The world’s greatest night in music, the Q Awards, unravelled this evening with artists, fans and industry alike coming together to celebrate the best music 2018 has had to offer. At Camden’s legendary Roundhouse, the awards were hosted by British comedian and TV host Mo Gilligan.

A total of seventeen Q Awards were given out throughout the evening, and the ceremony was followed by a spectacular sold-out live show from North London indie-rockers Wolf Alice who have had a wildly successful year following last year’s release of the critically acclaimed Visions Of A Life and also left with Q Best Live Act (presented by the Cavern Club). The band’s set was preceded by fellow award-winners IDLES, who won Q Best Breakthrough Act (presented by Red Stripe)

Q Best Breakthrough Act (presented by Red Stripe) was a particularly competitive category this year, and the voting was so close that Goat Girl were also awarded the accolade.

It was an excellent night for Noel Gallagher who took away not one, but two Q Awards – Q Best Solo Artist (presented by Absolute Radio) and Q Outstanding Contribution To Music – almost a year after achieving a Number 1 album with Who Built The Moon?.

Paul Weller came and also conquered – the singer-songwriter was crowned Q’s Best Act In The World Today (presented by Rocksteady Music School), shortly after he wowed crowds with a career-spanning set at the Royal Festival Hall.

The Q Best Track (presented by Firestone) award was gifted to Underworld & Iggy Pop for their mammoth seven-and-a-half minute long collaboration Bells & Circles. Unable to join the techno dons Underworld onstage to collect the award, the legendary singer Iggy Pop instead sent a special message from his Florida home by film.

Meanwhile, experimental duo and 2016 Best Breakthrough Act nominees Let’s Eat Grandma were furnished with this year’s coveted Q Best Album award for I’m All Ears – the teenagers’ widely praised second album.

This year the Q Awards also paid homage to Suede frontman Brett Anderson by awarding him the renowned Q Lifetime Achievement Award (presented by Honda Motorcycles). Other distinguished accolades given out on the night included Q Legend to Chic co-founder Nile Rodgers and Q Inspiration to Trojan Records for their lovingly-compiled reissues and boxset this year. Q Icon went to Echo & The Bunnymen’s frontman and ’80s hero Ian McCulloch.

The grime-inspired Spotify Presents: Who We Be beat stiff competition to bag the Q Best Festival/Event (presented by Pretty Green Clothing) award for its 2017 debut event at Alexandra Palace in London. The UK’s Number 1 hip-hop and grime playlist will soon be returning to Alexandra Palace for its second year as a live event.

The Q Maverick (presented by the Roundhouse) award, which is for musicians who’ve inspired cult worship, went to Lawrence, the secret genius behind dozens of albums with Felt, Denim and Go-Kart Mozart. Seminal ’60s English rock band The Kinks were reunited for the first time in many years to be honoured with the Q Classic Album award for The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society. The Q Innovation In Sound award was won by Birmingham’s street-level poet Mike Skinner, aka The Streets, and the inaugural Fender Play Award was granted to Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro.

U2’s Bono, Jess Glynne, Jarvis Cocker, Shaun Ryder and Roger Daltrey were among those presenting awards.

Ted Kessler, Editor of Q magazine, commented on proceedings:

“Every year of the Q Awards is a vintage year, but this year somehow felt even more special. Was it that so many inter-linking icons from across the generations were present? Possibly. There’s a thread that runs directly from Ray and Dave Davies of The Kinks, and Roger Daltrey of The Who too, straight through Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher – you just don’t expect to see them all in the same room at once. The same could be said of the generational link between The Streets and Bugzy Malone, too, or between Jarvis Cocker and Lawrence. It felt like a coming together of the musical tribes, of influencers and the influenced, with Q’s job to thank them for their creative work on behalf of our erudite readership.

