92.7 FM · Long Island, NY

WLIR / WDRE countdowns

Dare to be different

RockLists holds 6 countdowns from WLIR / WDRE: two year-end countdowns covering 1987–1988 and four all-time, decade and special countdowns, totaling 991 chart positions. The station’s first year-end number one on record is “Why Can't I Be You?” by The Cure (1987); its most recent is “Route 66” by Depeche Mode (1988).

6countdowns

991chart positions

1987–1988year-end lists

Defunct 2004status

Year-end countdowns

1987 Top 100 Songs of 1987 99 songs · partial 1988 Top 100 Songs of 1988 100 songs

Countdown series

Year-end countdownWLIR Top 100 Songs of the Year2 editions · 1987–1988

All-time countdowns

Decade countdowns

Decade countdown Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200 songs

Top artists countdowns

Top artists countdown · 2002 Top 92 Artists of All-Time (September 2002) 92 artists

Every WLIR / WDRE year-end number one

Year	Number one song	Countdown
1987	Why Can't I Be You? The Cure	WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1987
1988	Route 66 Depeche Mode	WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1988

About WLIR / WDRE

WLIR 92.7 FM on Long Island, known as WDRE from 1987 to 1997, was one of the first American stations to embrace new wave and modern rock under its "Dare to Be Different" banner. RockLists holds its 1987 and 1988 year-end countdowns and its Top 300 and Top 200 all-time lists.

WLIR adopted its modern rock format in August 1982 under program director Denis McNamara, playing British new wave and imports years before most American stations would touch them. The station's "Screamer of the Week" and "Dare to Be Different" branding became legendary among fans of the Cure, Depeche Mode, U2 and the Smiths, who often heard those bands on WLIR first.

Ron Morey, a Canadian broadcaster and commercial voice talent, used his savings to buy the station in 1987 for less than one million dollars. By the end of that year the station endured a major shake-up: most of the on-air staff was let go and the call letters changed to WDRE. The WLIR call letters returned in 1997. Ron's son Jed Morey later became president of The Morey Organization at 24, then the youngest broadcast chief executive in America.

At 12:14 p.m. on January 9, 2004, WLIR played its final song, Alphaville's "Forever Young," and signed off, ending a twenty-year run. The call letters were kept by Jarad Broadcasting and moved to hard rock station 107.1 "The Box," while three former WLIR DJs joined Island 94.3 FM. A two-hour weekday WLIR flashback show returned in December 2005.

Call letters: WLIR / WDRE
Frequency: 92.7 FM
Market: Long Island, NY
Owner: Jarad Broadcasting / The Morey Organization
Format: Alternative / New Wave
Format since: 1982–2004
More: Wikipedia
Ranked with: Alternative & Modern Rock

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