Biffy Clyro was
named Best British Band at the
NME Awards last Wednesday night in London. The Scottish group, who opened the show with
a performance of “Biblical,” beat out
Arctic Monkeys,
Kasabian,
The Vaccines,
The Maccabees and
The Cribs for the prestigious honor in the reader-voted competition.
"We're not even English, we're better than all the other English bands,"
Simon Neil joked afterward. "To be fair, we're not better than some other Scottish bands, it's a tough crowd up there!"
"There's so many good guitar bands out there in the U.K. doing different types of shit, and it shows what rude health we're in,” he continued. “The media spotlight will move away every now and then, but guitar music is essential and it will always be there."
Neil and his bandmates couldn’t have been to broken up about losing out in the Best Live Band competition to their elders
The Rolling Stones. The old-timers also won Best Music Film for
Crossfire Hurricane. Said
Ronnie Wood, the only Stone who attended, "I feel really grateful after all the hard work that we put in—it's got to be fucking live, baby! We've only waited 50 years for it."
Afterward, a Stones spokesman issued the following statement: "All the accolades this band have thrown at them over the years stem from one thing: on that stage they continue to be quite magnificent—the ultimate bar band, who deliver every time. They're well chuffed to be honored with these awards as they come from real music fans, not a committee."
Florence Welch was the only other double winner, picking up the awards for Best Solo Artist and Best Dancefloor Anthem for “
Sweet Nothing,” on which she joined
Calvin Harris.
Not surprisingly, given the hipster context, voters reserved their snarkiness for
One Direction—but
Harry Styles had to be laughing his skinny arse off that they elevated him to
Barack Obama’s stature in the Hero/Villain pairing.
Johnny Marr picked up the award for Godlike Genius and closed the show with a live performance featuring Ronnie Wood and The Vaccines'
Justin Young.
Said
NME Editor
Mike Williams, "The
BRITS have their place, but we like to think of our awards as the best rock & roll party of the year, and age is no barrier. Johnny Marr has had a fantastic career, and the Stones still appear to be completely relevant to our audience."
2013 NME Awards winners:
Godlike Genius:
Johnny MarrTeenage Cancer Trust Outstanding Contribution Award:
The CribsBest British Band:
Biffy ClyroBest Album:
Given to the Wild,
The MaccabeesBest International Band:
The KillersBest Track” “Inhaler,”
FoalsBest TV Show:
Fresh MeatBest Music Film:
Crossfire Hurricane,
The Rolling StonesBest Reissue:
21,
BlurBest Solo Artist:
Florence WelchBest New Band:
Palma VioletsBest Music Video: “R U Mine?”
Arctic MonkeysBest Festival:
Reading and
LeedsBest Live Band:
The Rolling StonesBest Dancefloor Anthem: “Sweet Nothing,”
Calvin Harris f/Florence WelchPhilip Hall Radar Award:
Child of LovBest Twitter:
Alana Haim,
HaimBest Book:
The Story of the Streets,
Mike SkinnerMusic Moment of the Year:
Olympics Opening CeremonyHero of the Year:
Barack ObamaVillain of the Year:
Harry StylesBest Small Festival:
Festival No 6Worst Band:
One DirectionBest Fan Community:
MuseBest Film:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey