The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The

Radio Academy The Radio Academy is a registered charity dedicated to "the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production". It was formed in 1983 and is run via a board of trustees, with a chair and a deputy chai ...

. The awards were generally referred to by the name of their first sponsor,

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

, as The Sony Awards, The Sony Radio Awards or variations. In August 2013, Sony announced the end of its sponsorship agreement with The Radio Academy after 32 years. Consequently, the awards were named simply ''The Radio Academy Awards''. In November 2014, it was announced that The Radio Academy would not be holding the awards in 2015, and would be looking for other ways to recognise achievement in the future. The awards were relaunched in 2016 as the Audio & Radio Industry Awards (ARIAS).

Awards format

The awards were organised into various categories, with nominees being announced a few weeks before the main awards ceremony. The categories varied slightly each year, and were decided by an annual committee, with the aim to include all the main areas from music, news and speech through to

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...

, comedy and sport, and not discriminating against station size, or niche categories. In most categories, five entries were shortlisted with the top three awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold. Some categories (such as the Station of the Year categories) only three entries were shortlisted, with only a Gold winner awarded. In a number of special categories (such as The Gold Award or Special Award) there was no shortlist, merely a winner.

1983 Gold Award winners

1984 Gold Award winners

1985 Gold Award winners

1986 Gold Award winners

1987 Gold Award winners

1988 Gold Award winners

1989 Gold Award winners

1990 Gold Award winners

1991 Gold Award winners

1992 Gold Award winners

1993 Gold Award winners

1994 Gold Award winners

1995 Gold Award winners

1996 Gold Award winners

1997 Gold Award winners

1998 Gold Award winners

1999 Gold Award winners

The 17th Sony Radio Academy Awards ceremony was held at the

Grosvenor House Hotel ] JW Marriott Grosvenor House London, formerly the Grosvenor House Hotel, is a luxury hotel that opened in 1929 in the Mayfair area of London, England. Across from Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, the hotel is built on the former site of the 19th ...

in London on 28 April 1999 and was hosted by Kirsty Young and

Paul Gambaccini Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born 2 April 1949) is an American-British radio and television presenter and author. He is a dual citizen of the United States and United Kingdom, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Great Gambo" and ...

2000 Gold Award winners

The 18th Sony Radio Academy Awards ceremony was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 2 May 2000.

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

was the most nominated station, with 24 entries, and received four awards. Guests included the actors

Jenny Agutter Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is an English actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in '' East of Sudan'', '' Star!'', and two adaptations of '' The Railway Children'': the BBC's 1968 television seri ...

and

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...

, Chris Smith ( Secretary of State for Culture), and

Dale Winton Dale Jonathan Winton (22 May 1955 – 18 April 2018) was an English radio DJ and television presenter. He presented the shows '' Supermarket Sweep'' from 1993 until 2001 and again in 2007, the National Lottery game show '' In It to Win It' ...

, who all presented awards.

2001 Gold Award winners

The 19th Sony Radio Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by

, was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 30 April 2001. The BBC won gold awards in 23 out of 30 categories. A new category, Digital Terrestrial Station, (won by OneWord Radio) was introduced. The winner of the lifetime achievement award, Chris Tarrant, criticised the commercial sector for suppressing spontaneity in radio.

2002 Gold Award winners

The 20th Sony Radio Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by

, was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 2 May 2002.

won the most awards (six). Guests included the singers

Jarvis Cocker Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963) is an English musician. As the founder, frontman, lyricist and only consistent member of the band Pulp (band), Pulp, he became a reluctant figurehead of the Britpop genre of the mid-1990s. Cocker h ...

and Feargal Sharkey, actress

Janet Suzman Dame Janet Suzman (born 9 February 1939) is a South African-born British actress who had a successful early career in the Royal Shakespeare Company, later replaying many Shakespearean roles on television. In her first film, '' Nicholas and Alexa ...

, and the

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

Sugababes The Sugababes are an English girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by Ron Tom, the manager of All Saints, ...

who all presented awards.

