Finally, having worked through all the other categories, let’s take a look at the artist winners for the NME Polls from 1952 to 1992. As I mentioned last week, it’s hard to trace the winners of a particular category through time, so I’ve taken a few liberties. Essentially anything that seems to be roughly the same category has been treated as the same thing. Also, for the year ranges, there are a few missing years here and there, so for instance 1967-1970 could mean anything between 2 and 3 wins.
Best Newcomer
For thirty-five years, the NME Poll included a newcomer award, variously titled “World’s Most Promising New Name”, “Best New Group”, and various other things. It’s an amazing time capsule of new acts throughout the ages – who would have thought that Cliff Richard and The Stone Roses could appear on the same list?
Best New Artist
- 1956 – Ronnie Scott
- 1958 – Cliff Richard
- 1959 – Craig Douglas
- 1960 – Emile Ford
- 1961 – John Leyton
- 1962 – Frank Ifield
- 1963 – Gerry Marsden
- 1964 – Mick Jagger
- 1965 – Seekers (group) & Donovan (solo)
- 1966 – Spencer Davis Group (group) & Stevie Winwood (solo)
- 1967 – Bee Gees (group) & Engelbert Humperdinck (solo)
- 1968 – Love Affair (group & Mary Hopkins (solo)
- 1970 – Jethro Tull
- 1971 – McGuinness Flint (group) & Elton John (solo)
- 1972 – New Seekers (group) & Rod Stewart (solo)
- 1973 – Golden Earring (World) & Leo Sayer (British)
- 1975 – Bad Company
- 1976 – Eddie and the Hot Rods
- 1977 – Tom Robinson
- 1978 – Public Image Ltd.
- 1979 – The Specials
- 1980 – UB40
- 1981 – Altered Images
- 1983 – The Smiths
- 1984 – Bronski Beat
- 1985 – The Jesus and Mary Chain
- 1986 – The Housemartins
- 1987 – The Proclaimers
- 1988 – The House of Love
- 1989 – The Stone Roses
- 1990 – The Charlatans
- 1991 – Kingmaker
- 1992 – Suede
Technical Categories
A lot of categories seem to have come and gone throughout the history of the awards to celebrate particular types of performer. Here are some of the highlights!
Musician of the Year
- 1952 – Ronnie Scott
- 1954 – Eric Delaney
- 1957 – Eddie Calvert
Best Guitarist
- 1954 – Bert Weedon
- 1973 – Eric Clapton
- 1976 – Jimmy Page
- 1978 – Mick Jones
- 1979-1982 – Paul Weller
- 1983 – The Edge
Best Bassist
- 1973, 1976 – Paul McCartney
- 1978 – Jean Jacques Burnel
- 1979-1982 – Bruce Foxton
- 1983 – Peter Hook
Best Keyboardist/Electronics
- 1973, 1976-1977 – Rick Wakeman
- 1978-1981 – Dave Greenfield
- 1982 – Vince Clarke
- 1983 – Steve Nieve
Best Drummer
- 1973, 1975 – Carl Palmer
- 1976 – John Bonham
- 1977 – Paul Cook
- 1978 – Keith Moon
- 1979-1982 – Rick Buckler
- 1983 – Budgie
Best Instrumentalist
- 1962-1963 – Jet Harris
- 1973 – Roy Wood
- 1975-1977 – Mike Oldfield
- 1981 – Saxa
- 1982 – The Emerald Express, Violin
- 1983 – The TKO Horns
- 1985 – Johnny Marr
Best Producer
- 1973 – David Bowie
- 1975 – Eddie Offord
Best Songwriter/Composer
- 1973 – Elton John / Bernie Taupin
- 1976 – Bob Dylan
- 1978 – Elvis Costello
- 1979-1982 – Paul Weller
- 1983 – Elvis Costello
- 1984-1985 – Morrissey / Johnny Marr
Best Solo Artist
Curiously, the solo artist categories were for the longest time broken up into “world”, “British”, and even “US” for a while.
