The Nordoff and Robbins Northern Music Awards have announced the winner of the inaugural Industry Icon Award as Michael Adex, the man who helped to launch Aitch’s career.
The news comes as the shortlist for Inspirational Venue of the Year is also announced – featuring some iconic venues from Manchester as well as other cities and towns in the north of England – and as nominations for the Festival of the Year remain open.
Michael Adex, founder and CEO of Manchester-based talent management company NQ, is the first-ever winner in the Nordoff and Robbins Northern Music Awards, launched this year to champion the breadth of musical talent across the north of England.
The inaugural awards ceremony, supported by Ticketmaster, will take place right here in Manchester on 30 November, at Aviva Studios (formerly known as Factory International), before moving to a different northern city each year.
Melanie C has been announced to perform and to receive a Special Recognition award.
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The awards will raise money to help fund the opening of a new Nordoff and Robbins dedicated music therapy centre in Salford.
Awards categories range from Newcomer of the Year to Artist of the Year, Band of the Year, DJ of the Year, Maverick in Music, and Festival Of the Year (you can still nominate your favourite with The Manc here).
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Michael has been recognised for his tireless work to showcase emerging musical talent from the north, including, of course, Moston-born BRIT-award winning rapper Aitch.
NQ’s management, label, and publishing arms have surpassed three billion streams and eight platinum certifications since Michael founded the company from his bedroom in 2017.
He went on to create NQ Legacy, a not-for-profit helping young creatives from The North to explore careers in music and the creative arts sectors.
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Northern Music Award Industry Icon 2023 winner, Michael Adex, said: “It is a great feeling to be recognised by the Northern Music Awards as their first Industry Icon. There is so much amazing, diverse talent in the North and I’m proud that NQ is playing a part in letting the world know about it.
Michael Adex has received the inaugural Industry Icon award in the Northern Music Awards. Credit: SuppliedAitch. Credit: Publicity picture
“The North massively deserves to have its own awards show to highlight the rich heritage and wealth of musical creativity that comes from here. Nordoff and Robbins has created a long-term legacy with the Northern Music Awards to bring more music therapy to isolated communities, this is inspirational, and I am excited for their new centre to open in Salford.”
Nadra Shah, director of engagement and communications, Nordoff and Robbins said: “We are thrilled to honour Michael Adex for his enormous contribution to the success of so much thriving musical talent emerging from the North. Fundamental to the success of Michael’s artists – including the multi-award-winning Aitch – is their ability to connect with their audience.
“Our aim is to support and help to grow the eco system of Northern musicians whilst shining a light on the transformative work we do with music therapy, to connect with some of the region’s most isolated communities. We are immensely proud of the work we do in the North, next year we will be celebrating 20 years since we started delivering music therapy in Manchester.”
Also announced today is the shortlist for Inspirational Venue of the Year, across two different venue capacity categories, sponsored by Skiddle.
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Those nominated in Manchester include YES, Night & Day Cafe, and Band on the Wall.
Inspirational Venue of the Year (under 500)
Brundenell Social Club – Leeds
Future Yard – Birkenhead
Night and Day – Manchester
Trades – Hebden Bridge
Yes – Manchester
Inspirational Venue of the Year (Under 2,000)
Albert Hall – Manchester
Band on the Wall – Manchester
Barbican – York
City Hall – Newcastle
New Century Hall – Manchester
Jamie Scahill, head of marketing at Skiddle, said: “Skiddle is incredibly proud to be supporting the inaugural Northern Music Awards and sponsoring the Inspirational Venue of the Year award. The grassroots venues of the North deserve to be recognised as they underpin the Northern music scene and culture.
“Skiddle was conceived in an independent venue in Preston 22 years ago and we have been supporting them ever since. We are grateful that Nordoff and Robbins are coming up North and we look forward to working with them for years to come.”
Nordoff and Robbins will be sharing half of the proceeds from Skiddle’s sponsorship of these award categories with registered charity Music Venue Trust.
Beverley Whitrick, chief operating officer, Music Venue Trust said: “Music Venue Trust is delighted to see Nordoff and Robbins celebrate the vibrancy of the music scene in Northern England with these new awards. The inclusion of the Inspirational Venue category, which acknowledges the importance of grassroots music venues to artists and audiences, is wonderful to see and MVT is thrilled to have been invited to be part of this by Nordoff and Robbins.”
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The NMA judging panel has also selected 19 events for the Favourite Festival of the Year award shortlist, including Liverpool’s Sound City, Cheshire’s Blue Dot, Yorkshire’s Deer Shed, Stockport’s Moovin and Lancaster’s Highest Point, with the 20th to be decided by audiences from The Manc, The Hoot and The Sheff.
Premium tables for the awards themselves will be available to book in advance – to register your interest, please contact the Nordoff and Robbins team here.
Featured image: Supplied
Audio
Grammy-winning hardcore band Turnstile perform ‘exceptional’ cover of a Stone Roses classic
Danny Jones
In a cover version we never knew we needed, multiple Grammy award-winning hardcore band Turnstile have taken social media timelines by storm with a cover of a true British rock classic by The Stone Roses.
Described as everything from “pretty damn brilliant” and “exceptional” by CLASH Magazine to “one of the best triplej covers ever”, it’s fair to say they smashed it with this one.
This one was always likely to go down well with us Mancs, but you never know how possessive people are going to be with iconic tunes treasured not just by regions but entire eras like this.
Without further ado, please enjoy Turnstile’s cover of ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ by The Stone Roses:
Lost track of how many times we’ve watched this now.
Truly excellent.
Not only did they manage to capture the ambient atmosphere of that legendary intro, but they managed to tow the thin paint-splattered line between simply trying to imitate the original and making it their own.
There’s something about frontman Brendan Yates’ vocals that suits this particular cover so very well right from the off.
We’re, of course, not saying that he sounds like Ian Brown in any way, but his range and top notes, in particular, seemed to fit almost perfectly.
Pair that with a contemporary rock band helping rejuvenate their particular guitar-driven genre, and those raw, driving D-beat-centric drums, and you’ve got a winning combo.
As you can see, the majority of the internet seems to agree with us…
.@TURNSTILEHC step into the @triplej studio to recover their take on The Stone Roses' debut album opener 'I Wanna Be Adored'.
The bulk of social media didn’t just hail the reimagining as one that did Brown, John Squire, Reni and the late, great Mani justice, but perhaps one of the greatest that the popular Australian radio station, YouTube channel and Spotify playlisters have seen in a long time.
In fact, in Audio North‘s humble opinion, we’d go so far as to say this is the best we’ve heard in the platform since their native Royel Otis’ delightful duo of The Cranberries and Sophie Ellis-Bextor covers.
Safe to say it’s been an incredible year for Turnstile, who mopped up all manner of accolades in 2025 and were even nominated for International Group at the BRITs here in Manchester this past weekend. They might not have won that one, but they get all the plaudits from us for their song selection alone.
What did you make of it? Better still, do you have a favourite triplej ‘Like a Version’? Actually, no – scrap that: is there a better cover of a Manc artist‘s track that you can think of?
Featured Images — triplej (screenshot via YouTube)/Silverstone Records
Audio
Harry Styles One Night Only will be strictly phone-free – with thousands of real cameras handed out instead
Daisy Jackson
Harry Styles’ show in Manchester on Friday night will have a strict no-phones policy, it’s been confirmed.
Instead, the lucky few thousand of fans heading to his One Night Only gig will be handed proper disposable cameras to capture moments from the night.
Rumours of a phone ban had been swirling online for weeks after job adverts appeared for extra staff to help promote a phones-free event.
But the news has now been confirmed by the Co-op Live itself, following the announcement that Netflix would be filming the full Harry Styles show.
In a statement, the venue said it hopes fans will ‘take this opportunity to enjoy the show fully and allow yourself to be fully immersed in the experience’.
Any use of cameras, smart glasses, smart watches, or other recording devices won’t be permitted in the venue on Friday night.
Fans will instead have to secure their phones inside recyclable bags, which will allow them to be used in normal ways for communications, but without the camera.
At the end of the night, your phone will be removed from the bag and the bag will be recycled.
Anyone caught using a digital recording device during the Harry Styles One Night Only phones-free show may be asked to leave the venue.
Instead of a sea of phones, Harry Styles will be asking fans to capture their memories from the night on disposable cameras, which will be included with every pair of tickets sold.
Harry Styles’ One Night Only gig in Manchester will be the subject of a Netflix documentary
The statement shared by Co-op Live says: “We are looking forward to seeing you on Friday 6th March to be part of a very special live performance – Harry Styles One Night in Manchester at Co-op Live! We’re pleased to announce Netflix will be filming the full show for everyone to enjoy and re-live again and again, it will be available globally from Sunday 8th March at 7pm GMT.
“We hope you will take this opportunity to enjoy the show fully and allow yourself to be fully immersed in the experience.
“The use of cameras, smart glasses, smart watches and similar recording devices will not be permitted in the event space. Phones will be secured in a recyclable bag, kept on your person upon entry to the event, and will still be able to be used in a normal way including all communication functions but without the camera. All other recording devices will not be permitted in the building.
“At the end of the night your phone will be removed from the bag and the bag will be recycled. Please note that anyone using a digital recording device during the performance will be asked to stop and if they do not, they may be asked to leave.
“Each pair of tickets sold will receive a disposable camera on the night so you can still capture your own special moments and share them after the show.”
Daisy Jackson -
10th August 2023 
