Republic Radio - The Heartbeat of the Bay...

Hello again dear readers and music lovers. As promised, I popped over to Hout Bay on a beautiful winter's day to check out Republic Radio at it's source to find out all about the little Internet station playing cool music 24 hours a day. Now where were they back in the days of  long night duties? Not that there was time to listen to the radio with so much work to do, but on sleepless nights off, it would have been great to have a constant musical companion. Come to think of it, my babies might have benefitted more from having a few classic hits played to them in the early hours of the morning during their feeds, rather than my rather tired, tuneless lullabies. Music I adore, but any sort of musical abilitity I sadly lack. Still, I love to listen...

The studio is situated in the modern Mainstream Mall in Princess Street, a stone's throw from the harbour and Mariner's Wharf. It's cute and cozy, tucked away between a few coffee bars, pizza parlours and an amphitheater. Tom Purcell has just finished his regular 9-12 slot and is chatting to his designer when I arrive. The logo is a cheeky Rolls Royce lookalike - not sure how they get away with this one, considering all the trouble the owner of the local Dolce and Banana shop got into with the original D&G guys, but good luck to them, it's crisp and catchy.

Republic Radio is Tom's baby and brainchild. Borne out of frustration at not having a station he could listen to or identify with after his arrival from the UK on our shores 13 years ago, he and his buddy Paul Tomes decided to set up their own station over a few beers last year.  After an initial outlay, he says his monthly overheads are not all that steep, as the occasional presenters are volunteers and he keeps a keen eye on costs. Having set up originally in a garage, this expansion to the Mainstream Mall with an ample passing parade of curious people is a sure sign of the success of this fledgling local station.  

Having chanced on Republic Radio on the Internet, and enjoying the music from the "seventies, eighties, nineties and occasionally noughties" my first question was how I could listen to RR in my car. The station broadcasts to Hout Bay locals on 97.4 and has applied for an FM license. However, you can listen on your PC, laptop, mac, cellphone or iPad. Go to www.republicradio.co.za  and join the growing band of 8500 plus listeners. Not bad going in under a year.

Why does Tom do it? Well, he's adamant that he's not in it for the money, as it is a non profit organization and does it for the love of music, people and the Hout Bay community. It must also be great fun to be your own boss, fulfill a dream, and play just the kind of music you really fancy. He has a plan in place to get more involved with local tourism and NGO's like DARG for community training and upliftment. The station also hosts live performances in the adjacent amphitheatre, and does special tribute shows, like the one for the recently departed Queen of Disco, Donna Summer. Their target audience is anyone from 35 - 80, so if like me you enjoy the tunes of yesteryear and the memories which accompany them without too much advertising and banal banter in between, tune in to Republic Radio and go back in musical time...long live the Goldy Oldy (like me)

Love to you all,


Suzy Q