Vintage 2FM Discussion Thread

Can anyone remember what years the Beat on the Street ran? It used to be a pretty big deal in pre-internet Ireland

I think they finished up by the mid to latter 90’s. 1997 if I was to put money on it. Different times, the likes of Electric Eddie and Lorcan Murray being household names on the back of them!

They were still running in 1998 for sure:

that’s a fairly maudlin chart. You’d need something to pick you up after listening to all that

in the latter years of the beat on the street they used to feature PAs by some pop stars of the time listening their hit single. I believe one of these act was bottled by the crowd at one of the events and the event finished early as a result. Maybe that’s why it was abandoned.

The 2FM Beats on the street as we knew them up until 1999 started in 1987 and I think they would have taken over from the Radio 2 organised Larks in the Park (various Dublin parks) and the Lark by the Lee (Cork) where live bands played including U2. I also think nightclub and possibly outdoor gigs that Mark Cagney, Gerry Ryan and Dave Fanning did as a trio around the country pre-1987 were an inspiration to start something bigger. BBC's hugely successful "Radio 1 roadshows" would also have been an influence. The 2FM beats were usually part of local festivals especially outside Dublin and other cities (where they were standalone events).

I seem to remember there may have been a year or 2 (early 90s) where there were no 2FM Beats on the Streets.

In the early beats, the DJs would have played the records themselves, but by 1992 the DJs were there to do the dancing and to interact with the crowds. Also by 1992 / 93 Irish pop artists (Blink) and possibly some from UK (D:Ream) would come on stage and perform a few of their hits. I do remember Boyzone (in their boiler suits), Una and Who's Eddie performing around 1994.

I feel the beats ended in 1999 as the Irish youth culture was changing such as teenagers attending nightclubs, more international pop acts touring in Ireland and dance music exploding into the mainstream. 2FMs popularity was beginning to decline from its early / mid 90s peak by 1997 / 98. I did happen to be in a town where one of the 1999 beats took place on a saturday night and I observed that there wasn't the same energy or crowds as there would have been at the previous ones I witnessed at their peak (92, 93, 94).

The O2 in the park (Phoenix Park) (from 2002, for a few years) would have been 2FMs attempt at replacing the Beats.

There are some clips on the RTE Archive page and on You Tube of past Beats on the streets.

This is also a very good blog of sorts that a young fan created detailing the 97, 98 and 99 beats:

members.tripod.com/~irish_pop/beatindex.html

It came to our little village too! My parents wouldn't allow me to go as I was too young (I would have 10 or 11 at the time.)

2FM re-launch in 2000. Poor Uaneen tragically passed away only 7 months later.

RTÉ Archives | Media | New 2FM Lineup

Funny thing is that after the big news of Gareth leaving 2FM in May 2005 (after being back on the afternoons)…… he filled in on the 2FM breakfast show in Aug / Sept 2005 when Rick and Ruth were axed and Marty Whelan was about to take over !!

I remember it for all the wrong reasons…in late 1998 I was in college and in digs that I hated. The (awful) landlady used to have 2FM on every morning during breakfast and I remember Gareth being on.

Here's something for fans of "Cominatcha" on Radio 2 The Vincent Hanley Summer School in Clonmel……

"Clonmel Junction Arts Festival announces inaugural Vincent Hanley Summer School for 2025 festival

A highlight of Clonmel Junction Arts Festival programme for 2025 will be the Vincent Hanley Summer School, a symposium and vital opportunity to celebrate one of Ireland’s significant celebrities and cultural figures, Vincent Hanley, a Clonmel native.

The Vincent Hanley Summer School will run over three days from 4th to 6th July with a fantastic line-up of presenters, speakers and bands:

8pm on Friday, 4th July:

A discussion of the music legacy of Vincent Hanley with Conor McAnally and guest speakers

Presenter: Conor McAnally (Irish television writer, producer and director)

Speaker: Billy McGrath (Filmmaker and Irish TV veteran)

Speaker: Jim Carroll (music journalist and editor of RTÉ’s Brainstorm)

Music from The Waheys

8pm on Saturday, 5th July:

A discussion of Vincent Hanley and LGBTQ+ rights with Tonie Walsh and guest speakers

Presenter: Tonie Walsh (civil rights activist and curator of the Irish Queer Archive)

Speaker: Dr Páraic Kerrigan (Professor in Media Studies at UCD and author of Reeling in The Queers)

Speaker: Anna Nolan, current chair of the National LGBT Federation and former Big Brother contestant

Music from Garage Inc

6pm on Sunday, 6th July:

Conor McAnally and Tonie Walsh in conversation with Helen Carroll (Irish TV presenter and journalist)

Music from Zrazy

Here's the website: www.junctionfestival.com

vinny was only with Radio 2 for 2 years, though he had a few years with "RTE Radio" (later became Radio 1) and RTE Cork local radio for a few years before that. Who would be available to contribute these days, not many left now - I'm thinking mark storey, ronan collins, dave fanning, pat kenny, marty whelen, michael mcnamara and declan meehan ?? No mention of bill hughes. I guess conor mcanally worked with vinny on TV and Radio so at least that's someone from his popularity heyday.

Looking at the schedule, I did not realize that Niall Toner used to present on Radio 2 (as it was then). A number of years later he presented on Lite Country once a week on Lite FM (now Q102). I also do not recall Philip King as a presenter on Radio 2, but of course in much more recent times he has presented a music programme on RTE Radio 1.

Didn't realise they aired the Goon Show on 2Fm. Wow.