Ian Wilson retires from RTÉ

Jim Lockhart, Ian Wilson and Dave Fanning

On the occasion of Ian Wilson‘s last official day at RTÉ before retirement he crossed the corridor for a chat with Dave Fanning and Jim Lockhart. Over the next 30 mins they reminisced in usual fashion with Dave reading out some tributes received from among others; The Atrix, The Hitchers, Orange Fettishes, Grevious Angels and My Little Funhouse. There were some great tales of recording the Scary Éire session and Ian locking Dave out of the studio when he turned up late for a Prefab Sprout interview. There is also an answer to the question as to whether U2 recorded the first Fanning session.

‘The sessions that give bands a break’ (Irish Times 1990)

The Fanning sessions, which give new bands valuable airtime and a professional demo tape for nothing, are 10 years old this month. Michael Cunningham reports.

Here’s a great article from a 1990 issue of The Irish Times as the Fanning sessions were about to turn 10. Michael Cunningham of The Irish Times interviews producers Ian Wilson and Jim Lockhart and studio engineer Paddy McBreen. We learn that the bands receive a fee of £200 and that the contract forms still refer to “The Dave Fanning Showband Recordings”. I don’t think they got a copy of the tapes for nothing though, someone please correct me if I am wrong.