"And the nominations please"...

The announcements last week of who’d won Sony Radio Academy Award nominations was another good indicator of who the stars of commercial radio are, and how dominant the BBC are in certain areas.

With beer in hand, I dutifully stood at the back of the room and listened intently as Chris Evans & co read out the list of names of those going forward to win a gong. With over 30 categories, it took quite some time, and the announcements were met with either large cheers (usually from the boys and girls at Kiss 100 – they turn up to anything in the West End of London where there’s a free drink, you know!)… stunned silence… or a stifled laugh into the hand.

Some of the nominations that caught my eye…

It was nice to see 3 commercial radio Breakfast shows feature in the 5 nominations for The Breakfast Show Award (Capital, Trent and Clyde) who will battle against Radio 1 and 5 Live. I’d be delighted if Johnny picked up the award for Capital. He’s taken so much flack over the years and consistently delivers a very strong product.

The Entertainment Award sees Russell Brand up for a gong (which would be well deserved, as the show is so unique and entertaining)… but the category includes the rather brilliant Mike Toolan from Key 103, who again delivers consistently funny radio.

Jonathan Ross gets nominated for Music Radio Personality of the Year along with Zane Lowe, Jamie Theakston, Geoff Lloyd and Adam from Rock FM. Again… nice to see commercial radio delivering some great nominations up against the BBC, showing that in the area of mainstream entertainment, UK commercial radio can hold its own.

The Irony Award goes to Planet Rock who got 3 nominations, despite the “Fru Master Plan” calling for it to be shut. Shows that sometimes in radio, decisions aren’t based on any artistic or creative merit… it’s just about the money. Shame really. Still, I have a hunch it will survive! (“Fish on Friday” is probably the best name for a show I’ve heard in a long time!)

A couple more ‘tips of the hat’ go to the following: The guys at Jack FM in Oxford got a nod for their imaging. I hope they pick up the award for having the balls to do something different. In a sea of similarity, Jack FM is bobbing about being very unique. And that’s got to be worth something.

Finally in the Specialist Music Programme Award, a full sweep of BBC nominations was only stopped by “Friday Night Floorfillers with Krystle” from 97.3 Forth One in Edinburgh. Being the Programme Director that thought she’d make a rather good presenter one day and gave her first show on Forth One a few years back now, it’s nice to see that she’s recognised alongside heavyweights such as Zane Lowe on Radio 1. Well done Krystle!

So, the countdown is on. The dinner jacket is being dry cleaned, the pre-show drinks party is being arranged and the ‘Nurofen Plus’ is being ordered in bulk. If you’re nominated for a Sony Award this year… good luck. Winning is a great feeling. Losing is pretty crap… but alcohol does help. And if you’re going to the Grosvenor House Hotel on May 12th… mine’s a large Scotch and coke!