“New wave steamrolled onto Vice City's music charts in the early 80s, thanks in large part to the efforts of celebrated radio personality, Adam First. This station features revolutionary acts broken by Wave 103 such as Flock of Seagulls and Blondie.”
— GTA Vice City Website
Wave 103 is a radio station in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (where it is styled as The Wave 103). The station started broadcasting in 1981[2], and is co-hosted by Adam First and Trish Camden in 1984 and by Adam in 1986. The station plays new wave, synthpop and post-punk.
Description
“Wave 103 - where the boys wear more make-up than the girls! Smashing!”
— Station jingle in GTA Vice City
“I'm the bastard lovechild of punk and disco. I'm the Wave 103.”
— Station jingle in GTA Vice City Stories
Much like the real life new wave genre, Wave 103 assumes an intellectual, pop-art, post-punk nihilistic and technology-loving attitude. It celebrates the advance of digital equipment in music, through idents like "Who needs music with soul? We've got drum machines!" and "Who needs guitars? We've got little computer synthesizer thingies." The station also celebrates new wave's fashion quirks, like that "the boys wear more make up than the girls" and the "sexual ambiguity".
Its DJ, Adam First, acts like a connoisseur of modern music that knows vanguard British bands before they are known in the United States. He is a big fan of new wave acts and can mention years and dates about them. At one point, however, he voices his non-conformity with the fact that in the new era of video clips and MTV, the image of a band is more important than its music, something that comes at odds with the new wave essence, as the genre greatly benefitted from having a more visual medium where it could showcase its eccentric fashion aesthetics.
Tracklist
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
| Song: | Preview: |
|---|---|
| "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1984) | |
| "Love Missile F1-11" by Sigue Sigue Sputnik (1986) | |
| "Cars" by Gary Numan (1979) | |
| "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" by The Human League (1983) | |
| "Atomic" by Blondie (1979) | |
| "99 Luftballons" by Nena (1983) | |
| "Kids in America" by Kim Wilde (1981) | |
| "Pale Shelter" by Tears for Fears (1983) | |
| "Sunglasses at Night" by Corey Hart (1983) | |
| "Poison Arrow" by ABC (1982) | |
| "I Ran (So Far Away)" by A Flock of Seagulls (1982) | |
| "Love My Way" by The Psychedelic Furs (1982) | |
| "Obsession" by Animotion (1984) | |
| "Gold" by Spandau Ballet (1983) | |
| "Hyperactive!" by Thomas Dolby (1984) | |
| "Never Say Never" by Romeo Void (1981) |
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
| Song: | Preview: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|
| "Love Action (I Believe in Love)" by The Human League (1981) | ||
| "Love on Your Side" by Thompson Twins (1983) | ||
| "Everything Counts" by Depeche Mode (1983) | ||
| "Heart of Glass" by Blondie (1979) | ||
| "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1983) | ||
| "(How to Be a) Millionaire" by ABC (1984) | ||
| "Blue Monday" by New Order (1983) | ||
| "Quiet Life" by Japan (1979) | ||
| "Too Shy (Midnight Mix)" by Kajagoogoo (1983) | Original Midnight Mix was later re-released as the Extended Version. |
|
| "Penthouse and Pavement" by Heaven 17 (1981) | ||
| "Sex, (I'm A...)" by Berlin (1982) | Only the remastered version is available on Spotify. |
Not included in the Japanese and PAL versions of the game. |
| "Like to Get to Know You Well" by Howard Jones (1984) | ||
| "A Forest" by The Cure (1980) | ||
| "Space Age Love Song" by A Flock of Seagulls (1982) | ||
| "Don't Go" by Yazoo (1982) |
Deleted Songs
- The Buggles - "Video Killed the Radio Star" (1979) (Song was meant to be on Wave 103, but was later placed in Flash FM) [3]
The Wave 103 CD included in the European release of the 7-CD Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Official Soundtrack Box Set contains the following song that appeared on Flash FM in the final game:
- Aneka - "Japanese Boy" (1981)
Prominent Appearances in the Storyline
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Individual Tracks
- A Flock of Seagulls' "I Ran (So Far Away)" was played in the second trailer for GTA Vice City
- It also played the Vice City trailer for the Xbox version of Grand Theft Auto Double Pack.
- Gary Numan's "Cars" is the first song that plays when one starts GTA Vice City and tunes into Wave 103.
- Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Two Tribes" and Gary Numan's "Cars" play inside Stadium Events in the Hyman Memorial Stadium.
