After a successful end to 1979, New Years Day 1980 saw Bert Williams switching on the transmitter and making the shock announcement that he was closing the station down at 4pm. During his show, he went through a short history of the station saying it was 'defunct and no longer in existence' and explained why he was closing it down. He said there was a 'dispute' with the person who occupies the transmission site and they were unable to find any other suitable sites, but also says though, that if any of the lads want to carry on without him then that is ok, but without his transmitting equipment. |
266m was not silent for long however, as on Saturday 12th January 1125kHz it burst into life once more. However according to Mike Stand in his first show back, the transmitter power had been reduced from 400 to 100 watts. The signal on the first weekend was noticeably lower that in late 1979, as the foreign station was breaking through more. The issues that Bert Williams had during his broadacast on 1st January seemed to have been resolved, as he was still invloved with the station. Although he was still being the butt of a lot of jokes. |
| 1980_01_12_sat_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1800-1900_MikeStand-EM117.mp3 | This was the first full day back in 1980 after Bert closed the station down on New Years Day. Signal was very wobbly with the foreign station |
| 1980_01_13_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1855-1900_MikeStand-EM9.mp3 | |
| 1980_01_20_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1850-1950_MikeStand.mp3 | The signal seemed slightly better this weekend, and the wobbling signal was much reduced |
| 1980_01_20_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_2055-2118_RobinBlind-EM17.mp3 | Some stuck record issues up to the start of the Robin Blind Show |
| 1980_01_20_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_2120-2150_RobinBlind-EM17.mp3 | |
| 1980_01_26_sat_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1920-1950_MikeStand-EM47.mp3 | |
| 1980_01_26_sat_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1950-2020_MikeStand_SimonJames-EM47.mp3 |
|
Edition 4 of Free Radio Radio Flyer, from around January 1980
contained two short pieces about the station of Merseyland
Alternative Radio. They seemed quite impressed with the signal
and programming, but a little shocked when they heard deejays asking
for transmitter locations, which they thought was a security risk. |
| Here
is the general lineup for February and March 1980. Bert Williams
normally hosted a 4 hour show, but on 3rd February, Paul Jay was
heard doing a guest appearance between 1600 and 1800. This was
his first show since leaving the station in November 1979. |
| 0900-100 | Jim Brown |
| 1000-1200 | Dave Simpson |
| 1200-1400 | John Dwyer |
| 1400-1600 | Bert Williams |
| 1600-1800 | Paul Jay |
| 1800-2000 | Mike Stand |
| 2000-2100 | Simon James |
| 2100-2300 | Robin Blind |
| 2300-2400 | Jim and John Show |
February and March 1980 saw the station back to regularity and with a fairly stable lineup. Even Paul Jay came back to do a show. A new joint show by Jim Brown and John Dwyer appeared in place of Paul Raven and was termed 'The Jim and John Show'. |
There was a large and interesting article in the Liverpool Echo from Tuesday 1st April 1980 about pirate radio on Merseyside. Both MAR and Radio Jackie North were featured. |
In May 1980 there appeared to be further internal issues, culminating in the end of Bert Williams involvement in the station. Bert had recently been missing from his programmes and in his show on Saturday 17th May, Andy Davis commented that he was filling in for Bert, as he was once again on business 'down south' We have no recordings of the station from April and so are not sure when Bert may have done his last show. |
The lineup for Saturday 17th May 1980 : This may have been the last weekend before Bert Williams left the station as MAR was not on the air for three weeks at the end of May and beginning of June. |
| 0900-100 | Jim Brown / Dave Jason |
| 1000-1200 | Jim Brown |
| 1200-1400 | Dave Simpson |
| 1400-1600 | Andy Davis |
| 1600-1800 | John Dwyer |
| 1800-2000 | Mike Stand |
| 2000-2200 | Simon James |
| 2200-2400 | Bill and Ben Rock Show |
| 1980_05_04_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1050-1135_DaveSimpson-gh.mp3 | Not good quality, but recorded in Hawes, North Yorkshire on a camping trip, showing how far the signal was travelling without the aid of a loop aerial. |
| 1980_05_17_sat_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_0955-1025_DaveJason_JimBrown-gh233.mp3 | Recorded whilst driving through Liverpool |
| 1980_05_17_sat_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1030-1150_JimBrown-gh233.mp3 | |
| 1980_05_17_sat_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1150-1305_JimBrown_DaveSimpson-gh233.mp3 | |
