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Yeh, i know.. everyone is all over how awesum Ger Was right now.. As the stranglers said 'Everybody loves you when you're dead'.. But, the truth is, for us Oirish, Ger managed to get in to our heads, not once, but twice (three times if you lived in dublin and can remember Big D / ARD / whateveritwascalledbydeccythatweekend).. He changed music radio in the 80's, and then when he moved to daytime (a move i hated because he deserted us at nitetime..) he brought the first animated talk to what was previously a very stuffy National radio service.. Ger was one of the FIRST THINGS i remember being irish that didn't suck balls all the time..
For me, living in Ireland in the 80's was pretty crap TBH.. Almost everything was terrible, but we DID have Radio.. The delicious Pirates, and Radio 2 Nitetime.. Ger was there, late at night, banging out the tunes that simply, nobody elese was playing.. He stuck out for me because he played 12-inch mixes of things.. The longer and more remixed the better.. Human League, Queen, Bowie all got the daytime plays on BBC radio 1 and blasts on Radio Luxemburg, but only Ger even aknowledged the existance of the REMIXES, the looooooong mixes!! In grim ireland in the 80's, this was extremely important.. Well, to me it was.. Ger really did dig the tunes (man) like really he did..
I first met him in 82.. I was a snotty brat that would troll the computer shops of dublin city on a saturday morning.. Playing in the TEXAS INSTRUMENTS shop till ejected, then to that one in Brown Thomas to drool at the Tandys, and always into the mall on grafton street to see Ger.. He NEVER threw us out of the shop he worked in at the time.. Always up for a mess on the machine of the now - always up for a new POKE or PRINT PEEK that would make the machine crash and cover the screen with flashing coloured blocks
The place also sold Home keyboards.. I once spent an hour+ trying to work out the solo in THE MODEL by KRAFTWERK in that shop, until he came over and joined in, resolving the end of the piece for me, as i just COULD NOT find the right notes.. It was a YAMAHA home keyboard thing that took swipe-cards to play tunes - something i could never afford, but he let me play with it, put my grubby hands on it, he let me play, in fact he encouraged me to fiddle.. Something he continued to do right up till the present day..
So, there, a couple of early memorys of the bloke.. Someone i was happy to know, and very pleased to work in the same building as years later.. I reminded him of the encounters in the summer of '82 when i first came to 2fm in the 90's, and he DID remember.. heh.. "so that was YOU?" - yes it was..
So, so long Ger, thanks for the music, and especially the 12-inches!!
Now i must go on the radio and try and not cry all over the place like a total fool.. Tough job, because unlike the fuc*in pope or some fuc*er i never gave 2 fuc*s about, I saw or heard Ger every week for 28 years, and he always had time for me..
For me, living in Ireland in the 80's was pretty crap TBH.. Almost everything was terrible, but we DID have Radio.. The delicious Pirates, and Radio 2 Nitetime.. Ger was there, late at night, banging out the tunes that simply, nobody elese was playing.. He stuck out for me because he played 12-inch mixes of things.. The longer and more remixed the better.. Human League, Queen, Bowie all got the daytime plays on BBC radio 1 and blasts on Radio Luxemburg, but only Ger even aknowledged the existance of the REMIXES, the looooooong mixes!! In grim ireland in the 80's, this was extremely important.. Well, to me it was.. Ger really did dig the tunes (man) like really he did..
I first met him in 82.. I was a snotty brat that would troll the computer shops of dublin city on a saturday morning.. Playing in the TEXAS INSTRUMENTS shop till ejected, then to that one in Brown Thomas to drool at the Tandys, and always into the mall on grafton street to see Ger.. He NEVER threw us out of the shop he worked in at the time.. Always up for a mess on the machine of the now - always up for a new POKE or PRINT PEEK that would make the machine crash and cover the screen with flashing coloured blocks
The place also sold Home keyboards.. I once spent an hour+ trying to work out the solo in THE MODEL by KRAFTWERK in that shop, until he came over and joined in, resolving the end of the piece for me, as i just COULD NOT find the right notes.. It was a YAMAHA home keyboard thing that took swipe-cards to play tunes - something i could never afford, but he let me play with it, put my grubby hands on it, he let me play, in fact he encouraged me to fiddle.. Something he continued to do right up till the present day..
So, there, a couple of early memorys of the bloke.. Someone i was happy to know, and very pleased to work in the same building as years later.. I reminded him of the encounters in the summer of '82 when i first came to 2fm in the 90's, and he DID remember.. heh.. "so that was YOU?" - yes it was..
So, so long Ger, thanks for the music, and especially the 12-inches!!
Now i must go on the radio and try and not cry all over the place like a total fool.. Tough job, because unlike the fuc*in pope or some fuc*er i never gave 2 fuc*s about, I saw or heard Ger every week for 28 years, and he always had time for me..
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