2003 Gold Award winners

The 21st Sony Radio Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by

, was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 8 May 2003.

won six awards including UK Station of the Year. Guests included

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

Sam Fox Sam Fox (May 9, 1929 – December 2, 2024) was an American businessman in St. Louis, and the owner of Harbour Group Industries. He was the United States Ambassador to Belgium from April 11, 2007 until January 2, 2009. President George W. Bush ...

Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and television presenter, whose career spans over 60 years. Blackburn first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio Londo ...

, and

Meatloaf Meatloaf is a dish of ground meat that has been combined with other ingredients, formed into the shape of a loaf, then baked or smoked. The final shape is either hand-formed on a baking tray or pan-formed by cooking it in a loaf pan. It is ...

who all presented awards.

2004 Gold Award winners

The 22nd Sony Radio Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by

, was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 12 May 2004. Commercial radio won a number of the top awards but

retained the UK Station of the Year award. Guests included

Sir Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

Penny Lancaster Penelope Claire Lancaster, Lady Stewart (born 15 March 1971) is an English model and television personality. She is married to rock singer Rod Stewart. In 2014, she joined the ITV lunchtime show '' Loose Women''. She appeared as a panellist fr ...

, and

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

who all presented awards.

2005 Gold Award winners

The 23rd Sony Radio Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by

, was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 9 May 2005. The BBC won 22 awards including 5 awards for

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

. Guests included

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

, the tennis player

Annabel Croft Annabel Nicola Croft (born 12 July 1966) is a British former professional tennis player and current radio and television presenter. As a tennis player she won the WTA Tour event Virginia Slims of San Diego and represented Great Britain in the ...

, TV presenter

Kirsty Gallacher Kirsty Jane Gallacher (born 20 January 1976) is a British television presenter and model. She began her career at Sky Sports News in 1998 and hosted '' Kirsty's Home Videos'', '' RI:SE'' and '' Simply the Best'' before returning to Sky Sports N ...

Sue MacGregor Susan Katriona MacGregor (born 30 August 1941) is a British broadcaster. She is best known as a former presenter of BBC Radio 4's ''Woman's Hour'' and later the ''Today'' programme. Early life MacGregor was born in Oxford. Her parents were Sc ...

Ulrika Jonsson Eva Ulrika Jonsson (born 16 August 1967) is a Swedish-British television presenter and model. She became known as a TV-am weather presenter, and moved on to present the ITV show '' Gladiators'', and later featured as a team captain on the BBC T ...

Heather McCartney Heather Louise McCartney (born See; 31 December 1962) is an American-born British potter and artist who is the daughter of Linda McCartney and the adopted daughter of Paul McCartney. Biography Heather Louise See was born in Tucson, Arizona, Uni ...

and

Shakin Stevens Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s. His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although ...

who all presented awards.

2006 Gold Award winners

The 24th Sony Radio Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by

, was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 8 May 2006.

Stephen Nolan Stephen Raymond Nolan (born 20 August 1973) is a Northern Irish radio and television presenter for BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Radio 5 Live. Nolan is the highest earning BBC broadcaster in Northern Ireland. In the 2023–2024 financial year h ...

became the first person to win seven gold Sony awards. Guests included

Andrea Corr Andrea Jane Corr (born 17 May 1974) is an Irish musician and actress. Corr debuted in 1990 as the lead singer of the Celtic folk rock and pop rock group The Corrs along with her three elder siblings Caroline, Sharon and Jim. Aside from singi ...

Dame Edna Everage Dame Edna Everage, often known simply as Dame Edna, is a character created and portrayed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, known for her lilac-coloured ("wisteria hue") hair and cat eye glasses ("face furniture"); her favourite flower, ...

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British Jamaicans, British-Jamaican comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ' ...

and

Jeff Wayne Jeffry Wayne (born July 1, 1943) is an American composer, musician and lyricist. In 1978, he released '' Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'', his musical adaptation of H. G. Wells' science-fiction novel ''The War of the Wo ...

who all presented awards.

2007 Gold award winners

The 25th Sony Radio Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by

and

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in Britain for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekday brea ...

