Top 50 Heroes poll in today's NME

[Uncleskinny]

Sure, it's just another issue to appeal to the wider buying public. This list was apprently collated from reader votes. It probably says more about the readership, and like all these polls suffers from contemporaneity. Anyhow, here's the list, in true chart-rundown style - reverse order.

50 - Shane MacGowan
49 - Prince
48 - Patti Smith
47 - Keith Richards
46 - Johnny Cash
45 - Jimmy Page
44 - Iggy Pop
43 - Frank Black
42 - Bruce Springsteen
41 - Paul McCartney
40 - Brian Wilson
39 - Marvin Gaye
38 - Bille Joe Armstong
37 - ELvis Presley
36 - Syd Barrett
35 - Antony Hegarty
34 - Shaun Ryder
33 - Kim Deal
32 - Neil Young
31 - Marc Bolan
30 - Johnny Rotten
29 - Jarvis Cocker
28 - Courney Love
27 - Johnny Marr
26 - Dave Grohl
25 - Alex Turner
24 - Bono
23 - Billy Corgan
22 - Jimi Hendrix
21 - David Gedge
20 - Alex Kapranos
19 - Elliot Smith
18 - John Lennon
17 - Julian Casablancas
16 - Bob Dylan
15 - Axl Rose
14 - Matt Bellamy
13 - Joe Strummer
12 - Jack White
11 - Richey Edwards
10 - Ian Curtis
9 - Ian Brown
8 - David Bowie
7 - Noel Gallagher
6 - Thom Yorke
5 - Cart Barat
4 - Liam Gallagher
3 - Morrissey
2 - Pete Doherty
1 - Kurt Cobain

Peter

 

[Damian Morgan]

Pete f***ing Doherty?!

...what planet are these people on?

 

[Johan de Witt]

Pete Doherty above Moz?

They really have become a joke.
http://f***thenme.atspace.com/

 

[Sore Lips]

Wow, Pete Doherty? HERO? ABOVE Johnny Cash?

NME. Thumbs down.

 

[Bluebirds]

HA HA nice one Johan!

 

[Jones]

Bit of a death cult list isn't it? I think the people that vote for this will all end up born again Christians one day.

 

[Math Tinder]

Unwisely, I subscribe to the NME, all the way over here in America (not only stupidly expensive, but the magazines take forever to arrive - I'm still waiting for the one with Arctic Monkeys on the cover!). What's consistently baffling about those lists chosen by supposed 'reader polls' is that I never see the invitation to vote in them. There's that ballot for the NME Awards every year, but for features like 'top 50 heroes' or '50 greatest British albums of all time', both claimed to be selected from reader polls, I have no idea how they polled the readers. Inadvisably, I read every issue cover to cover + more than once (I don't have TV, I read magazines instead) - so, while I'm not saying that it's impossible that I would always somehow miss the invitation to vote, I am saying that if I do, that is sad of me indeed.

Anyway, I seriously think such lists are simply chosen by NME staff and then claimed to be 'selected by readers' to give an air of populist credibility, which is, well, pathetic if it's true. Then again, I've never seen letters/etc complaining about not being able to vote (?), so maybe I'm totally off my nut and just missing how/where a reader does it.

There are a lot of beautiful artists in that list, but most of them hardly seem 'heroic'. At least Pete Doherty keeps surviving in the face of ridiculous odds. Alex Kapranos?! I love Franz Ferdinand, but a 'hero' Alex is not. He writes a food column for god's sake.

love, math+

 

[Life_Is_A_Pigsty]

Very true, I read NME just about every week for some reason, and the only time I see the chance to vote for these things is through a link on this very site.

It must always be an online thing only.

 

[King Leer]

Some of the names on the list don't belong, and the ranking is off in some respects, but I've seen worse lists in Q.

The accompanying cover is decent enough.

 

[no one in particular]

On the upside, Morrissey ahead of Bono this time! (remember the recent best lyrics poll...) Maybe Mozz can quip about this at his next concert!

 

[Oscar Wilde]

it's rather telling with 40-50 is a far superior group of musicians than 1-10 - moz withstanding...

 

[speedfreaks ball]

no shakin stevens?????????????????????????

 

[selfvalidation]

none

a hero to WHO exactly??? everyone hates him! and the people that do seem to like him are worse crack addicts than him!

 

[The Cat's Mother]

Dreadful, isn't it? Bet Shakey'd still top a Viz poll, though.

 

[Modcon]

Elvis at 37? Johnny Rotten at 30? Elliot Smith at 19?
and no Frank Sinatra? strange...

 

[Sleepy lifeguard]

Where's Nick Cave?

How can this list not include Nick Cave? His body of solo work stands head and shoulders above most of the so-called icons on this list. Maybe I'm just a certain age but I am surprised he wasn't top 20, nevermind not on the list at all. In fairness the list includes some of my favourite artists but I am very surprised he didn't figure. Still you can't please everyone. G

 

[Young And Alive]

There's an Irish guy speaking on the Manchester DVD after the concert. He said that to him Morrissey is #1, and everyone else is like #10. That applies to this poll.