SURGE 1287AM
Encyclopedia
Surge is an English student radio station
based at the University of Southampton
. Founded in 1976 as Radio Heffalump, the station was renamed Radio Glen the following year and originally broadcast from the university's Glen Eyre Halls
complex. The station was relocated to Highfield Campus
and rebranded as Surge in 2001, and is owned by the Southampton University Students' Union (SUSU).
, before it was agreed in March 1977 to form a legal radio station at Glen Eyre. The station was founded as Radio Glen and initially broadcast from a studio in Glen Eyre "F-Block" before later moving to a larger office in New Terrace in 1998. In 2000 the station began broadcasting on 1287AM, having before only reached Glen Eyre tenants, and in 2001 it commenced FM
transmissions for one week per year. Also in 2001, Radio Glen was renamed Surge, which initially stood for "Southampton University Radio from Glen Eyre".
In 2003 the station won its first Student Radio Award, awarded by the UK Student Radio Association: station Webmaster Nicholas Humfrey picked up the Technical Innovation Award for his "Total Request" system, while the website was awarded silver in the Website of the Year category. Surge News was founded in February 2004 by James Laidler, and in 2005 won first place in the SRA News & Talk category, with Nick Bevan picking up Surge's third award, for Newcomer of the Year. In June 2005, Surge successfully received funding of £25,000 from SUSU for construction of a new studio, which was completed and launched in October. In April 2006 the station hosted the Student Radio Conference, and in June hosted the BBC 6 Music
Breakfast Show with Phill Jupitus
. Surge picked up their latest award to-date in November 2006, when Nick Bevan, Thomas Morgan and Zander Bell won the award for Best Entertainment Show with "The Nick & Mogs Show".
In the 2011 Student Radio Awards, Surge Technical Manager Ben Morton received two nominations for the station, both in the category of Best Technical Achievement; he won the silver award at the ceremony for his work on the Surge Facebook application.
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
based at the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
. Founded in 1976 as Radio Heffalump, the station was renamed Radio Glen the following year and originally broadcast from the university's Glen Eyre Halls
Glen Eyre Halls
Glen Eyre Halls is a halls of residence complex owned by the University of Southampton. It is situated in the Bassett district of Southampton, approximately one quarter mile north of the University campus in Highfield....
complex. The station was relocated to Highfield Campus
Highfield Campus
Highfield Campus is the main campus of the University of Southampton, in Southampton, southern England; it is also the largest with the majority of University of Southampton students studying there as their main campus.-History:...
and rebranded as Surge in 2001, and is owned by the Southampton University Students' Union (SUSU).
History
Radio Heffalump began broadcasting in the autumn term of 1976 as a pirate stationPirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
, before it was agreed in March 1977 to form a legal radio station at Glen Eyre. The station was founded as Radio Glen and initially broadcast from a studio in Glen Eyre "F-Block" before later moving to a larger office in New Terrace in 1998. In 2000 the station began broadcasting on 1287AM, having before only reached Glen Eyre tenants, and in 2001 it commenced FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
transmissions for one week per year. Also in 2001, Radio Glen was renamed Surge, which initially stood for "Southampton University Radio from Glen Eyre".
In 2003 the station won its first Student Radio Award, awarded by the UK Student Radio Association: station Webmaster Nicholas Humfrey picked up the Technical Innovation Award for his "Total Request" system, while the website was awarded silver in the Website of the Year category. Surge News was founded in February 2004 by James Laidler, and in 2005 won first place in the SRA News & Talk category, with Nick Bevan picking up Surge's third award, for Newcomer of the Year. In June 2005, Surge successfully received funding of £25,000 from SUSU for construction of a new studio, which was completed and launched in October. In April 2006 the station hosted the Student Radio Conference, and in June hosted the BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
Breakfast Show with Phill Jupitus
Phill Jupitus
Phillip Christopher Jupitus is an English stand-up and improvised comedian, actor, performance poet, musician and podcaster....
. Surge picked up their latest award to-date in November 2006, when Nick Bevan, Thomas Morgan and Zander Bell won the award for Best Entertainment Show with "The Nick & Mogs Show".
In the 2011 Student Radio Awards, Surge Technical Manager Ben Morton received two nominations for the station, both in the category of Best Technical Achievement; he won the silver award at the ceremony for his work on the Surge Facebook application.
Committee members
Committee 2011–2012- Station Manager: David Gilani
- Assistant Station Manager: Rob Leane
- Programme Controller: André Pusey
- Technical Manager: Ben Morton
- Head of Music: Alex Rogers
- Head of News: Abbie Chapman
- Head of Station Sound: Hatti Dingle
- Head of Marketing: Niccolo Zapponi
- Head of Events: Phoebe Cross
- Head of Show Production: Kerry Matthews
- Head of Speech Production: Chris Pate
- Head of Features: Ben Bradford
- Systems Manager: Matthew Warnes
Student Radio Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Award | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Total Request System | Technical Innovation Award | Gold | Awarded to Nicholas Humfrey | |
| surgeradio.co.uk | Website of the Year | Silver | Awarded to Sven Lantham and Nicholas Humfrey | ||
| 2005 | Nick Bevan | Newcomer of the Year | Gold | ||
| Surge News | News & Talk | Gold | |||
| 2006 | The Nick & Mogs Show | Best Entertainment Show | Gold | Awarded to Nick Bevan, Thomas Morgan and Zander Bell | |
| Elections Night Live | Best Live Event/Outside Broadcast | Bronze | |||
| Surge Newsweek | Best Journalistic Programme | Bronze | Awarded to James Laidler and Kate Jowett | ||
| 2007 | Surge Newsweek | Best Journalistic Programming | Silver | ||
| surgeradio.co.uk | Best Technical Innovation | Silver | |||
| Surge | Best Marketing & Branding | Silver | |||
| 2009 | SurgeCart and Podcast Generator | Best Technical Achievement | Bronze | Awarded to Jason Allen | |
| 2011 | Surge Facebook Application | Best Technical Achievement | Silver | Awarded to Ben Morton |