The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » CFNY Documentary Now Available On TVO Site Online

Evuguy · January 12, 2026 8:09 pm

In Fitz's 1983 audio capture, I heard a small snippet of the Pete & Geets "Lardette" character they used to spoof. Lardette was the plus-size, eastern european cleaning lady, famous for always saying "ya" (ja?) in each sentence. At the time, it reminded me so much of my Hungarian next door neighbour. Aside from "ya", she would always refer to her husband as "mine husband". Old memories aside, one thing that I felt got really glossed over in this CFNY documentary was their passion in the early and mid 80's to play 12" dance mixes from both the US and Europe. I don't recall any other GTA station doing this. Other than a very quick reference to playing these mixes by Nicholas Picholas, that was it.

Fitz · January 13, 2026 5:51 am

Evuguy wrote:
In Fitz's 1983 audio capture, I heard a small snippet of the Pete & Geets "Lardette" character they used to spoof. Lardette was the plus-size, eastern european cleaning lady, famous for always saying "ya" (ja?) in each sentence. At the time, it reminded me so much of my Hungarian next door neighbour. Aside from "ya", she would always refer to her husband as "mine husband". Old memories aside, one thing that I felt got really glossed over in this CFNY documentary was their passion in the early and mid 80's to play 12" dance mixes from both the US and Europe. I don't recall any other GTA station doing this. Other than a very quick reference to playing these mixes by Nicholas Picholas, that was it.

I have a few of those 12 " records including these three. Mexican Radio remains a favorite of mine from that era.

Last edited by Fitz (January 13, 2026 6:06 am)

RadioActive · January 13, 2026 6:33 am

It's finally happened - a totally different radio station is using the CFNY documentary to promote itself. Hunters Bay Radio in Muskoka has devoted a full page article on its site, touting the Spirit of Radio hour that aired on TVO to tell listeners they're just like the old 102.1.

"Inspired by the early days of CFNY and similar trailblazers, Hunters Bay Radio is one of the few stations that still allows DJs (and even listeners) to choose much of the music played.

While many commercial stations now rely on tightly controlled playlists, this freedom helps preserve the sense of discovery and personal expression that made CFNY special. DJs at Hunters Bay Radio curate eclectic mixes that reflect their tastes and local culture, keeping the spirit of free-form radio alive for listeners in Muskoka and beyond."

Gotta give them credit for jumping on the bandwagon while it's still moving! Hunters Bay Radio is CKAR-FM in Huntsville and you can listen to them online to decide just how "CFNY-like" they really are.

New TVO Doc CFNY: The Spirit of Radio Celebrates an Era That Inspires Today’s Community Stations

dmcjeff · January 13, 2026 2:29 pm

I watched the doc ' on Youtube last night and enjoyed it. I was working at Bayfield st north McDonalds (Barrie) at the time while in High school (1989-91 ish) and sometimes I worked nights (cleaning the restaurant with another from closing time about midnight or 1am thru to 6am). We had a big Radio Ghetto Blaster with antenna and tuned into 102.1 CFNY overnights with the volume up high usually after the restaurant was closed. I remember on the weekends (Friday/saturday nights) and hearing 'Club 102', Marsden, Deadly Headly and Chris Sheppard on the air with quality mixes of the latest club sounds; and stuff you'd never hear elsewhere on any radio at the time. A good follow up to this doc is 'Utility Room with Scot Turner' in the link here which has Scot mentioning his time at CFNY and later while pioneering Energy 108. 'CFNY DJ's were able to play what they wanted up until about 1992 when things changed and they were handed a playlist'. To some degree, CING Energy 108 took the helm from here about the same time frame and allowed live broadcasts from the clubs and Dj's while even bringing over Chris Sheppard.

Here's the link to Scot Turner's interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85ZKQUTlnbQ

torontomike · January 13, 2026 3:01 pm

During the heat of COVID-19 I invited Scot Turner into my backyard for a deep dive into the history of Energy 108. We played a load of rare audio as well. I highly recommend this Energy 108 episode of Toronto Mike'd.

https://www.torontomike.com/2020/08/toronto-miked-podcast-episode-703-scot-turner-on-energy-108/

Evuguy · January 13, 2026 9:38 pm

Fitz wrote:
Evuguy wrote:
In Fitz's 1983 audio capture, I heard a small snippet of the Pete & Geets "Lardette" character they used to spoof. Lardette was the plus-size, eastern european cleaning lady, famous for always saying "ya" (ja?) in each sentence. At the time, it reminded me so much of my Hungarian next door neighbour. Aside from "ya", she would always refer to her husband as "mine husband". Old memories aside, one thing that I felt got really glossed over in this CFNY documentary was their passion in the early and mid 80's to play 12" dance mixes from both the US and Europe. I don't recall any other GTA station doing this. Other than a very quick reference to playing these mixes by Nicholas Picholas, that was it.
I have a few of those 12 " records including these three. Mexican Radio remains a favorite of mine from that era.

The sound quality of those 12" 45 RPM discs was supurb, IMHO.

mic'em · January 14, 2026 8:33 am

I worked with Scot at CKMW in the mid 80's. As I lived up in Collingwood later, I didn't know he was involved with 108. We didn't get the signal up there. Congrats to him.