Best Female Singer
- 1952-1954 – Lita Roza
- 1957 – Ruby Murray
- 1958 – Alma Cogan
- 1959-1961 – Connie Francis
- 1962-1964 – Brenda Lee
- 1965-1967 – Dusty Springfield
- 1968 – Lulu
- 1970 – Dusty Springfield
- 1971-1973 – Diana Ross
- 1975 – Joni Mitchell
- 1976 – Linda Ronstadt
- 1977 – Julie Covington
- 1978 – Debbie Harry
- 1979 – Kate Bush
- 1981-1983 – Siouxsie Sioux
- 1984-1986 – Elizabeth Fraser
- 1987 – Suzanne Vega
Best British Female Singer
- 1955, 1957 – Alma Cogan
- 1959-1960 – Shirley Bassey
- 1961-1962 – Helen Shapiro
- 1963 – Kathy Kirby
- 1964-1966 – Dusty Springfield
- 1968, 1970 – Lulu
- 1971-1972 – Cilla Black
- 1973 – Maggie Bell
- 1975 – Kiki Dee
Best US Female Singer
- 1955-1957 – Doris Day
- 1958 – Connie Francis
Best Male Singer
- 1952-1954 – Dickie Valentine
- 1955 – Frank Sinatra
- 1956 – Dickie Valentine
- 1958 – Frankie Vaughan
- 1959-1962 – Elvis Presley
- 1963 – Cliff Richard
- 1964-1972 – Elvis Presley
- 1973 – David Bowie
- 1975-1976 – Robert Plant
- 1977-1978 – David Bowie
- 1979 – Sting
- 1980 – Paul Weller
- 1981 – David Bowie
- 1982 – Paul Weller
- 1983 – David Bowie
- 1984 – Bono
- 1985-1992 – Morrissey
Best British Male Singer
- 1955, 1957 – Dickie Valentine
- 1959-1967 – Cliff Richard
- 1968-1970 – Tom Jones
- 1971-1972 – Cliff Richard
- 1973 – David Bowie
- 1975 – Paul Rodgers
Best US Male Singer
- 1955-1956 – Frank Sinatra
- 1957 – Pat Boone
- 1958 – Elvis Presley
Outstanding Popular Singer
- 1955 – Frank Sinatra
- 1957 – Pat Boone
- 1958 – Elvis Presley
Best Instrumental Personality
- 1958 – Eddie Calvert
- 1959-1960 – Russ Conway
- 1961 – Bert Weedon
Best Musical Personality
- 1955 – Bill Haley
- 1956 – Dickie Valentine
- 1957-1959 – Elvis Presley
- 1960 – Duane Eddy
- 1961-1972 – Elvis Presley
Best British Musical Personality
- 1956 – Dickie Valentine
- 1957 – Tommy Steele
- 1958-1959 – Frankie Vaughan
- 1960 – Lonnie Donegan
- 1961 – Adam Faith
- 1962-1963 – Joe Brown
- 1964 – Cliff Richard
- 1965 – John Lennon
- 1966-1972 – Cliff Richard
Genre-Specific Categories
These are just a selection of the categories that relate to a particular genre of music.
Best Soul / Funk Act
- 1973, 1975 – Stevie Wonder
- 1984 – Womack & Womack
- 1985 – Cameo
Best Reggae Act
- 1984 – Smiley Culture
- 1985 – UB40
Best R&B / Blues Act
- 1964-1965 – The Rolling Stones
- 1966 – Spencer Davis Group
- 1967-1968 – The Rolling Stones
- 1970 – Fleetwood Mac
Best Traditional Jazz Act
- 1961 – Acker Bilk
- 1962-1963 – Kenny Ball
Best Group
Finally, we reach the categories for best group – of which there are a few.
Best Group
- 1954 – Stargazers
- 1955 – Four Aces
- 1956 – Stargazers
- 1957 – The Platters
- 1958-1962 – Everly Brothers
- 1963-1965 – The Beatles
- 1966 – The Beach Boys
- 1967-1970 – The Beatles
- 1971 – Creedence Clearwater Revival
- 1972 – T. Rex
- 1973 – Yes
- 1975 – Roxy Music
- 1976 – Led Zeppelin
- 1977 – Sex Pistols
- 1978 – The Clash
- 1979-1982 – The Jam
- 1983 – New Order
- 1984-1987 – The Smiths
- 1988 – The Wedding Present
- 1989 – The Stone Roses
- 1990 – Happy Mondays
- 1991-1992 – R.E.M.
Best British Group
- 1955 – Stargazers
- 1957 – King Brothers
- 1958-1959 – The Mudlarks
- 1960 – King Brothers
- 1961-1962 – The Springfields
- 1963-1971 – The Beatles
- 1972 – T. Rex
- 1973 – Yes
Best British Small Band
- 1952 – Johnny Dankworth Seven
- 1954 – Ronnie Scott and His Orchestra
- 1955-1957 – The Kirchins
- 1958-1959 – Lonnie Donegan
- 1960-1963 – The Shadows
Best British Large Band or Orchestra
- 1952-1961 – Ted Heath and His Music
- 1962-1963 – Joe Loss
Best British Instrumental Unit
- 1964-1971 – The Shadows
- 1972 – Collective Consciousness Society
Best Live Act
- 1973 – Alice Cooper (World) & Genesis (British)
- 1975 – Genesis
- 1982 – The Jam
- 1985 – The Pogues
That’s it for now – we’ll continue our journey through the NME Awards soon.