“The awards also highlighted – as if it needed to be highlighted – that the future of music is as exciting as its past is rich: the most heavily-voted for category was for Best Breakthrough Act, and there was so little between Goat Girl and IDLES that it would’ve been churlish to separate them. It’s also brilliant that Let’s Eat Grandma, two teenagers from Norwich with a very esoteric sound, could win Best Album, and that the inaugural Best Festival/Event went to a grime night. It all highlights that boundaries of age or genre don’t really exist any more for music fans, and about that I could not be happier.”

The full list of Q Awards 2018 winners is as follows:

Q Best Breakthrough Act Presented by Red Stripe – IDLES and Goat Girl

Q Best Track Presented by Firestone – Underworld & Iggy Pop – Bells & Circles

Q Best Album – Let’s Eat Grandma – I’m All Ears

Q Best Live Act Presented by The Cavern Club – Wolf Alice

Q Best Solo Artist Presented by Absolute Radio – Noel Gallagher

Q Best Act In The World Today Presented by Rocksteady Music School – Paul Weller

Q Best Festival/Event Presented by Pretty Green Clothing – Spotify Presents: Who We Be

Q Innovation In Sound – The Streets

Q Classic Album – The Kinks - …Are The Village Green Preservation Society

Q Maverick Presented by the Roundhouse – Lawrence

Fender Play Award – Simon Neil

Q Outstanding Contribution To Music – Noel Gallagher

Q Legend – Nile Rodgers

Q Inspiration– Trojan Records

Q Icon– Ian McCulloch

Q Lifetime Achievement Award Presented by Honda Motorcycles– Brett Anderson

ENDS

Notes to editors

2017 winners

Q Best Breakthrough Act Presented by Red Stripe - Rag’n’Bone Man

Q Best Live Act Presented by The Cavern Club - Liam Gallagher

Q Maverick Presented by the Roundhouse - Viv Albertine

Q Innovation In Sound Presented by Flare Audio - Wiley

Q Best Film Presented by Pretty Green - Bunch Of Kunst (Sleaford Mods)

Q Best Track Presented by Flare Audio – Kasabian - You're In Love With A Psycho

Q Inspiration Award Presented by Three – Manic Street Preachers

Q Best Album Presented by The Box Plus Network - Gorillaz – Humanz

Q Best Solo Artist – Stormzy

Q Gibson Les Paul Award – Kelley Deal

Q Best Act In The World Today Presented by Buster + Punch – Ed Sheeran

Q Icon presented by BMW UK – Liam Gallagher

About Q

With Q’s online presence, an interactive tablet edition, hugely influential social media activity, as well as live events including The Making Of nights and, of course, the world-famous annual Q Awards at The Roundhouse, Q is not just the World’s Greatest Music magazine – it also widely shapes musical taste, action and debate beyond its pages too.

About Bauer Media:

Bauer Media UK reaches over 25 million UK consumers through a portfolio of world-class, multi-platform media and entertainment brands including heat, Kiss, Grazia, Empire, MOJO, TV Choice, Take a Break, Bella, Magic and Absolute Radio. It creates and curates entertaining media content that audiences love whenever, wherever and however they want through a multi-channel strategy and a focus on product excellence and audience insight. The result is an exciting array of influential brands, content and talent which provide compelling and engaging advertising opportunities with valuable audiences for UK commercial partners. Bauer Media UK is part of the Bauer Media Group, one of the world’s largest privately owned media businesses with media assets all over the globe.

About Absolute Radio:

Absolute Radio is a national radio station where ‘Real Music Matters’, wrapped up with lashings of personality and mischief from presenters including Frank Skinner, Jason Manford and Dave Berry who have the freedom to say what they think and tell it like it is. Absolute Radio also has a network of digital decade brands; Absolute Radio 60s, Absolute Radio 70s, Absolute 80s, Absolute Radio 90s, Absolute Radio 00s and Absolute Classic Rock.

Listen to Absolute Radio on 105.8FM in London and the South-East, 105.2FM in the West Midlands, nationally on DAB or 1215AM, online, via the official mobile app digital TV or voice-activated device. For more information log on to www.absoluteradio.co.uk