Fitz · January 14, 2026 9:19 am

Evuguy wrote:
Fitz wrote:
Evuguy wrote:
In Fitz's 1983 audio capture, I heard a small snippet of the Pete & Geets "Lardette" character they used to spoof. Lardette was the plus-size, eastern european cleaning lady, famous for always saying "ya" (ja?) in each sentence. At the time, it reminded me so much of my Hungarian next door neighbour. Aside from "ya", she would always refer to her husband as "mine husband". Old memories aside, one thing that I felt got really glossed over in this CFNY documentary was their passion in the early and mid 80's to play 12" dance mixes from both the US and Europe. I don't recall any other GTA station doing this. Other than a very quick reference to playing these mixes by Nicholas Picholas, that was it.
I have a few of those 12 " records including these three. Mexican Radio remains a favorite of mine from that era.
The sound quality of those 12" 45 RPM discs was supurb, IMHO.

The Wall of Voodoo Version of Do It Again has 4 mixes of the song. The dub mix, The extended mix, the single version and "Bonus Beats"

Here's another 12 inch single. Monsoon featuring Sheila Chandra on vocals and Bill Nelson on guitar, to the point where it actually sounds like a Be-bob Deluxe record. A cover of the Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows and it still sounds great as I just played it:

Had forgotten about this but I found this on You Tube. Wall of Voodoo, post Stan Ridgeway - Devo like with Brian Wilson in toe:

Last edited by Fitz (January 14, 2026 9:39 am)

Dani Elwell · January 14, 2026 10:48 am

Oh god! I had forgotten Wall of Voodoo doing Do It Again and Sheila Chandra in any capacity is wonderful.
Lucky you!

Evuguy · January 14, 2026 10:10 pm

I confess I'd forgotten that tune! My Wall of Voodoo fav is Far Side of Crazy, from the Sammystown LP, which I have.

RadioActive · January 15, 2026 7:05 am

According to veteran radio consultant Sean Ross, WNED in Buffalo may be interested in picking up this documentary.

He also notes the comments of current 102.1 host Drex in his reaction to the movie.

Review: CFNY: The Spirit Of Radio

RadioActive · January 27, 2026 9:25 am

There's life in this documentary yet.

It's now scheduled to screen in Montreal, with the extended 90 min. version that didn't air on TVO. Alan Cross reports the film will be shown at a gallery in La Belle Province with the added bonus of several Zoom interviews with the people who there, like Ivar Hamilton, Scot Turner, Liz Janik and Cross himself.

It's a measure of just how innovative the station was that the story of the place is being shown in a market where it couldn't possibly have been heard in those pre-streaming days.

The date for the screening is March 19th.

Fitz · January 27, 2026 9:48 am

RadioActive wrote:
There's life in this documentary yet.

It's now scheduled to screen in Montreal, with the extended 90 min. version that didn't air on TVO. Alan Cross reports the film will be shown at a gallery in La Belle Province with the added bonus of several Zoom interviews with the people who there, like Ivar Hamilton, Scot Turner, Liz Janik and Cross himself.

It's a measure of just how innovative the station was that the story of the place is being shown in a market where it couldn't possibly have been heard in those pre-streaming days.

The date for the screening is March 19th.

Actually at one time in the 80's CFNY was on one of the big satellites where it could be heard across North America. I believe I have an air check where they reference this. There was also a broadcast where Live Earl Jive had a reverse broadcast with CHOM Montreal. He worked at CHOM at one time and I think when he was at CFNY, one day each station was heard in the other's market.

Anyway here is Earl Jive at CHOM in 1974 well before the reverse broadcast:

RadioActive · January 27, 2026 10:03 am

That's good to know, although I'm not sure how many people were able to listen to it off satellite. Was it distributed on local cable there? Otherwise you would have needed a 10' C-Band dish, which not many had.

I had one back then and there were many audio subcarrier signals available, including on the Anik birds. But there was so much to watch, I almost never had the time to listen to most of them. I honestly don't recall CFNY being uplinked, but I will take your word for it.

Here's are three Satellite TV Guide pages from 1984, listing the Anik stations that were up there then. God, those days were fun.

Fitz · January 27, 2026 10:34 am

This is from something called Rocklists. Not sure if the date is correct as I seem to recall the on air reference being around 1983. Not sure about cable outside of Toronto.

Also A bit of that CHOM/CFNY broadcast is up on the Spirit of Radio website BTW.

In 1985, after years of ownership changes, the station was sold to Selkirk Communications. By this time, the station had become internationally famous and was briefly available in North America via satellite.

Fitz · January 27, 2026 9:55 pm

I went searching thru my tapes for that broadcast where they mention the Satellite feed and I thought it was this one from Pete and Geets but no but it does have an item by Mike Stafford on the demise of C Channel. A bit of Pete and Geets also on the snip.

Ivar Biggun and C Channel.

BTW that clip of Earl Jive on CHOM mentiones the Bee Gees when they were an FM act and Donald K Donald mentions a group called Rush which he thinks is from Toronto and which should not be confused with Mahogany Rush. Hard to believe that for a few years when the two groups were concurrent Mahogany Rush was the bigger act especially in Montreal.

Last edited by Fitz (January 27, 2026 9:56 pm)

RadioActive · January 31, 2026 9:20 pm

Ben O'Hara-Byrne had CFNY's Alan Cross on Saturday morning for a lengthy discussion about the documentary and his time at CFNY - and why it became so famous even in places that couldn't receive it. I found it pretty interesting, especially since Cross is an excellent storyteller. He also reveals the two big music stars they couldn't get for the special, although they tried.

The podcast is here.