Photo: WENN/Justine Trickett
To celebrate 15 years as a national magazine, The Fly hosted its first-ever awards ceremony at The Forum in Kentish Town. Performers included Bombay Bicycle Club, Wild Beasts, Peace, The Horrors and Thurston Moore (former Sonic Youth guitarist).
Hosted by Keith Murray and Chris Cain of We Are Scientists, the duo attempted to inject some good old American humour into the night, in their own 'inimitable' style. Award nominees and industry types could be found schmoozing their way around the ground floor and members of the public were seated on the balcony. Unlike other music ceremonies, it was a nice little touch to allow fans to join in the event proceedings.
Already achieving critical acclaim with their fourth album So Long, See You Tomorrow, Bombay Bicycle Club are certainly a worthy opening act. Their set comprised of dreamy affections with programmatic beats, allowing them to confirm self-reinvention once more. The upbeat thumps and hypnotic lyrical stance of ‘Carry Me’ made for an interesting opener, where they reaffirmed that their newfangled identity is one worth sticking with.
Meanwhile, the WAS duo began warming up to the idea of the whole presenting malarkey, where slowly but surely the more beer they drank, the more amusing they became. Next up on the bill was Mercury Prize nominees and cult sensation, Wild Beasts. A thickening heavy bass line during new track ‘Wanderlust’ shot through the audience and had enough driving momentum to silence the whole venue. Particularly captivating and with atmospherically enriching tracks, the band showcased their skill for nailing the odd understatedly anthemic chorus or two.
Wild Beasts on the Fly Awards red carpet
By this point, the atmosphere was growing increasingly rowdier, with fans beginning to hone in on the booze consumption. After all, isn’t that what award ceremonies are all about, getting pissed? Riling up the crowd into full swing, Peace manage to shake things up a little. It’s a set full of cover songs though, which for once isn’t actually such a bad thing, as fans are clearly up for a sing-along. A rendition of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Good Times, Bad Times’ goes down appreciatively, as the band manage to pull off a timeless classic – who’d have thought it possible? And perhaps one of the highlights of the night was hearing a cover of Cornershop’s ‘Brimful of Asha’, with lyrics “everybody needs a bosom for a pillow”. Yep, it turns out that everyone still loves a 90s classic.
The Fly Award for Outstanding Artistry was given to The Horrors, with Chris Cain of WAS commenting: "There are a lot of bands who try and look and sound like The Horrors, but tonight we appreciate how they keep dishing out the sexiness."
Holding that thought, The Horrors appeared onstage in all-black ensembles, accentuating gothic-chic at its finest. ‘Still Life’ produced a humdrum timbre, where vocalist Faris Badwan’s moodily charismatic persona inflicted waves of finesse across the audience. The entrancing light show was particularly spectacular, although if you suffered from epilepsy then there’d be some serious repercussions.
The Horrors on The Fly Awards red carpet
Winning the Living Legend award and delivering an exceptionally longwinded acceptance speech, the former Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore, was the final act of the night. It feels darn right mean to also give Moore the award for worst performance of the night, especially after achieving such an accolade. But unfortunately, the set was by nowhere near a Sonic Youth worthy performance, or anything half as decent for that matter. The dreary tones of the guitar failed to do anything other than cause catatonic side effects, which meant a quick escape for some disappointed fans. Although, one won’t hold it against him, as after all, he did bring us Sonic Youth.
The evening's entertainment ended with Chris Cain of WAS stripping down to his boxers. So you could say the first Fly Awards were a success, if you're into nudity and a whole lot of noise
The full list of winners is below:
Festival of the Year: Glastonbury
Album of 2013: Parquet Courts, Borrowed Time
Best Venue: The Leadmill, Sheffield
Song of 2013: Arctic Monkeys, 'Do I Wanna Know'
Ones to Watch in 2014: Wolf Alice
Best Live Act: Haim
Label of the Year: Rough Trade
Outstanding Artistry Award: The Horrors
Local Hero: Sister Ray
Artist of the Year: Foals
Living Legend: Thurston Moore
Below: Exclusive photos of Foals, Wild Beasts, The Horrors + more on Fly Awards red carpet
