Forth Awards 2019 celebrate local heroes and music legends

The Forth Awards 2019 were held yesterday and had some high profile guests. There are six community awards and four for entertainment as nominated and voted for by Radio Forth listeners. The community awards recognise the unsung heroes in the city.

Marc Almond of Soft Cell was back in Edinburgh for the second time in a few weeks. He was awarded the Forth Icon Award sponsored by The Edinburgh Playhouse. And he will headline in Edinburgh this New Year too!

Marc delighted the attendees with a fittingly iconic performance of both solo and Soft Cell singles.  He said: “It’s a real honour to be awarded the Forth Icon Award. I love performing in Scotland and can’t wait to return next month for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay”.

Hosted by Forth’s Boogie and Arlene there were performances from The Lion King and The Steamie. Edinburgh’s Nina Nesbitt also entertained.

Janey Godley won The Forth Fringe Award with Omni Edinburgh – sadly we have no photos of her!

Charity Volunteer of the Year sponsored by Heritage Portfolio went to Neil Rankin from Street Assist, founded to help the citizens and emergency services within the City of Edinburgh. Finally, the Cash for Kids Award with Westwoods Health Club was collected by Paula Bowie, founder of L.I.F.T – Low Income Families Together – a new project which works with these families to reduce barriers restricting families from moving forward in life. 

Irene Squires-Guild was crowned Local Hero, collecting the award sponsored by The Edinburgh Evening News after dedicating her life to helping others, following the death of her son. A volunteer with the Red Cross, Irene assisted with relief for the Grenfell tragedy and regularly fundraises for those in need, offers support to refugee families, amongst many other selfless endeavours. 

Sean Carr collected the Community Venture Award sponsored by Gyle Shopping Centre for Urban Nature Retreat who have created a unique, safe environment for disadvantaged children with disabilities to enjoy the therapeutic benefits that animals and nature can provide. 

The Forth Contribution to Music Award with The Liquid Rooms was given to legends Wet Wet Wet who have sold over 15 million singles and albums to date. Their albums have gone platinum 20 times in the UK and they now have a new lead singer Kevin Simm.

The Forth Scottish Best Artist Award with Victor Paris was claimed by Sophie Ellis Bextor who performed her hits ‘Groove Jet’, ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ and ‘Take me Home’. 

The Best Restaurant award with Caledonian Heating and Plumbing was presented to Italian La Rusticana while Sarah Keenan from Carnegie Primary in Dunfermline was named top of the class, winning the Best Teacher Award, sponsored by Fuse. 

Richie Jeffrey, events and marketing manager at Radio Forth said: “The Forth Awards are a fantastic mix of celebration that spans local heroes plus the best music and entertainment. Everyone at Radio Forth is hugely proud to put on an event which is able to recognise the acts of selflessness of our local community winners whilst being able to provide top class entertainment from our industry winners and many more. Congratulations again to all of our incredibly deserving winners and nominees.”

Martin Perry, director of development at sponsor Edinburgh St James, said: “Every year the Forth Awards just seem to get better and better, which means our continued sponsorship of this great event is no real surprise.  

“Our involvement with the Forth Awards throughout the lifecycle of this project feels especially poignant now we are less than a year away from opening our first phase, delivering a once-in-a-generation development that equals Edinburgh’s global reputation.

 “But we knew from the start that, for Edinburgh St James to truly succeed, we needed to develop real partnerships across the city, and our relationship with Radio Forth continues to be one that we are very proud to have.”