Award in honour of late music promoter

An award has been posthumously named in honour of a popular music promoter and record shop owner.

Mike Lloyd, 82, who ran Music Mania in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, died unexpectedly in December, while travelling home from a holiday in the US.

An award that recognises a person's contribution to the local music scene, is being presented in his name at the Staffordshire and Cheshire Music Awards.

Pete Herbert, one of the event organisers, said there had always been a special award at the end of the ceremony for somebody who "goes above and beyond in the local music industry".

Herbert described Lloyd's death as "such a shock" and spoke of how they had been working on a project together at the time.

"So the idea was straight away there, what better way of celebrating somebody, then [to] call it the Mike Lloyd Award, " he told BBC Radio Stoke.

"I'm not from Stoke, I came here about 20 years ago and one of the first names that came to prominence, that you learnt about, was Mike Lloyd."

Herbert added Lloyd's sons, Alex and James, would also be watching the ceremony from home through a live link.

Born in Walsall, father-of-two Lloyd was awarded an OBE in 2022 for his services to classical music and his role as chief executive of Stoke-on-Trent Classics, which organises orchestral concerts.

In 2023, he was made an honorary doctor of arts by what was then Staffordshire University, for his contributions in the field of music, culture and entertainment.

Lloyd was also made honorary freeman of Stoke-on-Trent in 2025, for "an exceptional commitment to enriching the cultural and musical landscape" of the city.

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