We’re still tingling from last night’s NME Awards 2012 (and we’re pretty sure that’s not just a allergic reaction to the Jager shots). The great and good of indie rock were all there. Plus a certain Geoff Poole, who, somewhat incredibly, came to the very first NME Awards in 1955. He reads NME to this day, and is a big Vaccines and Girls fan (“I own several of their discs,” he told us). Here are a few more highlights of the evening.
10Kasabian’s Monkees tribute
With the shocking news of Davy Jones’ death, Tom Meighan’s acapella version of ‘(Theme From) The Monkees’ seemed apt. It also united the Academy crowd in a joyful singalong. It was a fitting tribute to a man who provided us with so many brilliant pop culture moments.
We were dead chuffed that office favourites Hurts beat out a host of greats (Beyonce’s ‘Countdown’, Tyler The Creator’s ‘Yonkers’ and LDR’s ‘Video Games’) to win Best Video for the S&M ‘n’ espionage lolz of ‘Sunday’.
8Fresh Meat
Oi oi! It’s Vod and Oregon coming to pick up their award for Best TV Show! The makes of Peep Show excelled themselves making another laugh out loud and engrossing series that subtly balanced humour with elements of tragedy. A much deserved win.
7Katy B’s speech
She was made up like a perfect Victorian doll, and her winning speech for ‘Dancefloor Anthem’ was super sweet. “This is the first award I’ve ever won!” she said, sounding genuinely overwhelmed.
6Marina’s ‘Electra Heart’ Persona
In terms of massive, red carpet-grabbing attention, Marina’s image overhaul for her ‘Electra Heart’ persona was pretty attention grabbing. She’s blonde! She’s looks like a prom queen! Etc, etc.
5’212’
OK, she was ill so couldn’t attend, but hearing Azealia’s signature track ‘212’ was a big moment in the auditorium and got everyone (well, us) krumping like dancing fools.
Much better than the Chris Martin-aided version at ‘The Brits’, Noel’s four song set hit its stride with ‘AKA…What A Life’. The track revealed itself as the bejeweled stomper, between the solo tracks and the mass sing-a-long that was Oasis’ ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’.
3Jack Whitehall
Prior to Fresh Meat he was just “that posh guy off telly”, but after that he was the accomplished comic who managed to parody his previously annoyingly posh persona. And last night he was comedy gold, firing off unforgettable quips about Lana Del Rey, The Horrors, Alexa Chung and Meat Loaf. Could Mr.Loaf really have shat himself on Loose Women? That’s what Whitehall claimed – and there’s some evidence to suggest he wasn’t actually joking.
2The Horrors/Florence duet
Perfect as ‘Still Life’ is, the lurching track was made all the better with the addition of Florence’s booming vocals and an actual brass section. Better than ‘You Got The Dirtee Love’, then.
1Pulp
The privilege of seeing Pulp in such an intimate venue performing our favourite song (‘Babies’) was the ultimate highlight for us. Jarvis and co were in spanking form and the crowd joyfully sang along to every word. The visual spectacle of seeing the classic neon ‘PULP’ sign (last seen in the ‘Disco 2000’ video) was pretty special too.
To watch the NME Awards, tune in to Channel 4 on Saturday night (March 3) at 11.55pm. Half an hour of highlights will be shown on T4 at 9.25am the same day.
To read all about the awards and all the shenanigans from the night, pick up next week’s issue of NME which is on UK newsstands next Wednesday (March 7) or available digitally.
