Re-creation: David Gell, Radio Luxembourg Top 20, 1963 (0:43:31)

… . . . The Beatles just don’t exist, as far as America is concerned . . . …
FROM UNCLE RICKY: Visitors (see
COMMENT) have suggested this recording is a re-creation of a 1963 Radio
Luxembourg broadcast. To our knowledge, this was unknown by the contributor.
We are publishing his description as originally submitted.[Description by David Critchfield]

The source for this exhibit was Russ Horton, who says this was from the original master tape! This remains a well preserved piece of history.
When listening to Radio Luxembourg from just about anywhere in Europe, it faded in and out terribly due to its “208” frequency, so it is fabulous to hear it so clearly from that era.

Excerpted from:
Who’s Who in Radio Luxembourg

DAVID GELL

Canadian-born David had an incredibly early introduction to the world of broadcasting — he first stood before a microphone when he was eight years old! Born on August 23, 1929, David pursued this ambition further when at high school in Calgary. When he left school he became a full-time staff announcer on CFAC, Calgary’s top radio station. David graduated with two degrees, in Political Economy and Commerce. David was foreign correspondent in Paris for Station CFAC, and traveled extensively throughout Europe. In 1955 a vacancy arose at Radio Luxembourg for a summer replacement DJ, and so successful was David during his three-year stint that he was asked to stay on permanently. Today he is a freelance, but does the major part of his work for Luxembourg including some enormously popular record shows.

Welcome to the new ReelRadio!

This site is now operated by the North Carolina Broadcast History Museum. 

We want to thank the board of ReelRadio, Inc. for their stewardship since the passing of the founder Richard Irwin in 2018.  It has not been easy and they have maintained the exhibits for future generations to enjoy.

I met Richard Irwin, aka Uncle Ricky, when we were freshmen at East Carolina University.  We both had worked at local stations in our hometowns.  No one was more passionate about radio, especially Top 40 radio, than my friend Richard. 

Our goals with this site are to preserve the exhibits and make them available free of charge for people to enjoy.  Over time, we hope to add some airchecks to the site.  This will not happen immediately.  Time and resources will determine the future of new exhibits. 

Many thanks to the web folks at the Beasley Media Group for countless hours of work.  Again thanks to the board members of ReelRadio, Inc. for their faith in us. 

Richard Irwin’s hope was that his site would live on long after his passing. He said, “I hope REELRADIO will survive as my contribution to the ‘radio business’. The business is allowed to forget me, but the business should never forget the great era of radio that we celebrate here”.

We remember Richard and we thank him. If you enjoy this new site, we would appreciate a contribution. We hope you enjoy the new ReelRadio!

Board of NCBHP
North Carolina Broadcast History Project