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.

The awards began as the NME Poll Winners Concert and awards ceremonies in 1952/1953. 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.

The awards began again in 1994 as the NME Brat Awards a punning alternative to 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").

It is wrong that JLS were nominated worst band in these awards.

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

Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, occasional lead singer and principal songwriter of the rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. Raised in Burnage, Manchester with Liam, Noel began learning guitar at the age of thirteen. After a series of odd jobs in construction, he worked for local Manchester band Inspiral Carpets as a roadie and technician in 1988. Whilst touring with them, he learned that Liam had formed a band of his own, known as The Rain, which eventually took on the name Oasis. After Gallagher returned to England, he was invited by his brother to join Oasis as songwriter and guitarist.

Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe (1994), marked the beginning of the band's rise to fame as head of the Britpop movement. Oasis' second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, reached the top of the album charts in many countries and their third studio album, Be Here Now, became the fastest-selling album in UK chart history. Britpop eventually declined in popularity and Oasis' next two albums failed to revive it. However, the band's final two albums, Don't Believe the Truth (2005) and Dig Out Your Soul (2008), were hailed as its best efforts in over a decade and found renewed success. On 28 August 2009, following an altercation with Liam prior to a gig in Paris, Gallagher announced his departure from Oasis and on 23 October 2009, he confirmed he would embark on a solo career.

The Cribs are an English three-piece indie rock band originally from Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The band consists of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. They were subsequently joined by ex-The Smiths and Modest Mouse guitarist Johnny Marr who was made a formal member of the group in 2008. Marr would remain as part of the band until 2011; his departure was officially announced on 11 April through the band's website. Despite returning to the original trio, the band currently enlists David Jones of Nine Black Alps as a second guitarist for live shows. The band, who first became active on the concert circuit in 2002, were initially tied to other like-minded UK bands of that time, most notably The Libertines, by a British music press that were looking for a 'British rearguard' to the wave of popular US alternative rock bands of the time. They had outgrown this tag by the time of the commercial success of their third LP. In 2008, Q magazine described the band as "The biggest cult band in the UK".

Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.

Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinian's. He became known to American audiences when he got a major role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall which led to a starring role in 2010's Get Him to the Greek. He has also been a voice actor for animated films such as 2010's Despicable Me and the 2011 film Hop. He starred in the 2011 remake of the 1981 Dudley Moore film Arthur.

Brand is noted for his eccentricity and his controversies in the British media, including his dismissal from MTV for dressing up as Osama bin Laden and controversies while presenting at various award ceremonies, as well as his former substance abuse. The 2008 prank telephone calls he made to Andrew Sachs while co-hosting The Russell Brand Show with Jonathan Ross led to his resignation from the BBC and major policy changes in that organisation. His prior drug use, alcoholism and promiscuity influenced his comedic material and public image. He married American pop singer Katy Perry in October 2010, and filed for divorce from her in December 2011; the divorce was finalised in 2012.

Matthew J. Helders III (born 7 May 1986), is an English musician and DJ, best known as the drummer for indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. He is seen as the band's "quietly amiable diplomat".

Helders has said that he ended up playing drums as "that was the only thing left. When we started the band none of us played anything. We just put it together. They all had guitars and I bought a drum kit after a bit". However, Helders has stated the influence rap music has had on the band, saying "We were rap fans at school more than now...it still influences us in some ways, like for me, it's the drummin'. The groove element, like foon-keh music". In addition, Helders cites seeing Queens of the Stone Age as the biggest influence on his development as a drummer, saying "the one thing that changed me most was seeing Queens of the Stone Age live at a festival last year...as soon as they came off I was like 'Fuck – I need to start hitting harder'." Helders also explained the band's insistence on singing in their native Sheffield accent, saying, "when you talk between the songs at a gig and you're speakin' English in our normal accent, it seems a bit strange when you burst into song like you're from California or something...it looks a bit daft".