LONDON (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones picked up two prizes at the NME Music Awards in London one for best live act and the other for best film, and veteran guitarist Ronnie Wood was on hand to accept a pair of irreverent statuettes.
The veteran British rock group - comprising Wood, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts - is one of four acts to be nominated four times for the annual awards, organised by NME music magazine.
The Stones returned to the stage in late 2012 to celebrate 50 years in business, and their sellout mini-tour of London and the United States was a hit with critics and fans.
As part of their golden jubilee celebrations, the band also collaborated on the documentary film “Crossfire Hurricane” recalling their meteoric rise to fame.
“Thanks #NMEAwards from me and the boys @RollingStones,” Wood tweeted from the event, where he also took to the stage and performed “How Soon is Now” with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who was handed the “Godlike Genius Award”.
“You can’t imitate Johnny Marr,” said ex-Oasis guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher in a video message played at the awards ceremony. “He’s in a class of his own. He makes the very difficult look easy.”
The other multiple winner on the night was Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine.
She won best solo artist, despite collaborating with other musicians on her music, and best dance floor anthem for “Sweet Nothing”.
“I really didn‘t expect to get this again, especially because it’s debatable whether I’m a solo artist,” Welch said after her first honor. “Thanks to my band - it really is a collaborative thing.”
Other major awards included best British album, which went to The Maccabees for “Given to the Wild”, best track to the Foals for “Inhaler”, best new band to Palma Violets and best British band to Biffy Clyro.
The opening ceremony of the London Olympics in July 2012, directed by filmmaker Danny Boyle, was awarded music moment of the year and U.S. President Barack Obama was named NME’s “Hero of the Year”.
According to NME, more than 10 million votes were cast to decide the winners, the highest number to date.