- Animotion's "Obsession" plays inside The Pole Position Club. It also plays during the second cutscene of Spilling the Beans in the mobile version and Trilogy - The Definitive Edition, replacing Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" from the original version.
- The Human League's "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" plays during the second cutscene of Back Alley Brawl.
- Nena's "99 Luftballons" plays during the first cutscene of The Shootist.
- Blondie's "Atomic" plays during the second cutscene of The Shootist.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Individual Tracks
- Yazoo's "Don't Go" plays in the background at the beginning of the cutscene of the mission White Lies, as well as inside the White Stallionz Bar during the mission The Bum Deal.
- Japan's "Quiet Life" was used for Reni Wassulmaier trailer on the GTA Vice City Stories website.[4]
Gallery
Trivia
General
- The name of the station is a reference to both the new wave music on the station's playlist, and to the radio station Wave 102 in Dundee, Scotland, where DMA Design (which subsequently became Rockstar North) was founded.
- Wave 103 is one of two preferred radio stations tuned in by the Streetwannabes, the other station being Flash FM. Wave 103 can be heard after Tommy or Vic carjacks their Gang Burritos or Gang Ranchers.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- The Wave 103 CD included in the European release of the 7-CD Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Official Soundtrack Box Set contains Aneka's "Japanese Boy", despite the fact this song actually appears on Flash FM in the game.
- This is the only radio station to retain all of its original songs in the 10th Anniversary Edition, later re-releases and The Definitive Edition.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
- The "Midnight Mix" of the Kajagoogoo's "Too Shy" contains lyrics of the original song's chorus at the end of the song; however, the in-game version omits it and fades out slightly before.
- The 99 red balloons in the game are a reference to the song "99 Luftballons" by Nena, which is played on the GTA Vice City version of the station.
See Also
- Head Radio - a pop and rock radio station in GTA, GTA 2, GTA III and GTA Liberty City Stories.
- It's Unleashed FM - a hard rock and alternative rock radio station in GTA.
- King 130.7 - a punk rock and hard rock radio station in GTA 2.
- Lips 106 - a contemporary pop radio station in GTA III and GTA Liberty City Stories.
- Flashback FM - an '80s pop radio station in GTA III and '70s pop in GTA Liberty City Stories that plays another song by Debbie Harry of Blondie as a solo artist.
- Flash FM - a contemporary pop radio station in GTA Vice City and GTA Vice City Stories that plays other songs by Philip Oakey of The Human League as a collaborating artist and Alison Moyet of Yazoo as a solo artist.
- Emotion 98.3 - a contemporary pop and power ballads radio station in GTA Vice City and GTA Vice City Stories that plays another song by Vince Clarke of Yazoo with The Assembly.
- V-Rock - a hard rock and heavy metal radio station in GTA Vice City and GTA Vice City Stories.
- K-DST - a classic rock radio station in GTA San Andreas.
- Radio X - an alternative rock and grunge radio station in GTA San Andreas that plays another song by Depeche Mode.
- Liberty Rock Radio - a classic rock and alternative rock radio station in GTA IV and GTA Episodes From Liberty City.
- Liberty City Hardcore - a hardcore punk and extreme metal radio station in GTA IV and GTA Episodes From Liberty City.
- Vice City FM - an '80s pop radio station in GTA Episodes From Liberty City.
- Prairie Cartel - an alternative rock and electronic rock instrumental radio station in GTA Chinatown Wars.
- Tortoise - a post-rock instrumental radio station in GTA Chinatown Wars.
- Anvil - a heavy metal instrumental radio station in the enhanced versions of GTA Chinatown Wars.
- DFA - a dance-punk instrumental radio station in the enhanced versions of GTA Chinatown Wars.
- Radio Mirror Park - an indietronica and contemporary synth-pop radio station in GTA V, mainly from indie artists.
- Non-Stop-Pop FM - a pop radio station in GTA V.
- Vinewood Boulevard Radio - an alternative rock radio station in GTA V.
- Channel X - a punk rock and hardcore punk radio station in GTA V.
- Pre-Millennium Radio - an alternative rock and grunge radio station in GTA V that was cut from the final version.
- Santos Surf - a surf music radio station in GTA V that was cut from the final version.
- Kult FM - a post-punk, indie rock, and mixed genre radio station in the enhanced versions of GTA Online that plays another song by New Order.
References
- ↑ Kent Paul's 80's Nostalgia Zone!
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedEstablished - ↑ https://gtaforums.com/topic/743880-beta-vice-city/?do=findComment&comment=1072026496
- ↑ https://classicgtasites.com/vicecitystories/