The Last Dinner Party have been announced as the winners of the prestigious BRITs Rising Star award supported by BBC Radio 1.
The band – comprised of Abigail Morris, Lizzie Mayland, Emily Roberts, Georgia Davies and Aurora Nishevci – were revealed as the winner of the award by Clara Amfo on her BBC Radio 1 Future Sounds show.
The Rising Star prize recognises British artists who had not achieved a top 20 album, or more than one top 20 single by October 31 of this year. It is voted by an industry-wide panel. Previous artists who have been crowned winners of the award include the likes of Adele and Sam Fender.
Speaking about winning the award in a press release, The Last Dinner Party said: “We are so proud beyond measure to have won the BRITs Rising Star. It’s an honour to achieve something so iconic so early on in our career and we can only hope to keep making music that connects with all the incredible people who have listened to and supported us so far. Thank you!”
Morris, the band’s frontwoman, described the honour as “a bit like having an out-of-body experience” to BBC Radio 1. She continued: “It’s one we can tell our family about and they’ll be like, ‘Yeah, that is quite massive.”
The band also shared that they found out they were the winners “at a truck stop in Germany” while they were headed to a gig in Prague.
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Mayland told BBC Radio 1: “A couple of us were inside trying to buy granola bars and coffee. Then we just ran around in the snow and kicked sleet at each other and screamed and terrorised the locals. So it was a squeal and a hug and then trying to find some champagne.”
During a new interview for NME‘s ‘The Cover’, the five-piece opened up about how their current experiences and rise in music “can feel a bit like going in a car really fast and not being in charge of the steering wheel”.
Morris continued: “We’re trying to ignore the words ‘hype’ and ‘buzzy band’ and just focus on what grounds us: playing, writing and rehearsing our music.”
Later, the band touched upon the false presumptions that they are “industry plants”. “Do we have to address that?” Morris asked NME. Davies weighed in: “We take it as a compliment. If people think it’s too good to be true, then all we can say is thank you.”
In other news, the London outfit and NME 100 alumni are due to release their debut album ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’ on February 2 via Island (pre-order here). It’ll feature the 2023 singles ‘Nothing Matters’, ‘Sinner’, ‘My Lady Of Mercy’ and ‘On Your Side’.
They will play a headline show at the Roundhouse in London on the eve of their debut album’s release (February 1). The group previously teased that the gig “could be historical”. You can find any remaining tickets here.
They’ll then head out for a series of UK record store dates before embarking on a European tour. Additionally, the band will make appearances at Primavera Sound in Barcelona and Porto, as well as Rock Werchter in Belgium, and TRNSMT in Scotland.
Meanwhile, The Last Dinner Party have curated an energetic playlist to accompany their conversation for NME‘s ‘The Cover’.