Q Magazine has confirmed that Absolute Radio’s Christian O’Connell will host the Xperia Access Q Awards. The appointment marks an incredible 25 years of the most prestigious awards ceremony in the UK music calendar.

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The event will take place on 22 October 2014 and voting for the seven reader-voted categories opened today at Qthemusic.com, where Q website users will get to decide the outcome in each of the following categories:


  • Q Best New Act presented by Xperia Access
  • Q Best Track presented by Absolute Radio
  • Q Best Video
  • Q Best Album
  • Q Best Live Act presented by The Cavern Club
  • Q Best Solo Artist presented by Citroën
  • Q Best Act In The World Today

The Q Awards are proud to announce their partnership with Sony through its Xperia Access campaign, your exclusive window into the world of Sony. The campaign includes the support of two of the most coveted awards, Q Best New Act and Q Innovation In Sound.

Xperia Access Q Awards host Christian O’Connell is no stranger to awards himself, holding the record for most Radio Academy Award wins of any radio presenter in the UK and having won critical acclaim with his debut stand-up show at the Edinburgh Festival last year. Christian said: "The same time as the Q Awards last year I was hosting my kids’ unruly end-of-term school disco and they trashed the place. This gig will be easier.”

Q Awards Senior Event Producer Marguerite Pecksaid, “We were knocked out by his stand-up show and wanted him to host the awards. A big show demands a big personality host and that’s Christian – a man who knows his music.”

O’Connell’s appointment as host of the awards also marks the start of a wider partnership between Q and Absolute Radio with the launch of a new weekly show.

The Q Radio Show will broadcast every week from Sunday 3 August at 10pm and will be hosted by presenter Pete Mitchell alongside members of the Q magazine editorial team. As well as an Album Of The Week slot, the show will feature live music, exclusive interviews and a large dose of finely-tuned opinion. The partnership between Q and Absolute Radio will offer genuine multi-platform campaigns for labels, with the combination of both brands allowing artists to reach a truly vast audience of ardent music fans.

Multi Sony Award-winning DJ Pete Mitchell - who already writes regularly for Q magazine - has more than earned his stripes over the years working across the UK radio industry, interviewing everyone from Morrissey to Lou Reed, Elvis Costello to Pixies, The Killers to New Order, Paul McCartney to Mick Jagger and more. Pete will also be granted unparalleled backstage access at the Xperia Access Q Awards.

Some of the most sought-after awards in music and a must-attend event for artists and industry alike, the Q Awards started in 1990 and featured only eight awards, with winners including The Rolling Stones, Prince, U2 and Paul McCartney. Over the years the event may have grown and the music industry changed, but the quality of acts at the Q Awards never falters. Last year, the Arctic Monkeys won Best Track for Do I Wanna Know?, Biffy Clyro picked up the Award for Best Album and Jake Bugg was voted Best New Act. A galaxy of stars also attended the event, including Vampire Weekend, Robbie Williams, Foals, Suede, Dizzee Rascal, Ellie Goulding and The Pet Shop Boys (see previous winners list – below).

Matt Mason, Senior Editor of Q Magazine says, "Despite recent stories predicting everything from the death of the album to the demise of the arena band, we believe music is as exciting and vital as it’s ever been – whatever format it comes in. There has been an abundance of excellent records and performances from new and established artists this year and I firmly expect the Q Awards voting to reflect the breadth of great music out there and the passion it still inspires in people."

The Awards are also supported by WaterAid, Carling (Q Icon), Absolute Radio (Q Best Track), The Cavern Club (Q Best Live Act) and Citroën (Q Best Solo Artist).

The Xperia Access Q Awards Nominations will be announced on Tuesday 9 September.

The Xperia Access Q Awards take place on Wednesday 22 October.

The Q Show presented by Pete Mitchell launches on Sunday 3 August at 10pm.