Kube Radio

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This article is about a student radio station in England. For the radio station in Seattle, Washington, see KUBE (FM).

KUBE Radio
City of license Keele, Staffordshire, England
Broadcast area Worldwide
Slogan The Shape of New Music
Frequency Internet Broadcast
First air date Spring 1994
Format Various Genres
Owner Student Society
Website www.kuberadio.com

Keele University Broadcasting Enterprise (abbreviated to KUBE) is a student run radio station at Keele University in Staffordshire, England and has been running officially since 1994. This internet only radio station is the most (and only) internationally awarded student radio in the UK, thus making it arguably the best student radio station in the country at the time. All the members of KUBE are students at Keele University and so are all volunteers, who fit KUBE around their academic work. By being a completely volunteer run station this meant that it was the only nominated radio station at the New York Festival 2007 that could claim as such, and to win shows the dedication of the students who get involved.

Early history

KUBE was founded in 1994 by a small group of students which included Dan Davies, Julian Holmes-Taylor, Conrad Jacobson, Paul Cottington and Nat Sones, who formed the core committee. Assisted by Cat Jenkins, Huw Micklewright, Vish Vishvanath, Adrian the Studio Manager, and with studio furniture built by Mat Stoker and Dave Hiley, KUBE was unique at the time in obtaining a short-term AM licence, as opposed to the short-term FM licences that were normally on offer - this greatly increased the range of the initial broadcast. The studios and office were in the far wing of the students' union.

Since its creation there have been some notable changes to KUBE. Of these the most important being that KUBE no longer broadcasts on AM radio and now only broadcasts via the internet. This change has allowed the station to reach far more people in that anyone with an internet connection can listen to KUBE anywhere in the world.

KUBE's studio has changed and evolved greatly since 2007, when it was given a dedicated studio and office space to the back of K2, when the original space used by the station was used to redevelop the toilet facilities of K2. Since that time, until the present day, the station has strived to continually invest in the best technology and equipment to ensure the station remains relevant.

Awards

In November 2007 KUBE was awarded 'Best Internet Only' award at the first European Radio Awards in Barcelona, Spain.[1]

On 28 June 2007 KUBE was awarded the 'Gold Medal Award' for 'Best Online Radio' at the New York Festival’s Radio Programming & Promotion Awards 2007 [2] and were originally nominated for the award after a fund raising event for Comic Relief raised thousands in a single 24 hour broadcast.

In June 2007 the lead technical member of KUBE was short-listed for the Gary Frisch Busary award, of which is for an entrepreneur or pioneer who is innovating in the fields of radio and audio software.

KUBE Radio received its first and currently only nomination at the Student Radio Awards in 2008. The show 'Llamageddon' was nominated for 'Best Interview' for their ground breaking interview with indie-pop rock group 'The Hoosiers'.

KUBE events

KUBE holds big events throughout the year including the Launch Party in freshers week. This event is open to all students at the university and is an excellent opportunity for new members to get to know each other.

Another big event that KUBE has held since 2007 is the 24 hour broadcast. During the event the station broadcasts live for 24 hours and raises money for a chosen charity. Initially run to tie in with Comic Relief and Red Nose Day, the event has evolved into being a key part of the fundraising Rag Week.

In 2007, Mark Welch and Matt Hallworth spent the whole 24 hours presenting from KUBE's original studio, before the area was redeveloped. This event led to KUBE winning its NY Festivals award. In 2008 a different approach was taken and there was a multitude of different presenters who did the full 24 hours. In 2009, Georgie Hammerton and Nick Lancaster took the reins and in 2010 TC Balmer and Aide Rushton fronted the broadcast.

For KUBE Radio’s 24 Hour Charity Broadcast 2011, Holly Beaumont-Wilkes and Dwayne ‘D-Won’ Evans were challenged to host the marathon broadcast solely from one studio, with no breaks and no sleep. Highlights of the broadcast included a ‘KUBE Live Lounge’ to highlight student talent, a Sabbs challenge to discover who is ‘the most Keele’ and ‘The KUBE 24 Challenge’ where students competed to win VIP tickets to Keele University Students' Union Annual end-of-year Summer Party Woodstoke 4. Through online and off-line donations, Keele University’s award-winning student radio station, KUBE Radio, raised over £1000 for The Donna Louise Children’s Hospice Trust on Monday 30 May 2011.

The 24 hour broadcast was rebranded in 2012, simply as ‘KUBE24’.[3] Following the similar style as the previous years, presenting duo Megan ‘JMeg’ Jones and Lauren ‘Dodge’ Dodgeson were set the challenge of broadcasting for a full 24 hours in the studio, with no breaks and various challenges to perform throughout the broadcast. Highlights of the 2012 broadcast included the ‘KUBE 24 Challenge’ (in which two people per team were set different challenges they were to complete in 90 minutes, returning to the studio with photographic evidence), the ‘Keele Boatrace’ (which was delayed due to someone raising concerns to security), an interview with Tim Westwood at approximately 9pm, before he DJed at the club ‘Liquid’ in Hanley, the ‘King of Blag’ where Vinesh Patel (the Station Manager at the time) and Dwayn ‘D-Wan’ Evans (the Head of Production at the time) were challenged to obtain as much free food from takeaway restaurants as possible in an hour, as well as the usual favourites such as the ‘KUBE Sessions’ (a re-brand from 'Live Lounge'), the ‘Who's more Keele?’ competition with John Easom (the Keele Alumni Officer) as well as various other segments throughout the 24 hours.


Refurbishment

KUBE underwent major refurbishment of the current studio in Keele University Students Union in the summer of 2010 with it officially opened by Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe on November 6.[4] The members of committee present were Vinesh Patel, Paul Mitchell, Mikey Aveline, Holly Beaumont-Wilkes, and Ibbi Onasanya. The opening ceremony followed previous openings/ribbon cuttings done in the past by members of the Kerrang Team and Faithless.

References

  1. ↑ "Keele University's student radio station wins another international award". Keele University. Retrieved 2011-06-15. 
  2. ↑ "Kube Radio Strikes Gold in New York". Keele University. Retrieved 15 June 2011. 
  3. ↑ "KUBE24 - KUBE Radio's 24 Hour Charity Broadcast". KUBE Radio. Retrieved 2012-06-13. 
  4. ↑ "Zane Lowe opens refurbished KUBE Radio studio". Keele University. Retrieved 15 June 2011. 

External links

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Categories
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