, was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 30 April 2007. The Sony Broadcasters' Broadcaster Award, a special prize to mark the 25th year of the awards, was given to

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

, who died in 2004. The award was received by Sheila Ravenscroft, Peel's widow. Guests included a selection of actors, singers and broadcasters (

Natasha Bedingfield Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is a British and New Zealand singer, songwriter and record producer. She released her debut album, '' Unwritten'', in 2004, which contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R& ...

Katie Derham Catherine Beatrice Margaret Derham (born 18 June 1970) is a British newscaster and a presenter on television and radio. Early life and education Derham was born on 18 June 1970 in Canterbury, Kent to Margaret, a teacher, and John Derham, a chem ...

, Fred and Richard Fairbrass (

Right Said Fred Right Said Fred are an English pop band formed by brothers Fred and Richard Fairbrass in 1989. They are best known for the hit 1991 song " I'm Too Sexy". History 1989–1991: Formation Prior to forming Right Said Fred, the Fairbra ...

Sir David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English media personality, actress and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent competition show '' Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the national ''H ...

Jamelia Jamelia Niela Davis (born 11 January 1981) is a British singer, actress and television personality. Her three studio albums each peaked inside the Top 40 and they spawned eight top-10 singles. In addition, Jamelia has won four MOBO Awards, a Q ...

Carol Vorderman Carol Jean Vorderman (born 24 December 1960) is a Welsh broadcaster, media personality, and writer. Her media career began when she joined the Channel 4 game show ''Countdown'', appearing with Richard Whiteley from 1982 until his death in 2005, ...

Konnie Huq Konnie Huq (born Kanak Asha Huq ; on 17 July 1975) is a British television and radio presenter, screenwriter and children's author. She became the longest-serving female presenter of the British children's television programme '' Blue Peter'', ...

(

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...

Melinda Messenger Melinda Jane Messenger (born 23 February 1971) is an English television presenter and former glamour photography, glamour model and Page Three girl. She presented the magazine programme ''Live from Studio Five'' and was formerly the co-Televisio ...

Dolores O'Riordan Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan ( ; 6 September 1971 – 15 January 2018) was an Irish musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band The Cranberries. O'Riordan was the principal songwriter of ...

, and Richard Park) who all presented awards.

2008 Gold Award winners

The 26th Sony Radio Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by

, was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 12 May 2008. The

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

won four awards, including ''Journalist of the Year'' for

Owen Bennett-Jones Owen Bennett-Jones is a freelance British journalist and a relief presenter of '' Newshour'' on the BBC World Service. As a former BBC correspondent having been based in several countries, he also regularly reports from around the world. He h ...

. Guests included

Edwyn Collins Edwyn Stephen Collins (born 23 August 1959) is a Scottish musician, producer and record label owner. Collins was the lead singer for the 1980s post-punk band Orange Juice, which he co-founded. After the group split in 1985, Collins started a so ...

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Awards, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime Emm ...

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

Al Murray Alastair James Hay Murray (born 10 May 1968) is an English comedian. After graduating from the University of Oxford, Murray's comedy career began by working with Harry Hill for BBC Radio 4. He regularly performed at the Edinburgh Festival Frin ...

, and

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is an English singer, songwriter and actor. He came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest '' Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Ido ...

who all presented awards.

2009 Gold Award winners

2010 Gold Award winners

2011 Gold Award winners

2012 Gold Award winners

2013 Gold Award winners

2014 Gold Award winners

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *{{cite web , last1 = Wilding , first1 = Geoff , title = Gresford – Bringing the lads up at last. An interview by Geoff Wilding. , url = https://www.wrexham-history.com/gresford-bringing-the-lads-up-at-last-an-interview-by-geoff-wilding/ , website = Wrexham History , access-date = 12 January 2018 , date = 9 March 1982 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112202926/https://www.wrexham-history.com/gresford-bringing-the-lads-up-at-last-an-interview-by-geoff-wilding/ , archive-date = 12 January 2018 , url-status = usurped

External links

Official site
British radio awards 1983 establishments in the United Kingdom Awards established in 1983 2014 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Awards disestablished in 2014