To celebrate the fantastic new music talent that is exploding on to our airwaves from all over the UK Xfm can exclusively announce that they are launching an awards ceremony to acknowledge the best of 2007’s new music. The awards will be based around one major prize "The Xfm British Debut Album of the Year" and will take place at Koko in Camden on 16th January 2008.
Xfm will be calling on its listeners to the vote for the debut album of 2007 that made the biggest impression on them, therefore, creating the shortlist of bands in the running for the award.
On the evening of the ceremony the bands in the running for the award will perform live at Koko in front of Xfm listeners, music industry VIP’s and the Xfm judging panel who will decide who walks away with the title of "The Xfm British Debut Album of the Year". The awards panel will include Xfm representatives from all four Xfm stations - John Kennedy from Xfm London, Clint Boon from Xfm Manchester, Jim Gellatly from Xfm Scotland, Colin Francies from Xfm South Wales along with a mixture of musicians, producers and journalists including Maximo Park’s Paul Smith, Nicky Wire from Manic Street Preachers, John Leckie and editor of NME Conor McNicholas. Chairing the event will be Xfm’s programming director Ande Macpherson.
With the likes of Jamie T, Kate Nash, The View, Calvin Harris, The Twang, Pigeon Detectives and Klaxons, to name but a few, all having released huge break through albums this year the pressure is on!
Xfm’s managing director Nick Davidson said ‘Xfm have been thinking of holding an awards ceremony for a while now but wanted to make sure we got it right, ensure it has real meaning and a focus point – we have chosen ‘The Xfm British Debut Album of the Year’ because we know new music, inside and out. This award isn’t for the industry but for our listener’s and the bands to acknowledge the passion and hard work that goes into a debut album. We hope that it will be a great evening for everyone that attends and that the bands in the running for the award are genuinely excited by the prospect of winning it.”
Maximo Park’s Paul Smith said ‘I'm looking forward to debating the merits of whichever albums get nominated. I'll be listening out for something that sounds genuinely fresh but which has strong songs that will continue to resonate in the future. Who doesn't love a good argument about music?’
