NME Awards

The NME Awards 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 NME Poll 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.

Since 2014, the ceremony has been sponsored by the American city of Austin, Texas.

History

The awards began as the NME Poll Winners Concert and associated awards ceremoniy 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.

Britpop Era

The awards resurfaced in 1994 as the NME Brat Awards, with the title intended as a parody of the Brit Awards. The initial award ceremonies were supportive of the burgeoning Britpop scene with Oasis becoming the first band in the modern era to win three awards. Again in 1996 Oasis won four awards - Best Band, Best Live Band, Best Album ((What's the Story) Morning Glory?) and Best Single ("Wonderwall").