Mark Cagney's Nightrain (2FM in the 80s)

Drag00n79 · 20-12-2006 1:22am #1

I was thinking of this 2FM show the other night. It used to be my nightly listening (up to 01.50) back in the mid-eighties. Cagney really suited nighttime radio. Afterwards Mike Maloney tried to do somethnig similar and while his show was ok it was not in the same class as Cagney's IMHO. I was trying to remember what bands/singers and songs Mark used to play a lot of. What I recall is lots of Prefab Sprout, Robert Cray, JJ Cale, The Doors' 'Riders on the Storm' and The Blue Nile's 'A Walk Across the Rooftops'. Can other people remember what was played a lot on that show? Pity the guy is lost to radio nowadays.

mike65 · 20-12-2006 11:23am

Radio 2s little slice of "classic American FM" radio. The kind of thing that would never stand a chance of being commissioned now but is exactly what 2fm should be doing.

Mike.

Cooee · 20-12-2006 11:30am

Mark after Dark!

Remember hearing stuff like Cocteau Twins and he seemed to play a lot of the Sting stuff (I think - Dream of the Blue Turtles?) and what was that song he played to end the show, the one on something like a tin whistle?

Sponge Bob · 20-12-2006 12:34pm

That tin whistle tune was actually a LOW Whistle tune and came off the classic instrumental Moving Hearts album The Storm

My favourite one was a new flash/bulletin about a train smash somewhere between dublin and cork and with dead people and all and then just after the news flash the ident jingle goes Nigggghhhhhht Traaaaaaaaaaaain . .

Just the once , then they stopped jingling for the rest of the program

And after 1am they would play about 40mins of music in one straight set no yabbering or ads or jingles. For Ireland in the 1980s it was an excellent program. Please bring him back to us in 2006. 2fm never improved on or matched Marks program in their after 1am slots , not in the past 20 years .

Some of it was absolutely great, I remember 40 mins of classic Bob Marley tunes one night as I drove down from Dublin.

robo · 21-12-2006 2:26pm

I don't remember Mark Cagney, but Mike Moloney...I loved his show and guests. He used to have bands on and does anyone remember Emilia Go-Lightly????

Wishbone Ash · 21-12-2006 2:29pm

Yes, I loved it too - midnight to 1.50am. Preceded by 'Lights Out' 10pm to 12mn with Gerry Ryan (before he became an idiot) and before that Dave Fanning 8pm to 10pm.

Big Tone · 21-12-2006 3:35pm

Shamrok wrote:

Can other people remember what was played a lot on that show? Pity the guy is lost to radio nowadays.

Plenty of Donald Fagan "IGY" and most tracks from The Nightfly LP from 1982, lots of Chris Rea (when he was good) with "Love Strange Ways", "Let it loose" and the 12" version of "I can hear your heartbeat".

One track that still stands out is "When Sly Calls (dont touch that phone) by Michael Franks from the 1983 Passion Fruit LP, another outstanding introduction courtesy of Mr Mark Cagney (when he was good etc etc).

mike65 · 21-12-2006 8:13pm

The Nightfly is a total classic though I suspect it appealed to night owl DJs for reasons other than its quality. It nearly makes a DJ sound noble on the title track!

Mike.

DMC · 21-12-2006 9:04pm

robo wrote:

does anyone remember Emilia Go-Lightly????

/me nods. And I preferred Moloney after Midnight.

Someone has WAYYY to much time on their hands!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilia_Golightly

Greenman · 21-12-2006 9:10pm

Remember Pat Kenny on RTE radio before Radio 2 and "Night Bus" That was a good show when didn't know much.

mike65 · 21-12-2006 11:38pm

Pat Kenny did The Outside Track which was album music on a Sunday if I recall rightly.

Mike.

byte · 22-12-2006 12:10am

DMC wrote:

/me nods. And I preferred Moloney after Midnight.

Someone has WAYYY to much time on their hands!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilia_Golightly

LOL. That brings back some memories!

