchley. St Cartwright Gardens. Diana Evans. Derek Card of Shepherds Bush. Ian Oakey of Caterham School. John Turner. Richmond upon Thames College. John Peak from Inperial College.  Sadly this is only the first half of the 3 hour broadcast. If you have any recordings of Thameside Rad

The Intrepid Birdman explains haw he gets inspiration for his Thameside Radio jingles with the help of a warm bath and a piano. He also interrupts Bob a lot. Danny Webb of Hammersmith enters the mystery voice competition as does Alan Dolby.  There is another treasure hunt where listeners have to find an envelope hidden somewhere in London. – with new clues each week. Listener Jonathan Wilmot of Wembley tells us that he was awarded an out of court settlement after being caned at his school in Harrow. There is also a recording of the Intrepid Birdman's "OK Ron" at the end of the tape Dedications include Tracy Leatham of Chingford. Alan Jameson of Hampton. Kim Walsh. Dave Kenny of Twickenham. Kingston Poly. Jim Stockwell. Sharon Slezer. King College. John Lyon School. Marie Rosa. Haverstock School. Linda-Jane Hickey (age 3½) This is the first half of the broadcast - as ever if you have any more Thameside recordings do please get in touch Al

 Tony Lloyd presents a lovely laid back show with contributions from Dave Birdman and Debbie the phone girl.  The star prize for the Thameside competitions is a packet of Spangles. There is a recorded feature on life in the US sent in by Bob who is still on holiday. Listeners include: Dick Gustavsen from Sweden. Jean Fooks from Epson. Barclays Bank in Ewell. Keith Archer from Romford. Dave Collins. Graham King from Orpington. Andrew Shaw of Bromley. Philip Casell from Harlesden. Trevor Ball.  xxx Judging by the number of letters and calls the station is growing rapidly in popularity. By now Thameside 90.2 is definitely a major part of the London radio scene. The recording improves significantly half way through.

Tony Lloyd the Thameside Radio newsreader takes over behind the mic as Bob Edwards has gone on holiday to the USA.

The wonderful Thameside Radio wander mic comes into its own as the crew celebrate 6 months of untroubled broadcasting. Bob is in the garden with the Birdman making helpful contributions. You can hear the birds tweeting in the background when Bob is on. Bob tells us that  Richard and Tony are running the desk in the studio upstairs and that his  little sister is handing out the beers.   This is the first 30 minutes of the show. If you have the other half – or any recordings of Thameside shows please do send me a note. Listeners include John Dodds of Putney, Kevin Tunstall in N19 and Keith Baker,   Al (@fmthen.com)  

Time Out have just run a centre page spread on the London pirate stations featuring Thameside Radio so the team are sounding pleased. It’s clear that there are radio pirates broadcasting pretty much every day and throughout the weekend in London.  This was an interesting week behind the scenes: Rather than just responding to reports of interference Eric Gotts, who ran the Home Office detection unit, was actively trying to close down all the pirates. Many of the pirates had now discovered the radio channel that the detection unit used so they were able to stop broadcasting or change transmitters as soon as they were being tracked. However this week half way through the evening the detection team were heard to say that they were “going home as all the pirates have gone off” so many of the pirates came back on. In fact the Home Office switched channels and ran a number of successful raids.  This does illustrate how this was something of a personal battle between Eric Gotts and the pirates. It was wasn’t just a

Dave takes over from Bob for an extended broadcast and we hear for the first time from Ian the Thameside Radio engineer who takes over from Dave for a while. Hi Ian! The show finishes early (well just after midnight) because the transmitter was turned off before Dave finished his show.