Vintage radio tape rips

Nostalgists and radio historians – it’s your time. Here we go with the most comprehensive set of vintage radio tape rips yet, this time culled from various other sources alongside my usual garage archives. We’re going way back with this lot – the earliest recording dates to 1978!
Should be something for everyone here, whether you’re an old-school cat who remembers this stuff, or a young dude/ dudette that wonders what black music radio sounded like in the days before 1Xtra.
Just by way of a quick disclaimer, I have to point out that the sound quality of these recordings varies greatly – little surprise when the rips come from so many different sources, and the fact that they’re so damn old. But it’s all listenable, and if you ask me, it just adds to the historic authenticity!
The downloads are 320kbps all the way.

Courtesy of Mark Devlin.
Continue reading for the download links and info.

VINTAGE RADIO TAPE RIPS – THE NEW SELECTION

Nostalgists and radio historians – it’s your time. Here we go with the most comprehensive set of vintage radio tape rips yet, this time culled from various other sources alongside my usual garage archives. We’re going way back with this lot – the earliest recording dates to 1978!

Should be something for everyone here, whether you’re an old-school cat who remembers this stuff, or a young dude/ dudette that wonders what black music radio sounded like in the days before 1Xtra.

Just by way of a quick disclaimer, I have to point out that the sound quality of these recordings varies greatly – little surprise when the rips come from so many different sources, and the fact that they’re so damn old. But it’s all listenable, and if you ask me, it just adds to the historic authenticity!

The downloads are 320kbps all the way. Here we go…

GREG EDWARDS, SOUL SPECTRUM, CAPITAL RADIO, 1978

This was a real find on Soundcloud. The earliest known surviving recording of Greg Edwards’ long-running legendary Saturday evening soul show on Capital Radio. 40 minutes of a session from some time in 1978. The irony of Greg’s first link pointing out the wrongfulness of recording off the radio was mot lost on me. Pretty good quality considering the original cassette’s now 31 years old!
Greg Edwards Capital Radio 1978.mp3
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ROBBIE VINCENT, RADIO LONDON SOUL SHOW, EARLY 1980s

The Robbie Vincent-fest begins with this whole bunch of recordings I found of his Saturday lunchtime BBC Radio London Soul Show, which pre-dated his long-running stint at Radio 1. The dates of most of these aren’t clear, but at least one dates back to 1981. Fairly poor sound quality on a couple.

Robbie Vincent Radio London Soul Show P1.mp3
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Robbie Vincent Radio London Soul Show P2.mp3
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Robbie Vincent Radio London Soul Show P3.mp3
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Robbie Vincent Radio London Soul Show P4.mp3
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Robbie Vincent Radio London Soul Show P5.mp3
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Robbie Vincent Radio London Saturday Show P6 (161kbps).mp3
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ROBBIE VINCENT/ RANKIN’ MISS P TRAILER, 1984

A double-headed promo for Radio 1’s Sound Of Sunday Nite format.
Rankin Miss P_ Robbie Vincent R1 trailer.mp3
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THE RANKIN’ MISS P, RADIO 1, CIRCA 1984

Miss P followed on from Robbie Vincent on Sunday nights with a wicked reggae show – the forerunner to Chris Goldfinger. This is just a brief snippet of one of the show links.
Rankin Miss P, Radio 1.mp3
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ROBBIE VINCENT. TRAILER FOR FIRST RADIO 1 SHOW

The 28-second promo for his first R1 show, (annoyingly talked over by Steve Wright, by the sounds of it.)
Robbie Vincent’s 1st R1 show promo.mp3
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ROBBIE VINCENT’S FIRST SOUND OF SUNDAY NITE, RADIO 1, NEW YEAR’S DAY 1984

And here’s over an hour of that very first show.
Robbie Vincent’s first Radio 1 show, 1/1/84
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ROBBIE VINCENT’S KILLER CUTS, RADIO ONE, 1984-1989

A treat for all who remember Radio One’s Sound of Sunday Nite, (and latterly Saturday Nite.) Here’s a whole bunch of his year-end Killer Cuts, showcasing the soul, jazz, funk and fusion of the day.

It’s a complete set from 1984 to 1989, though curiously, with the 1988 instalment missing … so if anyone has it please get in touch! Big thanks to Mark Butler for supplying most of these. This guys tape archival game is strong!

The ’84, ’85, 86 and ’89 programmes are in FM stereo. ’87 is in muffled medium wave, sadly, but still listenable.

Andy Peebles, who occasionally presented a second soul show on Radio 1, seems to crop up in the second ’84 tape, for some reason.

