FEATURE - Annie Mac has left Radio 1 – but her stamp on Queen’s Radio remains
Chloe Stewart
Annie Mac, former Queen’s student, announced her plans to leave Radio 1 in April after seventeen years with the BBC. Looking back on the career of Annie Mac and what she means to students at Queen’s, it is unquestionable the mark she has left on Belfast.
Before becoming the legendary DJ she is, Mac studied English Language and Literature at Queen’s. Speaking of her years as a student she said, “English is about growing socially and teaching you how to be an adult. I think sometimes at universities, especially big ones, you don't realise all the things that you are able to do. I have loads of great memories of my time at Queen’s. It was the best three years of my life.”
After graduating, Mac joined the BBC in 2002 as broadcast assistant and in 2004 took over from Zane Lowe with her own show on Radio 1, Annie Mac’s Mashup. Since then, she has DJ’d at Radio 1’s Ibiza shows and curated her own festival, Annie Mac Presents: Lost and Found Festival, which earned her the title of Festival Ambassador of Malta in 2018. She currently hosts the ever-popular Radio 1’s Dance Party and is admired for her affinity to discover and promote new music in Future Sounds.
With a career as successful as Mac’s, students at Queen’s can take pride in knowing the prospects which lay ahead for them. An inspiration to all students, her success has brought encouragement to those who have doubted themselves. Jessica Lawrence, a current student at Queen’s, told me that she always dreamt of working for Radio 1. However, after facing multiple rejections for work experience, she began to give up on the future possibility of a career at the radio station. When researching university options, she discovered that Radio 1’s very own Annie Mac had studied at Queens, and suddenly her dreams “felt very real again.”
Mac not only inspired people to come to Queen’s, but to follow their aspirations for a career in the broadcasting industry. Lawrence started studying at Queen’s in 2015 and the following year formed Queens Radio with her friend, Jane Corscadden. As Lawrence devoted her time to Queen’s Radio, she says, “I would often listen to Annie Mac’s show to try and gain tips and tricks from the best interviewer in the game.” She was shocked to discover that Mac herself would be visiting Queen’s Radio and that she would have the opportunity of hosting a show with her.
Speaking of the day, Lawrence said: “I can’t remember much from that day, mainly because it felt like a fever dream after the move to Elmwood Avenue had caused most of our equipment to break down just days before Radio 1 arrived. However, I remember standing in the foyer of the SU with Jane waiting for Annie Mac to arrive just wondering what we had done in our lives to receive something so amazing.”
To music lovers, Mac is remembered as the final act at Mandela Hall in 2018. The basement venue hosted some of the biggest legends in music – from U2 to Ed Sheeran – but it was through Shine that both local and international DJs came together to create unforgettable nights for us young people in Belfast. Once a regular on the dancefloor in Mandela herself, the final night in 2018 could not have been closed by anyone better than Queen’s University’s own Annie Mac.
While Mac hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a future return to broadcasting, she wants to make more time for her two children and focus on her writing career. She plans to turn more of her attention back to writing again, with her debut novel Mother Mother out on May 27. Announcing her departure from Radio 1 on Instagram she said, “I will be coming back to radio broadcasting when the time is right. For now though, I would like to say thank you.”
Alongside being a legendary DJ and broadcaster, Annie Mac is cherished at Queen’s for the impact she has had on student media in Northern Ireland. To Lawrence, she’ll be the woman who showed her that regardless of where you’re from or what you do, you’ll always have a chance of making it to Radio 1.
“Thank you, Annie Mac” Lawrence said, “for the trails you have blazed along the way for people like me. It will never be forgotten.”
Chloe Stewart is a Masters student at Queen’s