| 1980_05_17_sat_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1315-1404_DaveSimpson_AndyDavis-gh233.mp3 | |
| 1980_05_17_sat_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1404-1530_AndyDavis-gh233.mp3 | |
| 1980_05_17_sat_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1535-1655_AndyDavis_JohnDwyer-gh233.mp3 | |
| 1980_05_17_sat_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1655-1715_JohnDwyer-gh233.mp3 |
MAR was off the air for three weeks in late May early June 1980 and when it did returned on 14th June was without Bert Williams. There were a few changes since the previous broadcast. The transmission audio quality had reduced and was a little distorted at times. The weekend hourly broadcast length, had now been reduced to 24 hours. Bert had parted company with MAR and left to start his own station Merseyside Music Radio. According to Bert in later broadcasts on his own station, MMR, the new MAR transmitters were obtained from Radio Jackie in London, and they were also using cheap cassette players. The station also now had a new mailing address of 72 Mill Hey Heights, Moreton, Wirral, Merseyside. The new weekend schedule seemed to be now as below. However on that first Saturday, Dash Riprock was heard replacing John Dwyer |
| 1000-1100 | Jim Brown |
| 1100-1300 | Dave Simpson |
| 1300-1500 | John Dwyer |
| 1500-1700 | Andy Davis |
| 1700-1900 | Mike Stand |
| 1900-2000 | Dave Jason / Jim Brown |
| 2000-2200 | Simon James |
| 2200 | Sign Off |
|
1980_06_14_sat_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1413-1458_DashRiprock-EM239.mp3 |
|
|
1980_06_14_sat_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1458-1543_DashRiprock_AndyDavis-EM239.mp3 |
Andy Davis announces changes at the station including reduced hours and new mailing address |
|
1980_07_06_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1000-1100_DaveSimpson-E186.mp3 |
Studio recording of 1st hour of Dave Simpson morning show sent to Gary back in 1980 |
|
1980_07_06_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1520_airchecks_following_po_activity-gh.mp3 |
Live announcement by John Dwyer following Post Office activity in the area. These rather crackly airchecks were recorded in Leeds and also include Andy Davis and Mike Stand |
| 1980_07_06_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_2100-2200_DaveSimpson-E186.mp3 | A studio recording of a late evening show from Dave Simpson sent to Gary in 1980. Dave was filling in for Robin Blind |
| 1980_07_13_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1858-2000_MikeStand_SimonJames_Final_Show-EM88.mp3 | The final show from Simon James. Chris Francis took over future Disco Shows |
| Recorded in Leeds with the aid of a loop aerial | |
| Recorded in Leeds with the aid of a loop aerial | |
| 1980_08_03_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1901-1930_ChrisFrancis-EM102.mp3 | Chris Francis took over the Disco SHow after Simon James left in July |
| 1980_08_03_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1933-2001_ChrisFrancis-EM102.mp3 |
MAR put together a special broadcast on 14th August 1980 to commemorate the anniversary of the 1967 Marine Etc. Broadcasting Offences Act. The programmes lasted for 3 hours and contained history and airchecks from the offshore stations of the 60s. It is thought the station didn't get on the air until 3:15pm. Hence the studio recording here of the first 55 minutes. |
| 1980_08_14_thu_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1500-1557_MOA-Special-E637.mp3 | Studio recording of the first hour of the MOA special, sent to Gary by Dave Simpson. |
| The special MOA broadcast as recorded near Blackpool. | |
|
1980_08_17_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am266m_1055-1417_DaveSimpson_JohnDwyer-gh.mp3 |
Recorded near Blackpool |
The station had problems during the August bank holiday weekend. According to John Dwyer on his Sunday show, they managed to put out only 7 of 15 hours of shows on Saturday. This was due to 2 downed aerials and a valve replacement. Apparently a pigeon had also been causing an aerial issue. During the day it was announced that Andy Davis had left the station, with John Dwyer and Mike Stand each doing an extra hour until a replacement deejay could be found. Dave Simpson had said in his show earlier that Andy had gone to Radio Jackie North, and Bert was operating his new station with Jimbo Jim Brown and Paul Jay. The audio quality on Sunday's shows was much better than the previous weekend, so perhaps the replacement valve had helped. The station was also announcing broadcasts for Bank Holiday Monday, but we have no recordings. |
| 1980_08_24_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1100-1510_DaveSimpson_JohnDwyer-gh.mp3 | Recorded near Blackpool |
| 1000-1300 | Dave Simpson |
| 1300-1600 | John Dwyer |
| 1600-1900 | Mike Stand |
| 1900-2000 | Dash Riprock |