Robbie Vincent Radio One Killer Cuts 1984 Part 1.mp3
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Robbie Vincent Radio One Killer Cuts 1984 Part 2.mp3
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Robbie Vincent Radio One Killer Cuts 1985 Part 1.mp3
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Robbie Vincent Radio One Killer Cuts 1985 Part 2.mp3
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Robbie Vincent Radio One 1986 Part 1.mp3
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Robbie Vincent Radio One 1986 Part 2.mp3
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Robbie Vincent Killer Cuts 1987 P1.mp3
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Robbie Vincent Killer Cuts 1987 P2.mp3
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Robbie Vincent Radio One Killer Cuts 1989 Part 1.mp3
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Robbie Vincent Radio One Killer Cuts 1989 Part 2.mp3
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ROBBIE VINCENT, SEPTEMBER 1988

A random latter-day RV show, happily in FM stereo. (These were the days when, unbelievably, Radio 1 used to broadcast mainly in medium wave, sharing its FM frequency and overnight programming with Radio 2.)
Robbie Vincent Sep 1988.mp3
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ASSORTED WESTWOOD GEMS

A great selection for all Westwood completists, and a proper revelation to younger heads whose only experience of the dude has been in his latter-day performing fool era. Whatever he’s now become, the guy was a true soldier and trailblazer back in the day.

WESTWOOD ON LWR, 1985

A trip way back to the pirate days of London Weekend Radio/ LWR. Tower Block ghetto-style. Fascinating stuff.
Westwood on LWR.1985 mp3
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WESTWOOD. LIVE TO LONDON FROM THE LIMELIGHT, SEP 1987

The earliest known recording of Westwood on Capital Radio, from when he’d just joined the roster as one of its ‘bright new shining stars’, (in the words of John Sachs who introduces him.) Here’s a snippet of his slick intro to the first ever Live To London jam from the Limelight club, introducing Spoonie Gee’s ‘The Godfather.’
Westwood at The Limelight, Sep 1987.mp3
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WESTWOOD WITH KRS ONE. CAPITAL RAP SHOW. 1988

An early edition of the legendary world-famous CRS, featuring Westwood in civil conversation with KRS One in the days when they were cool.
Westwood with KRS One Dec 1988.mp3
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WESTWOOD. CAPITAL RAP SHOW. 17 MAR 1989

A random ’89 instalment of the legendary world-famous. A full 20 years on.
Westwood CRS 17_3_89.mp3
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WESTWOOD’S LAST EVER CAPITAL RAP SHOW, 3 DEC 1994

The final appearance from Westwood on Capital, a week before he moved over for his debut on Radio 1. This is a (seemingly pre-recorded) Rap Exchange with Funkmaster Flex at Hot 97 in New York. (Reception quality a little hissy, sadly.)
Westwood Last CRS 3_12_94 P1.mp3
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Westwood Last CRS 3_12_94 P2.mp3
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JEFF YOUNG’S FINAL BIG BEAT, RADIO 1. 28 DEC 1990

Jeff Young held down the Friday evening dance music slot on Radio 1 for three years before the arrival of Pete Tong. This turned out to be his last session, which also acted as a round-up of 1990’s big tunes. Includes a whole hour of ‘National Fresh’, which was Jeff’s excursion into hip-hop territory. This was still four years before the arrival of Westwood on Radio 1.

Jeff Young 28_12_90 P1.mp3
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Jeff Young 28_12_90 P2.mp3
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Jeff Young 28_12_90 P3 (Rap).mp3
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PETE TONG’S LAST EVER SESSION, CAPITAL RADIO, 29 DEC 1990

Part two of Pete Tong’s 1990 year-end round-up, which also marked his last ever Saturday evening Session after three years on the station. A week later he started on Radio 1. 1990 was a truly fascinating year for dance music fusion, and there’s some real gems in here. Reception gets a little fuzzy in places, but hardly surprising since the tape was recorded in West Oxfordshire, 70 miles away from London!
Pete Tong 29_12_90 P1.mp3
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Pete Tong 29_12_90 P2.mp3
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PETE TONG’S RADIO 1 DEBUT, 4 JAN 1991

Here’s Pete Tong’s first ever Essential Selection on Radio 1, dating back to the first week of January 1991, a week after he moved across from Capital Radio.
Pete Tong Radio 1 debut Jan 1991.mp3
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MARK DEVLIN & KID FURY. THE VERY FIRST JOINTS & JAMS, 19/12/98

As I was delving in the archives, I figured I may as well fling up a couple of my own. This was the very first edition of Joints & Jams, the Saturday evening show that Kid Fury and myself presented on Oxygen 107.9 in Oxford from ’98 to 2000. Our enthusiasm at getting the show is clear. I seem to be jabbering like I was on coke, (I wasn’t.)
Joints & Jams 19_12_98.mp3
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JOINTS & JAMS 90s REVIEW EXCERPT, 28/12/99

As we prepare for the big reviews of the decade of the noughties, here’s a bit of the four-hour show Fury and myself presented ten years ago reviewing all the big sounds of the 1990s. We’re catching jokes in this link with a few reminiscences.
Joints & Jams 90s review link.mp3
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MILLENNIUM NIGHT LIVE AT THE FORUM, CARDIFF

And here’s how Fury and myself rang in the millennium, a full ten years ago on New Year’s Eve 1999 at the legendary Forum.
Millennium Night, Apocalypse, Cardiff. 31_12_99.mp3
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