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Full list of winners at first Northern Music Awards - including some big names

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The recurring message running through the Northern Music Awards on Tuesday night (April 23) was clear: we do things differently here in the north and always have done.

Organised by music therapy charity Nordoff & Robbins, the event celebrated, as the name suggested, the best in northern music from large-scale venues to breakthrough acts. Through subtle yet tongue-in-cheek pokes towards the south, an impromptu sing-a-long from Andy Burnham and a praise that "there's no place like the north", it was a celebratory evening.

Held at the Albert Hall, on the same night when thousands were set to attend the huge Co-op Live venue for its opening night before it got cancelled, the event - the first ever Northern Music Awards - featured performances from English Teacher, Courteeners' frontman Liam Fray, The K's, Antony Szmierek, and Lisa Stansfield.

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Amongst the big winners of the night were Spice Girls' legend Melanie C, taking home the Special Recognition award, Breakthrough Act winners the K's and Aitch earning the music moment of the year award for his performance at Glastonbury last year.

Tim Burgess, of the Charlatans, took home the Northern Music Award and said he felt it was about time that events like these were not just celebrated in the capital. "I think lots of stuff goes on in London but this is the Northern Music Awards so why not [have it here]," Tim, originally from Salford, told the M.E.N. "It's not all just about London. Everyone knows the north is brilliant but it's just about bringing more stuff back to the city."

Tim Burgess picked up the Northern Music Award (Image: Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

Other winners included Louis Tomlinson for Artist of the Year, English Teacher for Newcomer of the year, Beat-Herder in Lancashire for Festival of the Year and Band on the Wall for Inspirational Venue of the Year (Under 2,000).

Manchester's own DJ Paulette was handed the Best DJ award, and in an empowering speech on stage, the performer said it had "only taken me more than 30 years" to win an award. "It's all about Manchester really, for me, from the very beginning," the house DJ said. "It's just really important to have an awards ceremony not just about Manchester as such, but to also show the diversity of the talent that's here in Manchester and in the north."

Speaking about the Best DJ category nominees, which included Djinn, Paige Tomlinson and DJ Woody, DJ Paulette added: "Really, what I've seen is that it's representing a lot of women which is super, super important. I am super proud to represent for Manchester, for Black Manchester, for every moment of my life."

DJ Paulette said it was important for an award ceremony to 'show the diversity of the talent that's here in Manchester and in the north' (Image: Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

Middleton-based band Courteeners took home the Best Band award, with frontman Liam Fray performing a special acoustic set featuring Oasis' The Masterplan and his band's Not Nineteen Forever, which received a big response from the crowd.

Upon accepting the award, Liam said: "This is really, really ******* nice to be in a room with this amount of talent, and not just the talent, but the people who make it happen. There's so many people who never truly get a shout-out, there's promoters, people who design posters, people who work on the bars and there's people who pick up your **** after a gig who never get a shout out, so a massive thank you to all of you who make stuff like that happen."

27-year-old Michael Adex, who runs the NQ talent agency and represents superstars like Aitch, won the Industry icon which was handed over to him by his sister, Faith. The Northern Icon award was presented by Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and handed to Rochdale-based Lisa Stansfield.

Courteeners' frontman Liam Fray performed on the night (Image: PA)

Before performing a rendition of some of her biggest hits, the singer said: "I'm so honoured to receive this because it means a massive amount to me. When I was 14 years-old I started my whole career on Granada TV, that was my first proper job, I literally went round the whole of the north of England doing cabaret and clubs - that was my apprenticeship really."

And money raised from the event will go towards the work that organisers Nordiff & Robbins do to show how music can 'create a platform for connection and self-expression'. It is also fundraising to set up a new dedicated music therapy centre in Salford.

Discussing the charity on stage, Lisa added: "They really do teach people that music is like magic, it's magic. And it can do things that not a lot of other things can do, so thank you so much for thinking my music's like that."

English Teacher picked up the Best Newcomer award in the same week their debut album reached the top 10 (Image: PA)

Speaking of the event and the impact the charity would have on the new centre, Salford Mayor Paul Dennett told the M.E.N: "It's great to be here, it's great to be celebrating the north. This is a really important agenda for Greater Manchester. We've long understood the importance of the creative industries here and we've invested in that at a time when other parts of the country haven't invested as much as we have.

"We need to think about how we support the creative and cultural industries - that's people working today, making a living of art, culture and creativity. This part of England is critically important when you look at the history of music and how we took it to the world ultimately. We know that this is a really important industry for Greater Manchester."

The K's, from Earlestown, took home the Breakthrough Act of the Year award (Image: Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

Nadra Shah, Director of Engagement and Communications at Nordoff and Robbins, said: "The Northern Music Awards aims to celebrate the massive musical talent that continues to come out of this region and will be held annually in different Northern cities. We want to honour the enormous success of established artists such as the award winning and multi-million album selling Lisa Stansfield - but also spotlight emerging musicians who may not yet be recognised at a national level.

"We really want 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. In 2024 we're celebrating 20 years of providing essential music therapy in Greater Manchester and we're excited that this show will support our vision to open a brand new centre - helped by the money raised from these awards."

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The full list of winners:

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