Greenman · 22-12-2006 1:05am

mike65 wrote:

Pat Kenny did The Outside Track which was album music on a Sunday if I recall rightly.

Mike.

That was on Radio 2.

essdee · 23-12-2006 8:42pm

At one stage on the programme Mark Cagney did a few nights of soul music (Soul Train) where he went through the alphabet playing some of the icons of soul music. My brother recorded them on an old C90 (which we still have!). Some of the tracks on it include
Hanging up my heart just for you (Solomon Burke)
Please Please Please (DOn't Go) and Get up off of that thing(James Brown)
Let's Groove (Earth Wind and Fire)
Do you Love Me (Now that I can dance), The Contours
Easy Like Sunday Morning (Commodores)
You Send Me (Sam Cooke)
Duke of Earl (Gene Chandler)
Sweet Soul Music (Arthur Connelly)
Memphis Soul Stew (King Curtis)
Working in a Coal Mine (Lee Dorsey)
Do Right Woman, Say a Little Prayer and Respect (Aretha Franklin)
etc. etc.

Overall it was a great introduction to the magic of soul music delivered with Cagney's rich voice and deep knowledge of music

murray sparkle · 27-12-2006 12:44am

I really don't wa t to sound like one of those 'they don't make 'em like they used to' heads, but for once people on here are right - Mark Cagney's Night train was quite simply the best radio show on Irish radio in the 80's and since. I started listening from about 85 onwards as an 11 year old. Whilst everyone in my class in primary school was yapping on about Queen and ACDC and U2 I was taping (Oops!) Michael Franks 'When Sly Calls', loads of China Crisis, Brook Benton 'Rainy Night In Georgia', 'Right Next Door (Because of Me) by Robert Cray, 'Tinseltown In The Rain' by The Blue Nile, 'Racing In The Streets' by Springsteen and countless others. Needless to say it was thanks to Mr C that I developed an obsession with Donald Fagen and Steely Dan.

I met him for a few seconds about three years ago and for a few moments wrestled with the thought of going up to him and saying how much I loved the show back then and was about to say 'sod it' - but I went up to him, shook his hand and said a very brief thanks for everything - and thanks for the musical education and he seemed genuinely chuffed. Nice man!

2FM, being the home of great programming ideas (remember Maxi on breakfast!) put Cagney on at Drivetime in the 88/89 time scale. It was called Mr C for Tea! He had all the traffic ****e and stuff but still managed to play When Sly Calls from time to time and ended his last 2FM show with 'Wake Up and Make Love to Me' by Ian Dury and Co. He left on the same night that Marty Whelan left to go to Century.

Oh! He always played that thirteen minute version of The River from the Springsteen box set!

Sadly with radio programmed to within an inch of its life now the chances of ever getting a station like that are nil, the chances of getting a widely available show like that are minimal.

What amazes me is this - there are still millions of people buying CD's, downloading illegally or legally every week in this country, yet the programmers still think that we all want to haer the same 70 songs over and over again. In the off peak hours it's all alternative stuff- there's no show that plays those 80's album tracks mixed with the best new stuff, soul, classic artists all presented with engaging chat - nothing at all. The closest that I have found is the Bob Harris show on BBC Radio 2, but I'd love to listen to Cagney doing a show like that any night!

mike65 · 27-12-2006 11:37pm

Tis a good lament! (and yes everyone on this thread is heading into the Grumpy Old Men cohort). The nonsence is that the demographic shift is such that the kind of 70/80s quality retro music we love should have an obvious audience and its one radio has'nt spotted - still in thrawl to the 15-25 age group for whom music is 'buzzin', 'bad' and 'savage'.

Excuse me while I brew the kettle for some Horlicks.

Mike.

legspin · 31-12-2006 10:28am

I have always been a fan of late night radio. Mr C and Mike Moloney on 2fm, Radio Luxembourg (RIP) and now Donal Dineen on Todayfm.