| 2000-2200 | Chris Francis |
| 2200-2400 | Matt Black |
| The lineup
for Saturday 30th August 1980 (above) and Sunday 31st August 1980
(below): It was announced during the
day that due to holidays, the station would be off the air until
Saturday 13th September 1980. The audio on the transmissions
during this Sunday sounded particularly poor and distorted. The
station also had a shortened schedule for the day, broadcasting only
until 10pm. The shortened schedule may have been due to Andy
Davis having left, and also Robin Blind still being away. It
was noted however that Robin would be returning mid-September. |
| 1000-1100 | Kevin Hall |
| 1100-1300 | Dave Simpson |
| 1300-1600 | John Dwyer |
| 1600-1900 | Mike Stand |
| 1900-2000 | Chris Francis |
| 2000-2200 | Matt Black |
| 1980_08_31_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1050-1135_KevinHall_DaveSimpson_EM.mp3 | |
MAR could be heard as far away as Western Scotland without the aid of a loop aerial. Here is a letter which Ian received from John Dwyer following a reception report in the summer of 1980. |
We have no recordings of MAR after the 'holiday weekend', until Sunday 28th September. By the 28th, Dave Simpson had also returned from his own time away and was about to start a new series of one hour Free Radio Shows commencing at 9am each Sunday. These would begin on 5th October. It was noticeable that the audio quality of the transmissions had improved during September and early October. |
| 1980_09_28_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1135-1310_DaveSimpson_JohnDwyer-gh.mp3 | Recorded in Leeds with the aid of a loop aerial |
The weekend of 25th/26th October 1980 saw the station celebrate its first birthday. Gary drove across from Leeds on Saturday morning expecting to spend a few hours listening to the station in quality, only to find on his arrival at 1100 they were not on the air. Radio Jackie North were just signing on with Rick Dane however on 217m / 1413kHz, so he spent some time listening to Rick Dane, whilst regularly checking 1125kHz. It turned out that MAR did not appear until around 3pm, but when it did, the audio was far from good. The closer to the transmission site in Moreton, the more distorted the station's audio seemed to become. It is not known whether the audio issues on the transmission were related to the late sign on, or whether it was due to the Post Office being in the area. |
The lineup for the first birthday special shows of Sunday 26th October 1980 : This was heard being announced during the Robin Blind show the previous evening. Most deejays would be doing an hour, and the schedule gave listeners the chance to hear some night-time deejays during the daytime. |
| 0900-100 | Free Radio Show |
| 1000-1100 | SJ and AF |
| 1100-1200 | Kevin Hall |
| 1200-1300 | Martin Green |
| 1300-1400 | Robin Blind |
| 1400-1500 | Chris Francis |
| 1500-1600 | Matt Black |
| 1600-1700 | Mike Stand |
| 1800-2000 | Dave Simpson |
| 2000-2200 | John Dwyer |
Shortly after the first birthday, the start of November 1980 saw the station in a bit of turmoil. There was a reported raid, which turned out to be fake. Then two stations calling themselves MAR were heard operating on the same frequency of 1125kHz during the weekend of 15/16th. It was then announced that MAR would split into two stations. The original MAR would broadcast on another frequency close to 1125kHz, and a new station Radio North Independent would continue on 1125kHz. One of the stations was heard signing on at 10am on Saturday 15th November giving out a new address. The other station was then heard transmitting continuous music on top. Further recordings of MAR and Radio North Independent from this weekend and more, can be found at www.merseypirates.com By the end of November, it seemed to be back to one MAR on 1125kHz. However it was noticed that a number of presenters were missing, and it wasn't long before they were heard towards Christmas, on a new station called Radio Elenore, broadcasting around 254m. |
| 1980_11_15_sat_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1000-1030_station_being_jammed-EM255.mp3 | On this recording, a 'different' MAR was heard signing on at 10am and giving out a new address of 71 Ashville Road. There was then interference by another transmitter on 1125kHz. |
| 1980_11_23_sun_Merseyland_Alternative_Radio_1125am-266m_1430-1600_MartinGreen-EM01.mp3 | The following weekend, the 'original' MAR seemed to have returned to 1125kHz. |
Going into December 1980, several new voices were heard on the station, taking the place of those who had left and who were now on Radio Elenore. The schedule was a little fluid during the month, but on one Saturday was as below |
| 1000-1100 | Steve Jones |
| 1100-1300 | Martin Green |
| 1300-1400 | Mark in America |
| 1400-1600 | John Dwyer |
| 1600-1800 | Mike Stand |
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