RTE 2FM in major The 2 Johnnies snub move after duo’s shock station departure

THE 2 Johnnies have not received a single play on 2FM since they left the ­station, we can reveal.

Johnny ‘Smacks’ McMahon, 33, and Johnny ‘B’ O’Brien, 38, had the biggest weekend of their lives after they performed to 20,000 fans at a sold-out gig in Dublin’s St Anne’s Park on Saturday night.

And they leapt over Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish to hit No1 in the Irish charts with new album Small Town Heroes.

However, secret radio logs seen by The Irish Sun reveal not a single one of the 14 tracks off their record has been played on 2FM.

A radio insider told us: “It really says something about 2FM when an act can hit No1 in ­Ireland without ­getting a single play on the station the week it happens.

“The 2 Johnnies are acknowledged as the voice of young Ireland. So if 2FM was ­serious about appealing to its 18 to 35-year-old target audience it would be playing their album.

“It’s not as if RTE aren’t sure if their listeners like The 2 Johnnies — Drive It with The 2 Johnnies was the most popular show on 2FM.”

Small Town Heroes was released on Friday, May 31 — the same day the duo hosted their last 2FM show.

It has become a massive hit on Spotify, clocking up more than 875,000 streams since then.

But classified radio logs show that instead of playing their former stars, 2FM is choosing to air golden oldies like Eddie Cochran, whose 1958 track Summertime Blues went out last ­Tuesday afternoon at 3.15pm.

And The Drifters’ 1964 hit Under The Boardwalk was played on 2FM last Bank Holiday Monday at 2.20pm.

An industry source told The Irish Sun: “That’s the sort of stuff RTE Gold should be playing, not 2FM, which is supposed to be a youth station.”

Speaking at the weekend, Johnny B revealed how many of their former 2FM listeners had now switched over to their popular podcast.

He said: “We’ve already got so many messages from people saying, ‘Miss you off the radio and we’re tuning into your podcast, we’re signing up to your Patreon,’ so the journey lives on.”

Johnny B described their album as a collection of “songs about living in a small town . . .  drinkin’, shiftin’, fightin’, ridin’, farmin’ . . .  the GAA.”

Rival station appearance

To celebrate the launch of Small Town Heroes, the Tipp lads spent the last week meeting fans and performing at record stores around the country.

In a cheeky move, The 2 Johnnies even turned up on Ray Foley’s show on 2FM rival Today FM.

A radio source said: “Why weren’t The 2 Johnnies on 2FM promoting their new album rather than Today FM?”

Last week, 2FM boss Dan Healy, gave The 2 Johnnies a glowing tribute as they left his station.

‘Sad to see them go’

The radio chief said of the Cahir duo: “They’ve been a great part of the 2FM family here and we’ll be sad to see them go, but wish them well.”

The duo have thanked fans on social media for making their release the ­biggest selling Irish album of the year so far, with Johnny B declaring: “Not too many culchie bands get a No1.”

Contacted about the lack of 2FM plays, RTE told us: “Music from The 2 Johnnies’ new album will be playlisted on 2FM’s upcoming music rotation.”