David Bowie, Rolling Stones and Pussy Riot nominated for NME Awards
Veteran rockers feature prominently on this year's shortlist - meanwhile One Direction and Mumford & Sons battle it out in Worst Band category
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Your support makes all the difference.It’s nearly 50 years since the Rolling Stones first provoked hysteria at the NME Poll-Winners' Concert. But the veteran rockers are back in favour with the “indie bible” after receiving four nominations for the magazine’s 2013 awards.
The Stones’ comeback shows at the O2 Arena impressed the NME’s target audience of musical trend-setters, who have shortlisted the group in four categories including Best Live Act and Music Moment of the Year.
The publication hopes the Stones might be persuaded to repeat their appearance at the 1964 NME Poll-Winners’ All-Star concert where they joined the “greatest array of pop talent in the world”, including The Beatles, at the event which was hosted by Jimmy Savile.
The Stones, who could “hardly be heard above the shouts” at the Empire Pool, Wembley, played three songs and took the award for Best Rhythm and Blues act. Mick Jagger was named Best New TV Singer.
Sir Mick Jagger said: “It’s very nice to be nominated. When I first heard it was four things, I thought, 'Ooh, blimey! That's very nice!' And it’s not a journalists-only thing, it's not a coterie of closely-knit people choosing.”
Sir Mick, 69, added: “It’s funny, because when we were rehearsing at Wembley arena last year, it was where we used to do the NME Poll-Winners. We remembered, it was the first time we ever played 'Jumping Jack Flash', at one of those Poll-Winners concerts.”
David Bowie, 66, is also back in favour after his surprise return with a new song after a decade of semi-retirement. Bowie, who won two NME awards in1974, is nominated for Music Moment, Best Video and Hero of the Year.
Pussy Riot, the Russian punk group whose members were imprisoned following their anti-Putin protest, are nominated for the “punk prayer” they performed at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour cathedral last year, which prompted their arrest.
One of the members jailed for “hooliganism”, Maria Alyokhina, was last week denied a request to postpone her prison term while she cares for her five-year-old son.
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New artists do figure prominently with Australian psychedelic rockers Tame Impala and Haim, the group of US sisters named the BBC’s Sound of 2013, also receiving four nominations. M.I.A., the provocative rapper, is also recognised in four categories, despite receiving just one track last year.
Brighton “indie” band Maccabees and Arctic Monkeys are nominated for three awards each, and will battle it out for Best British Band.
This year’s hot NME tips, London band Palma Violets, compete against the Mercury Music Prize winners Alt-J in the new band category.
The Worst Band award is a death-battle between One Direction and Mumford & Sons. One Direction’s Harry Styles competes for Villain of the Year against past-winner David Cameron.
Mike Williams, NME editor, said: “It’s incredibly exciting to see such a wide range of artists nominated this time around. The early plaudits will go to Haim, Tame Impala, M.I.A. and the legendary Rolling Stones who lead the way with four nominations each, but it¹s testament to the exquisite taste of the NME audience that artists as wide ranged as Frank Ocean, Jake Bugg, Pussy Riot and David Bowie are recognised too.” The awards will be held at the Troxy in east London on February 27.
NME Awards 2013 nominations in full:
BEST BRITISH BAND
Arctic Monkeys
Kasabian
The Vaccines
Biffy Clyro
The Maccabees
The Cribs
BEST ALBUM
Channel Orange Frank Ocean
Jake Bugg Jake Bugg
Given To The Wild The Maccabees
An Awesome Wave Alt-J
Come Of Age The Vaccines
Lonerism Tame Impala
BEST INTERNATIONAL BAND
The Killers
Tame Impala
The Black Keys
Odd Future
Crystal Castles
Foo Fighters
BEST TRACK
R U Mine? Arctic Monkeys
Don’t Save Me Haim
Bad Girls MIA
Inhaler Foals
Best Of Friends Palma Violets
Elephant Tame Impala
BEST SOLO ARTIST
Jake Bugg
Noel Gallagher
Florence Welch
Miles Kane
Grimes
Paul Weller
BEST NEW BAND
Alt-J
Peace
Palma Violets
Django Django
Alabama Shakes
Haim
MUSIC MOMENT OF THE YEAR
David Bowie returns
The Stone Roses play Heaton Park
Olympics opening ceremony
The Rolling Stones play London's O2 Arena
Green Day's secret set at Reading Festival
Pussy Riot's punk prayer
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
Oblivion Grimes
Bad Girls MIA
Where Are We Now? David Bowie
R U Mine? Arctic Monkeys
Don't Save Me Haim
Feels Like We Only Go Backwards Tame Impala
BEST FESTIVAL
Reading & Leeds Festivals
T In The Park
Bestival
Primavera
Latitude
Isle Of Wight
BEST LIVE BAND
The Maccabees
The Cribs
Blur
Biffy Clyro
Foals
The Rolling Stones
BEST DANCEFLOOR ANTHEM
What You Came For Mosca feating Katy B
Sweet Nothing Calvin Harris featuring Florence Welch
Gangnam Style Psy
Bad Girls MIA
In Paris Kanye West/Jay-Z
Losing You Solange
BEST SMALL FESTIVAL
Swn
The Great Escape
Field Day
Festival No.6
End Of The Road
Constellations
BEST MUSIC FILM
Searching For Sugar Man
LCD Soundsystem: 'Shut Up And Play The Hits'
Hit So Hard : The Life & Near Death Story of Patty Schemel
Marley
The Rolling Stones: 'Crossfire Hurricane'
Led Zeppelin: 'Celebration Day'
BEST RE-ISSUE
Generation Terrorists Manic Street Preachers
21 Blur
The Fat Of The Land Prodigy
Turn On The Bright Lights Interpol
Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness Smashing Pumpkins
Collected Ian Brown
BEST TWITTER
Muse (@muse)
Fred Macpherson, Spector (@fredmacpherson)
Theo Hutchcraft, Hurts (@theohurts)
Alana Haim, Haim (@babyhaim)
Wiley (@EskiDance)
MIA (@MIAuniverse)
BEST BOOK
David Byrne: 'How Music Works'
Neil Young: 'Waging Heavy Peace'
Mike Skinner: 'The Story Of The Streets'
Tim Burgess: 'Telling Stories'
The Rolling Stones: '50'
Peter Hook: 'Unknown Pleasures : Inside Joy Division'
BEST TV SHOW
Breaking Bad
Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy
Fresh Meat
Sherlock
The Thick Of It
Doctor Who
HERO OF THE YEAR
David Bowie
Bradley Wiggins
Pussy Riot
Barack Obama
Frank Ocean
Dave Grohl
VILLAIN OF THE YEAR
David Cameron
Harry Styles
Skrillex
Psy
Fred Macpherson
Azealia Banks
WORST BAND
One Direction
Muse
Mumford & Sons
Alt-J
Justin Bieber
Ed Sheeran
BEST FAN COMMUNITY
Muse
Hurts
30 Seconds To Mars
Manic Street Preachers
The Killers
Enter Shikari
BEST FILM
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Ted
iLL Manors
The Dark Knight Rises
Skyfall
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower
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