NME Awards

Last updated

NME Awards
Current: NME Awards 2023
2016 NME Awards Logo.jpeg
Logo for the 2016 NME Awards
CountryUnited Kingdom
First awarded24 April 1953;70 years ago (1953-04-24)
Website http://www.nme.com/awards
Television/radio coverage
Network ITV

The NMEAwards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine NME (New Musical Express). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the NMEPoll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of the magazine. Though the accolades given are entirely genuine, the ceremony itself is usually carried out in a humorous and jovial manner, and have included categories in the past like "Villain of the Year" and "Worst Record". The trophies given to the winners resemble an extended middle finger.

Contents

History

The awards began as the NME Poll Winners Concert and associated awards ceremony in 1953. These continued through until 1972, where concerts were filmed and broadcast on ITV. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones were most commonly featured. Venues included the Royal Albert Hall and the Empire Pool, Wembley. In 2008, a compact disc was given away with a special souvenir box set issue of the NME magazine on 27 February 2008, called NME Awards 2008.

Britpop era

In 1994, the awards were briefly renamed the NMEBrat Awards, with the title intended as a parody of the Brit Awards. The initial award ceremonies were supportive of the burgeoning Britpop scene with Blur becoming the first band in the modern era to win more than three awards, coming away with five total. Again in 1996, rival band Oasis won four awards: Best Band, Best Live Band, Best Album ( (What's the Story) Morning Glory? ) and Best Single ("Wonderwall").

Later in the decade, major winners were the Manic Street Preachers (4 awards in 1999) and Blur (3 awards in 2000).

Garage rock revival

In 2002, the awards reflected the NME's support for the "New Rock Revolution" garage rock revival, with the Strokes winning three awards ("Best New Act", "Best Album" and "Band of the Year").

After the 2002 awards, an article on Telegraph.co.uk reported that the winners of the NME awards "were almost interchangeable" with the winners of the Brit awards and criticised then editor Ben Knowles for what they saw as a hypocritical attack on the commercial nature of the Brit Awards. [1]

In 2003, Nick Jago, the drummer of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club gave a "silent" speech lasting 7 minutes, infavourably compared the show to The Source awards, was booed and heckled and had to be physically removed from the stage.[ citation needed ]

The Libertines won "Best British Band" in both 2004 and 2005, as well as "Best New Band" in 2003. The 2003 award win was notable for Pete Doherty breaking and entering former bandmate Carl Barât's house stealing many of his belongings, including his award.

In 2006, Arctic Monkeys won both "Best New Band" and "Best British Band" in the same year and became the third band in the modern era to win three awards (Best New Band, Best British Band, Best Track). In his speech, lead singer Alex Turner alluded to how the awards reflected who received the most coverage by the magazine; "Who else was going to be Best British Band? You don't write about something that much and then not tell you that you're Best British Band". Elsewhere that year, whilst collecting an award for his charity work, Bob Geldof called host Russell Brand a "cunt" to which Brand replied "[It's] no wonder Bob Geldof is such an expert on famine – he's been dining out on 'I Don't Like Mondays' for 30 years." [2] In the same year, Kaiser Chiefs were nominated for a six categories and won Best Album for Employment .

In 2007, Razorlight received a worst album nomination for their self-titled album, which NME themselves gave 8/10. This made it the highest rated album to receive a worst album nomination.

The 2008 award nominations were criticised in The Guardian for a lack of diversity and not including any female artists. [3] Also in 2008, the ceremony was followed by the NME Big Gig at the adjacent O2 Arena, where the Cribs performed with Johnny Marr, followed by Klaxons, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs and Manic Street Preachers, who also performed with Tom Clarke of the Enemy and Cerys Matthews.

In 2009, Oasis were nominated for a record 7 awards, whilst Villain of the Year went to George W. Bush for the sixth year in a row.

In 2013, the Killers were awarded their fourth accolade in the "Best International Band" category.

In 2015, Kasabian were nominated for 9 awards, beating the 2009 Oasis record. [4] [5]

Most wins

Elvis Presley, winner of 26 NME awards Elvis Presley 1970.jpg
Elvis Presley, winner of 26 NME awards

Most NME Award wins

Multiple major awards per year

Note: This list only includes winners of major awards (e.g. Best Album, Best British Band, Best Track, etc.)

Related Research Articles

Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes and soundscapes of the US-led grunge music and to the UK's own shoegaze music scene. The movement brought British alternative rock into the mainstream and formed the backbone of a larger British popular cultural movement, Cool Britannia, which evoked the Swinging Sixties and the British guitar pop of that decade.

<i>NME</i> British music journalism website and former magazine

New Musical Express (NME) is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a free publication, before becoming an online brand which includes its website and radio stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oasis (band)</span> English rock band (1991–2009)

Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as the Rain, the group initially consisted of Liam Gallagher, Paul Arthurs (guitar), Paul McGuigan and Tony McCarroll (drums). Liam's older brother Noel later joined as a fifth member, finalising the group's core lineup. During the course of their existence, they had various lineup changes, with the Gallagher brothers remaining the only stable members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brit Awards</span> British popular music awards

The BRIT Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trusts Show. In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for classical music, called the Classic BRIT Awards, is held in May. The awards were first held in 1977 and originated as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry's trade association, the BPI. In 1989, they were renamed The BRIT Awards. Mastercard has been the long-term sponsor of the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kasabian</span> English rock band

Kasabian are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and second vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karloff left the band in 2006 and founded a new band called Black Onassis. Jay Mehler joined as touring lead guitarist in 2006, leaving for Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye in 2013, to be replaced by Tim Carter, who later became a full-time band member in 2021. Meighan left the band in July 2020, with Pizzorno stepping up as full-time lead vocalist.

This is a summary of 2005 in music in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arctic Monkeys</span> English rock band

Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner, Jamie Cook, Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders. Former band member Andy Nicholson left the band in 2006 shortly after their debut album was released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brit Awards 2006</span>

Brit Awards 2006 was the 26th show of the Brit Awards, an annual pop music awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. It was organised by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on February 14, 2006 in Earls Court in London. It attracted a mere 4.7 million viewers, one of the lowest viewed ceremonies. 2007's show went on to pass the 5 million barrier again.

The Q Awards were the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine Q. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards became one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards. Locations for the awards ceremony included Abbey Road Studios and near the end of its life, The Park Lane Ballroom.

This is a summary of 2008 in music in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brit Award for British Group</span>

The Brit Award for British Group is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music. The winners and nominees are determined by the Brit Awards voting academy with over 1,000 members, which comprise record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, and previous winners and nominees.

The Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music is the Lifetime Achievement award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music. The honourees are determined by the Brit Awards voting academy with over one-thousand members, which comprise record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, and previous winners and nominees.

The Brit Award for British Album of the Year is given annually by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music. Winners and nominees are determined by the Brit Awards voting academy, which has over one thousand members: record labels, publishers, managers, agents, and media, as well as prior winners and nominees. The award was first presented in 1977 as British Album of the Year. In 1983 and 1984, the award was non-competitive and determined by highest album sales. Album of the Year is generally seen as the Brit Awards' most prestigious honour.

References

  1. "Culture". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008.
  2. "Tell me why they don't like Geldof". Independent.ie.
  3. "Blogposts". the Guardian.
  4. "Kasabian, Royal Blood, Jamie T lead nominations for NME Awards 2015 with Austin, Texas - voting open". NME. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  5. "The full winners list at NME Awards 2015 with Austin, Texas revealed". NME. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  6. Green, Alex (2 March 2022). "All the winners from the NME Awards 2022". The Independent . Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.