Star Studded Forth Awards Ceremony celebrates Local Heroes, Sports plus Music Stars
Stars including Amy MacDonald, Lewis Capaldi, Ed Byrne and Go West all took to the stage in the capital on Thursday night in celebration of Forth Heroes.
AMY MACDONALD, ED BYRNE, GO WEST, LEWIS CAPALDI, MARK BEAUMONT AND MORE ALL JOIN CELEBRATION OF FORTH HEROES.
Stars including Amy MacDonald, Lewis Capaldi, Ed Byrne and Go West all took to the stage in the capital as one of the best events in Edinburgh’s entertainment calendar delighted hundreds of fans. This year was one of its biggest and best yet as record-breaking adventurer and cyclist Mark Beaumont also joined the festivities alongside Angie Brown, Rozalla, and Max George.
The Forth Awards are once again sponsored by Edinburgh St James which, with an investment value of £1bn, is one of the largest and most significant development projects underway in the UK. Working with Radio Forth as the main sponsor, Edinburgh St James will bring revitalisation to the East End of Edinburgh with 850,000 sq. ft of shops, 150 new homes and 30 restaurants. Echoing the aims of the Forth Awards, Edinburgh St James also recognises those living in our community through its numerous sustainability and socially responsible initiatives.
Kicking off the show, BAMR (Boogie, Arlene, Marty and Robbie) took to the Usher Hall stage as X Factor contestant Caitlyn Vanbeck performing vocals, with the five-piece receiving rapturous applause from the delighted Forth Awards audience. Setting themselves a challenge on the breakfast show to create a chart-topping hit, the team did exactly that, with ‘Break Your Heart’ pipped to the top spot by none other than Calvin Harris and Sam Smith. With a party atmosphere from the very beginning, it was clear the Usher Hall audience were in for a day of unrivalled entertainment.
The inaugural award of the night with The Forth Contribution to Sport Award going to none other than record-breaking adventurer Mark Beaumont. The Perthshire cyclist holds the world record for cycling around the world in less than 79 days, completing the gruelling 18,000 mile trek by cycling 240 miles every day and sleeping for less than five hours a night. Receiving his Forth Award, Mark said, “I’ll tell you one thing for free – I’m not doing that again! Scotland now have the male and female world record. Thank you!”
Next up, Callum Gallacher presented The Forth Rising Star Award to one of the biggest stars the Scottish music scene has produced in recent years. Lewis Capaldi has had a phenomenal few years since his debut single ‘Bruises’ was released in 2017; amassing over 155 million plays on streaming services, supporting Sam Smith, Niall Horan and Rag’N’Bone Man on tour, playing on the Main Stage at TRNSMT Festival to thousands of hometown fans, winning ‘Best Breakthrough’ at the SSE Scottish Music Awards in 2017 and more recently selling out two nights at Glasgow’s Barrowlands in under 24 hours. Collecting his award before a stellar performance of new song ‘Someone You Loved’ and his massive debut ‘Bruises’.
For the first local heroes award, Micky Gavin presented The Forth Charity Volunteer of the Year Award to the very deserving Heather Duff. Since battling cancer, Heather has devoted herself to fundraising for Maggie’s Cancer Centre, running an annual hockey tournament aptly named ‘Stick It To Cancer’ – which this year, smashed its fundraising target of £4000, raising an epic £120,000.
Ian Rankin accepted his Forth Icon Award via video message; the Fife-born author has firmly established himself as a leading crime writer, with his famous Inspector Rebus novels loved around the world.
Next up, The Forth Fringe Recognition Award went to Irish comedian Ed Byrne who has become a household name in the 30 years he’s spent in the business of making people laugh. From TV appearances on Have I Got News For You and Mock The Week to his hilarious observational stand up, Ed Byrne has been entertaining audiences for years and today’s Forth Awards audience got a special set from the man himself. On his award win, Ed said, “Scotland is hugely important to me… I did my first gig in Glasgow, second professional gig in Edinburgh and met my wife here.”
The prized Forth Best Teacher Award went to Karen Woodhouse from Townhill Primary School, who organises out of school activities for her kids including litter walks and nursing home visits, plus even helped set up a lending library in school when Townhill’s own library closed. The awards kept coming as The Sun Inn, Dalkeith took home The Forth Best Bar Award which should come as no surprise to their customers who arbed to the family friendly vibe and lazy Sunday lunches!
Next to the stage, Angie Brown and Rozalla got the Forth Awards audience on their feet as they brought 90s dance vibes to the Usher Hall, performing massive tracks like ‘Everybody’s Free’ and ‘Are You Ready to Fly’.
SAM RADIO, the first radio station of its kind in Scotland, were the next local winners of the afternoon, scooping The Forth Community Venture Award to recognise the phenomenal achievements of founder Paul Ross and his family. A community internet radio station which caters for adults diagnosed with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome, SAM RADIO has grown from five to thirty presenters all producing and hosting live weekly radio shows – a worthy winner indeed.