Greenman · 31-12-2006 12:26pm

legspin wrote:

I have always been a fan of late night radio. Mr C and Mike Moloney on 2fm, Radio Luxembourg (RIP) and now Donal Dineen on Todayfm.

Remember Paul Vincent on ARD, yes that was great late night radio.

Vincent Stuart on Big D.

Oh those were the days.

legspin · 01-01-2007 6:25pm

Greenman wrote:

Remember Paul Vincent on ARD, yes that was great late night radio.

Vincent Stuart on Big D.

Oh those were the days.

Unfortunatly I lived in the sticks. Couldn't get the Dublin pirates.:(

mentalson · 01-01-2007 6:31pm

Well we'd really like to stay with you longer
Cause everything was feeling so right
but till we meet again in the morning
this is RTE Radio 2 wishing you a good good night

Dudess · 04-01-2007 11:25pm

I was only a nipper in the eighties so the radio would firmly be switched off once the Hotline with Barry Lang was over (:D) but, wow, if I'd been the right age I would have loved that Mark Cagney show. Sounds class. Still raging over that other show with "Train" in the title which was dumped from Radio 1 recently to make way for their "brilliant" new schedule. :rolleyes:
And I've wanted to know for a long time who sang When Sly Calls. Now I've found out, I've never heard of him in my life. But cheers anyway.

CLADA · 04-01-2007 11:47pm

A serious blast from the past there lads, are there any real oldies who in their teens listened to the programme Cagneys night train replaced? Am I right in thinking it was Declan Meehan...old,new,borrowed, blue quiz etc..

p.s heres a link for when sly calls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTpXhrWBSAs

Sponge Bob · 05-01-2007 12:30am

not in the same league at all there was far too much talk on that show where Cagney had no ads and no prattle , just the facts

there used to be a damn fine Dublin pirate contemporaneous with Cagney, was it Capitol or Capital radio.

gernon · 05-01-2007 1:24am

I loved Cagney on the Nightrain , played lots of Eagles , Steely Dan and Chris Rea. Pity he became a bit of a tit on TV3's morning show.

Firetrap · 06-01-2007 2:40am

gernon wrote:

I loved Cagney on the Nightrain , played lots of Eagles , Steely Dan and Chris Rea. Pity he became a bit of a tit on TV3's morning show.

Going anywhere near TV3 is a one-way ticket to titdom. I remember Martin King and "Our Man" Aidan Cooney from 98FM and don't remember them being so annoying back then.

The old Mark after Dark show was always good for falling asleep to. Plus, he probably single-handedly kept the Blue Nile going through royalties from airplay.

Drag00n79 · 06-01-2007 10:32pm

murray sparkle wrote:

The closest that I have found is the Bob Harris show on BBC Radio 2, but I'd love to listen to Cagney doing a show like that any night!

Very true, murray sparkle. Bob is indeed the only one I can think of whose show resembles the style of Cagney's. Loved reading your post. Brought back some more of what the guy used to play.

Declan A Walsh · 09-01-2007 11:13pm

Sponge Bob wrote:

not in the same league at all there was far too much talk on that show where Cagney had no ads and no prattle , just the facts

there used to be a damn fine Dublin pirate contemporaneous with Cagney, was it Capitol or Capital radio.

I believe the station you're thinking of is Capitol Radio which ran from 1983 to midnight 31st December 1988. It was my favourite station of the 80's. It had an alternative bent. Initially, it was a rock-oriented album tracks station. It evolved over time into an alternative rock station. In September 1986, it launched its night-time alter ego service Nitesky Radio, which ran from 6 p.m. Basically, during the daytime, it played a bit more A.O.R. and adult pop, but with plenty of indie stuff. Why oh why has it taken so long to come up with a licenced Alternative Rock station (Phantom).
Enough of the rant!....

Mark Cagney's program was a great program for the person with a genuine interest in music and albums. I remember David and David and The Bible, as well as the other examples mentioned.

murray sparkle · 10-01-2007 5:09pm

Declan A Walsh wrote:

Mark Cagney's program was a great program for the person with a genuine interest in music and albums. I remember David and David and The Bible, as well as the other examples mentioned.

