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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 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:

Prominent Appearances in the Storyline[]

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City[]

Individual Tracks[]

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories[]

Individual Tracks[]

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[]

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[]

References[]

Navigation[]

[ ve ]Radio Stations in the 3D Universe
Grand Theft Auto III
Head RadioDouble Clef FMK-JAHRise FMLips 106Game FMMSX FMFlashback 95.6Chatterbox FMMP3 Player
Grand Theft Auto:
Vice City
WildstyleFlash FMK-ChatFever 105V-RockVCPRRadio EspantosoEmotion 98.3Wave 103MP3 Player
Grand Theft Auto:
San Andreas
Playback FMK-RoseK-DSTBounce FMSF-URRadio Los SantosRadio XCSR 103.9K-JAH WestMaster Sounds 98.3WCTRUser Track Player
Grand Theft Auto
Advance
Radio Stations
Grand Theft Auto:
Liberty City Stories
Head RadioDouble Clef FMK-JAHRise FMLips 106Radio Del MundoMSX 98Flashback FMThe Liberty JamLCFR
Grand Theft Auto:
Vice City Stories
Flash FMV-RockParadise FMVCPRVCFLThe Wave 103Fresh 105 FMRadio EspantosoEmotion 98.3
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