Having recently released his first solo single ‘Barcelona’ this summer, Max George, formerly of The Wanted, then treated the audience to a short set, bringing the summer vibes back to Edinburgh on this November afternoon with songs including ‘Barcelona’ and ‘Glad You Came’. Max said “It’s so great to be back in Scotland, all you winners should be so proud of yourselves.”
The Radio Forth Awards always takes pride in shining a light on those giving back to others, and this year’s winner of The Forth Cash for Kids Award was one of the most passionate and memorable yet. After being diagnosed with cancer at 17, Joanna Lamb endured nine months of gruelling treatment and sadly had to have her leg amputated. Despite this, Joanna has raised a staggering £25,000 for the ‘It’s Good 2 Give’ charity, made speeches about her charity work and illness at events such as the Michelle Obama Dinner, plus become a trustee for the charity. Having recently been advised that her cancer has spread and is now terminal, Joanna is a truly inspiring young woman who continues to raise as much money and awareness as she can for the illness. In a sombre yet inspiring moment in the awards, Joanna received a standing ovation from the crowd, saying “I have amazing friends and family, the support from them is the reason I keep going.”
The penultimate performance of the night came from Forth Awards favourite Amy Macdonald who performed a thrilling set after picking up The Forth International Music Icon Award, a thoroughly deserved award which recognises Amy’s incredible feats over the last 11 years in the music industry. Having sold 12 million albums, the singer-songwriter is set to release her fifth album ‘Woman of the World: The Best of 2007 – 2018’, and treated the audience to performances of her songs ‘This Is The Life’ and ‘Woman of the World’.
Following Amy’s rousing performance, Boogie presented the penultimate award of the night, as The Forth Local Hero Award went to a stunned Iain McKendry. Iain was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at 15 months and his parents were told he may never walk. 23 years later, Iain is now a spin instructor at Danderhall Community Centre after his pure determination saw him progress from using a wheelchair, to walking aids, to now walking independently. A commendable winner and extremely inspiring young man, Iain said “I got certified because people kept saying I would never walk or talk…well look at me now.”
Wrapping up another jam-packed afternoon of high calibre entertainment, inspiring winners and non-stop banter from Forth presenters, it was time for the final award of the night. Arlene was thrilled to present The Forth Contribution to Music Award to 80s pop duo Go West. The BRIT award winners are six albums and 20 million sales down the line but show no signs of slowing down as they thrilled the crowd with performances including 'We Close Our Eyes' before finishing with 'King of Wishful Thinking' saying, "We wrote a song for the film 'Pretty Woman' - it's our last song, we want to hear you right at the back!"
The Forth Awards 2018 was once again a celebration of the best music and entertainment around, plus inspiring stories from Forth’s local heroes – whether simple acts of kindness by local teachers, or staggering amounts of money raised for life-altering charities, everyone had an afternoon to remember and for all our local heroes, it was certainly one for the memory books.
Richie Jeffrey, Head of Events said: “The Forth Awards are always a truly incredible and inspiring afternoon and our 15th annual celebration was no different. From the unrivalled Usher Hall atmosphere, to our non-stop entertainment and moving stories from very worthy winners, it is with real proud that Radio Forth is able to support and reward people in our community in this way. People like Joanna Lamb and Iain McKendry are the pillars of our community and to see them met with such joy and celebration of their achievements today is a highlight every year. Thank you once again to our incredible performers, local heroes and of course the crowd who make it such an unforgettable event!”
FORTH AWARDS 2018 - WINNERS LIST
THE FORTH INTERNATIONAL MUSIC ICON AWARD WITH VICTOR PARIS
Presented by Ewan and Cat
Winner – Amy Macdonald
THE FORTH CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC AWARD WITH THE LIQUID ROOMS
Presented by Arlene
Winner – Go West
THE FORTH ICON AWARD WITH THE EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE
Winner – Ian Rankin
THE FORTH FRINGE RECOGNITION AWARD WITH OMNI
Presented by Craig Hill
Winner – Ed Byrne
THE FORTH RISING STAR AWARD WITH PRESTIGE VENUES AND EVENTS
Presented by Callum Gallacher
Winner – Lewis Capaldi
THE FORTH CONTRIBUTION TO SPORT AWARD
Winner – Mark Beaumont
THE FORTH BEST BAR AWARD WITH CALEDONIAN HEATING
Presented by Matt Allit and Cathy Kirk
Winner – The Sun Inn, Dalkeith
THE FORTH CHARITY VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD WITH GILSON GRAY – LAW, PROPERTY AND FINANCE
Presented by Micky Gavin
Winner – Heather Duff
THE FORTH BEST TEACHER AWARD WITH FUSE
Presented by Gina McKie
Winner – Karen Woodhouse
THE FORTH LOCAL HERO AWARD WITH THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS
Presented by Boogie
Winner – Iain McKendry
THE FORTH CASH FOR KIDS AWARDS WITH WESTWOOD’S HEALTH CLUB
Presented by Arlene
Winner – Joanna Lamb
THE FORTH COMMUNITY VENTURE AWARDS WITH GYLE SHOPPING CENTRE
Presented by Alan Edwards
Winner – SAM RADIO
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