Again - two artists that I ended up hearing on NightTrain. When people manetion The Bible they generally refer to Graceland. Although I seem to remember Cagney and G Ryan playing 'Mahalia' quite a lot. David and David's Welcome to The Boomtown was played to death. It took me years to get it on CD, but it brought back great memories!

I got the first two Bible CD's in Our Price in Henry Street a few years ago and they were as good as I had remembered!

murray sparkle · 03-03-2007 2:13pm

I am surprised at how long it is since I last posted on this topic. It's been on my mind on and off since. What has been bugging me is that there really is no source to hear this music anywhere on Irish radio. There are plenty of shows catering for those wanting alternative artists and dance music, but surely some place like Lyric FM could incorporate a show like this into their schedules once a week. After all, they play songs from the shows, crooners, JK ensemble stuff, so why not broaden the parameters just a little. Their JNLR is minimal so I am sure that a late night 'Night Train' type programme showcasing classic album tracks and new album tracks from a certain genre of performers would be well received.

Radio consultants have created a memory vacuum whereby station managers believe that the typical 25 - 54 year old only knows and likes 600 songs in total and that they haven't got the capacity to remember anything from their past that wasn't a universal top five hit.

Amazon wouldn't be the success it was if it didn't sell 'deep catalogue' stock and magazines like 'The Word' in the UK wouldn't be celebrating their 50th edition if it wasn't for the artists mentioned in these posts and their contemporary counterparts.

Where on Irish radio can you hear a mix of Madeline Peyroux, Ry Cooder, Bruce Springsteen, Scritti Politti, David &David, Bowie, Declan O'Rourke, Jackson Browne, RayLaMontagne, Joni Mitchell, Len Cohen, Martha Wainwright, Alfie, Stevie Wonder and other? Nowhere -but I can guarantee that there are people sitting on public transport every day in this country with IPODS choc full of this stuff.

Dudess · 06-03-2007 5:58pm

allie_e17 wrote:

he probably single-handedly kept the Blue Nile going through royalties from airplay.

That in itself makes me a small bit willing to forgive the man. It's probably an ageist thing to say, but I suppose hitting middle-age makes a person more willing to leave the cutting-edge stuff fall by the wayside and turn their attention to the bland, middle-of-the-road side of things. But then again, look at Dave Fanning. And Ian Dempsey's apparently the wrong side of 45, yet I find the stuff he plays now actually better than fifteen years ago. It's great when he digs out a gem from Ian Dury and the Blockheads or Tubeway Army.

mmco.miller2 · 09-11-2011 6:33pm

Hi One and All,
I have to say that this was the best radio show ever - loads of fond memories not to mention great tunes. While this is an abstract question I hope someone ready this can help me on finding a couple of tunes played way back then to which I've got no titles nor artists. The best I can do is to describe what's known about the songs and upload the tunes for anyone willing to help. There are 3 songs driving me crazy and they are as follows -
Song 1 - Some Lyrics - "hey boy come out and take a dance, come on and take a chance- believe in the light of day"
This has very harmonic lyrics, American I would say, very slick. After the couple of versus and choruses it goes on to a string of solos beginning with a guitar solo, followed by a bass solo, then a flute solo I think and finally a keyboard solo - all class - very smooth - about 10 minutes long.
Song 2 - Instrmental Rock-Country - American - very smooth, slick guitar - great musicianship by all
Song 3 - Early Larry Carlton I think - starts of with "the dance of life" in a choral time of effect - I can't figure out the rest. Instrumtal thereafter. Predominantly guitar based - towards the end great triplets roll on drums. Saw it once as a backing track for skateboarding.
Hope someone can help me put names to these tunes. These have been bothering me for the last 30 years.
Cheers
Mick

Mark Cagney's Nightrain (2FM in the 80s)

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