1960’s Transistor Radio
“Throughout most of my life, two things have been consistent: music and sport. They can both be traced back to a transistor radio on a windowsill.
In the mid-1960’s we lived in the west of Ireland. We had no TV but we did have a radio. Although a lot of Irish music was played (i.e. The Dubliners), I have a distinct memory of hearing Tom Jones’ “The Green, Green Grass of Home” and Englebert Humperdink’s “Please Release Me”.
The radio was how I listened to music in the late 60’s and early 70’s, particularly enjoying the weekly Top 20 chart countdown. Highlights were Bowie, T Rex, Slade, and Motown – how different and colourful those worlds seemed compared to the drab East Midlands.
Music has remained in my life ever since, dubious choices and all.
My other lifelong love is sport. I didn’t come from a sporty family, but I started to take an interest in football in 1968. We’d had been in England for over a year.
One day I came home from school and turned on the TV to watch Blue Peter, but all I could see was people running in a stadium. I had no idea what was going on! I turned the TV off and went away disappointed.
Later I realised I had switched off the Olympics in Mexico City, but at the time I just didn’t understand why Blue Peter and the Magic Roundabout weren’t on telly.
Soon after, I was listening to the radio alone on a Sunday afternoon. The signal was very poor, but I could tell something was going on in Mexico City. A lot of fellas with names I’d never heard before were running in the streets. Even though I didn’t know what was happening, something stirred within me.
It turns out I was hearing Mamo Wolde winning the Olympic marathon. I was barely aware of his country, Ethiopia, at the time, but the radio opened the door to another world. I’ll never forget the feeling of listening to all that noise and excitement from so far away.
18 months later I went to secondary school, and that memory stuck with me. I must have been the only kid looking forward to cross country! I wasn’t particularly good but I did run throughout school, started orienteering and then fell running, and kept it up until my mid 30’s when injuries stopped me in my tracks. I turned to cycling after that, and have ridden across many countries including the USA and New Zealand plus others closer to home – including Ireland.
Running, cycling and music have given me so much joy in my life, all inspired by the grainy sound from a transistor radio on a windowsill in late 1968.”
KC
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