NME

Lore & Background

Sales jumped by 50%. The paper championed glam rock and then punk, with writers Julie Burchill and Tony Parsons defining the punk era.

Reader's Guide

The NME's significance lies in its role as a chronicler and shaper of British popular music from the 1950s onward. It introduced the UK Singles Chart, a lasting institution, and became the leading voice for punk rock in the 1970s. Its writers, such as Julie Burchill and Paul Morley, influenced music criticism. Acquired by BandLab Technologies in 2019, it continues as part of NME Networks. Its legacy includes the NME Awards, NME Tours, and former NME Radio station.

Did You Know?

• Its first number one single was 'Here in My Heart' by Al Martino.

From a Dying Sheet to a Cultural Institution

Taking inspiration from the American trade title Billboard, NME published the very first UK Singles Chart, a Top Twelve list compiled by the magazine's own staff from sales figures gathered at regional record shops across the country. The inaugural number one was Al Martino's 'Here in My Heart.' The chart's introduction sent circulation soaring by half, and what had been a modest trade sheet was suddenly the pulse of British popular music.

Near-Death, Reinvention, and the Punk Crucible

By the early 1970s, NME had fallen dangerously behind. Together with assistant editor Nick Logan, he raided the underground press for hungry voices—Charles Shaar Murray, Nick Kent, Tony Tyler, Ian MacDonald, and Californian Danny Holloway. The result was a paper that championed glam rock and then punk, with writers like Julie Burchill, Tony Parsons, and Paul Morley giving Sex Pistols, X-Ray Spex, and Generation X the kind of electric, nihilistic coverage that defined an era.

The Beatle Years and the Battle for the British Music Press

Throughout the 1960s, NME became the unofficial voice of Britain's pop and rock explosion. In the mid-decade, NME positioned itself as the fun, pop-focused alternative to its older rival Melody Maker, which gravitated toward more serious music criticism. As the decade closed, the paper tracked the rise of psychedelia and watched sections of pop music shed their label in favour of 'rock,' all while maintaining a sometimes heated rivalry with Melody Maker over who truly owned the British music conversation.

Digital Rebirth and the Long Goodbye to Print

The digital age reshaped NME as profoundly as the punk revolution had. As the broader UK magazine sector saw newsstand sales erode through the early 2000s, NME responded in 2015 by relaunching its print edition as a free, nationally distributed publication. Yet the print model proved unsustainable.

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