Staffs duo celebrate radio awards hattrick
Two friends from Staffordshire University have ended their studies on a high after taking home four prizes from the Student Radio Awards.
It is the third year running that Kelvin Andrews and Chris Steers have been recognised at the annual event which celebrates the best student talent from across the UK.
After studying BA (Hons) Film, Television and Radio together the pair completed an MA in Radio Documentary this year and attended their graduation just days after the awards ceremony.
In 2019, Kelvin and Chris won the Kevin Greening Award for Creativity for a moving World War 2 documentary and followed this in 2020 by winning Best Speech Show for a podcast about music legend David Bowie. This year, however, they have each won prizes in their own right.
Chris became the first recipient of The Joe Lyons Award for Best Producer, introduced in memory of the Capital FM producer who sadly took his own life last year. Chris’s work –including a music documentary about Brit Pop and another about dogs involved in warfare – was described as one of the best entries of the night by the industry judging panel.
He said: “It feels incredibly humbling and moving to receive this award and to have met Joe’s family on the night.
“I never met Joe but everyone speaks so highly of him. This award keeps Joe’s memory alive and shines a light on what a producer does because they often go unnoticed behind the scenes.”
Winners of the Student Radio Awards, supported by BBC Sounds and Global, were announced during a special ceremony at London’s O2 with live music and afterparty DJs.
Kelvin, a music DJ and producer, scooped the Gold Award in the Best Speech Programming category for 'Subculture Snapshot', a documentary which explores the hidden history of subcultures and style tribes like Mods, Soul Boys, Punks and New Romantics via first-hand personal stories and music.
He was also awarded Bronze in both the Kevin Greening Award for Creativity and Best Podcast Programming categories for a follow up episode of the David Bowie podcast ‘Here Come the Bowie-ites’.
Kelvin said: “It feels absolutely amazing to win three years running! Previously we’ve won for joint projects but winning separately was the icing on the cake. It was extra special to be back at the awards in person at the O2 getting the chance to network with industry and celebrate with other students.”
Having completed their degrees, Chris now works for BBC Radio Stoke and Kelvin plans to keep producing independent radio documentaries including the Bowie & Beyond podcast.
Gavin Samways, Lecturer in Radio Production & Podcasting, commented: “We are so proud of Kelvin and Chris. They were the first members of our student radio station, OMG, to win at the SRAs which was a fantastic achievement but to make it a hattrick is a testament to the quality of their work. I’m sure they will inspire other Staffs students to follow in their footsteps!”
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Amy Platts
Media Communications Officer
t: 01782 292702
m: 07799 341911
e: amy.platts@staffs.ac.uk
Staffordshire University is the Connected University; connected to the needs of students, academic partners, business and society. Our main city campus in Stoke-on-Trent features excellent learning and teaching facilities and good transport links. We have specialist Centres of Excellence in Healthcare Education at Stafford and Shrewsbury.
We were recognised with a Gold award in the 2019 Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) for delivering consistently outstanding teaching, learning and outcomes for students.
We were shortlisted for University of the Year at the THE Awards 2020 and were named ‘Midlands University of the Year’ at the Midlands Business Awards 2020.
Staffordshire University has signed up to the Civic University Agreement, pledging to play a leading role in improving the regional economy and enhancing quality of life in local communities. We were recognised in the top 15 for social inclusion in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021. We aim to be a leading university for digital technologies building on our proud computing heritage and in 2019 launched Staffordshire University London’s Digital Institute which is committed to preparing students for careers in new and emerging tech industries.
We are a Top 250 Young University (Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2020) and are connected globally, with more than 11,000 people studying Staffordshire University degrees overseas.
