THE ARQIVA RADIO ACADEMY HALL OF FAME 2014 INDUCTEES ANNOUNCED

20 November 2014 - Press release

• ALAN BRAZIL, NICKY CAMPBELL, BARRY CRYER, VANESSA FELTZ, TREVOR NELSON, PETE PRICE,  AND JO WHILEY, TO BE HONOURED
• CHRISTIAN O’CONNELL TO HOST EVENT HONOURING SOME OF THE LEADING NAMES IN UK RADIO
• PRESENTATION OF RADIO ACADEMY FELLOWSHIPS
• TAKES PLACE ON 4 DECEMBER AT THE SAVOY HOTEL, LONDON

The Arqiva Hall of Fame 2014, organised by The Radio Academy, today announced the inductees who will be honoured at this year’s ceremony. Celebrating some true radio greats, this year the Arqiva Hall of Fame will induct Jo Whiley, Vanessa Feltz, Trevor Nelson, Nicky Campbell, Pete Price, Alan Brazil and Barry Cryer into its prestigious honours list. The event, hosted this year by Absolute Radio’s Christian O’Connell, takes place on Thursday 4 December at The Savoy Hotel in London. Tickets are available now at www.radioacademy.org. 

The annual Arqiva Hall of Fame Lunch celebrates some of the biggest names in UK radio. The event provides a chance for the industry to honour the legends who make the medium of radio so brilliant.

Jo Whiley joined the radio industry straight after her studies, spending 17 years at Radio 1 before moving to BBC Radio 2 in 2011. Her love of music and the industry is clear as she continues to co-host coverage of various events and festivals, making her a worthy inductee for 2014.

Having started her career in broadcasting and journalism, Vanessa Feltz has had her own BBC London 94.9mid-morning show for the past 12 years. Vanessa has previously been awarded the prestigious Sony Speech Radio Personality of the Year in 2009. In 2011,Vanessa joined Radio 2 to present the early morning show in addition to her BBC London 94.9 programme and she also deputises for Jeremy Vine on Radio 2.

Trevor Nelson has been DJing from an early age, beginning his radio career on the graveyard shift for the then pirate station Kiss FM in London, which led to a daytime slot and a directorship once the radio station went legal. After 10 years with Kiss FM, Trevor moved to BBC Radio 1 in 1996 to present Rhythm Nation. Trevor is a champion of RnB music in the UK, and his increasing profile hasmade him a respected figure in the music industry across the world.

Nicky Campbell entered into radio working at a local station in Aberdeen. He has since worked at Capital Radio before joining the BBC to present a Saturday night show. He then took over from Simon Mayo presenting weekend morning on BBC Radio 1.    Since 1997, Nicky has been a stalwart of the BBC Radio 5 live schedule and has co-presented the breakfast show since 2003, winning a Sony Radio Academy Gold for the show in 2011.

Pete Price is a Talk Show Legend.  His late night talk show on Liverpool’s Radio City has been an institution in the city for decades and his City Talk 105.9 show still has people tuning in in their thousands, night after night. Over the years, it has won numerous national and international awards including several Sonys and Pete himself has previously won World’s Best Talk Show Host at the New York Radio Festival.

Alan Brazil, who is one of the longest standing and most successful presenters in UK radio, has presented the breakfast show on talkSPORT since the station launched and recently reached his highest ever number of listeners, with 1.5million tuning in each week.

And, comedy writer and performer Barry Cryer OBE will also be inducted into the Arqiva Radio Academy Hall of Fame this year. Barry has worked with many comedy greats on some of the nations favourite shows and sketches such as The Morecambe and Wise Show and BBC Radio 4’s You’ll Have Had Your Tea, and has been a regular fixture on I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue since 1974.

Gloria Abramoff, Interim CEO of The Radio Academy, said: “The Arqiva Hall of Fame Lunch is a wonderful event and a perfect opportunity for us to celebrate those who make UK radio so special. I’m thrilled with the inductees for this year’s event, they are all pioneering in what they do and truly deserving of this honour.”

Ben Hart, Head of Commercial Radio at Arqiva, said: “For the second year Arqiva are proud to sponsor the prestigious Radio Academy Hall of Fame Lunch. This event allows the commercial broadcasting sector to recognise the remarkable individuals in our industry for their immense talent.”

In addition to the Hall of Fame inductions, a number of Radio Academy Fellowships will also be presented during the event.  Fellowships are the highest honour The Radio Academy may confer upon a member of the radio industry and are awarded to recognise individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Academy.

The Arqiva Hall of Fame Lunch takes place on Thursday 4^th December at The Savoy Hotel, London.