IF there was no sex in Ireland before the Late Late Show, it could be argued that for American teenagers there was no sex before rock and roll, the Merriman Summer School in Ennistymon, Co Clare, was told yesterday.
Mr Ian Wilson, of RTE's 2FM station, said the term rock and roll was, after all, a euphemism for love making. "And the way they discovered rock and roll rhythm and blues as it was called was the radio.
"Why wouldn't they take to it? It was a time of post war prosperity for all and a new generation of teenagers wanted more than the dull, austere years their parents had lived through.
"This black music was exciting and dangerous, and spoke - no, roared, moaned, screamed - its thinly veiled imagery," he said.
Suddenly, a new consumer group had arrived. "While the adults had abandoned radio for the tacky confines of 1950s US television, the kids had retired to the bedrooms and discovered this other world," Mr Wilson said.
"By the time the folks downstairs had reached for the off switch, a huge underground movement based on the radio stations had erupted. And what made it even better for the kids was that the adults hated it."
When Elvis Presley emerged, white teenagers had their idol, Mr Wilson said. "If you ever wondered why Elvis Presley was the first rock star, then you should watch the films of his early concerts. He could sing, he could pout, he could move and he was pure undiluted raw sex. Elvis moved his hips, they screamed.
"From the point of view of the record companies, the deep seated opposition to this jungle music was a bit of a problem. After all, the mass media in the US were still reeling from the mauling of McCarthyism."
Mr Wilson said it was not surprising that the radio revolution in Ireland brought the long awaited music revolution. The new radio stations, combined with the onset of punk, did the trick. This new generation of bands and their new noises did not please the establishment, he added.
"The Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers, the Boomtown Rats, U2 and many more didn't play the old showband game, and Just like the old fashioned music industry in the US which was swept aside by rock and roll, so the bad ballad groups, the dodgy showbands, the grim country and Irish stars, could not take it for granted any more that they would get unlimited access to Radio Eireann.
"The new stations, both RTE' Radio 2 and the pirates, were not at their bidding any more. And this is where the politics comes in. The very cosy relationship between the elements of the music establishment and RTE was breaking down. Competition had arrived, and the genie had to be put back in the bottle.
"A long running battle ensued, with heavy pressure being applied to the ministers of the day, the RTE Authority and the RTE management to ensure that all types of Irish music were supported by RTE."
Mr Wilson said huge pressure was placed on RTE's 2FM. He continued: "At first, the pressure was by and large resisted, but in 1982 it began in earnest." There were letters to TDs, to the newspapers and even to county councils, deploring RTE 2's lack of Irish music. Given the political muscle of some of those lobbied this resulted in "fairly unstoppable pressure," he said.