Ian Edmond NME Archive Collection

New Musical Express or NME for short, was founded as a newspaper in 1952 later morphing into a magazine that was in print until 2018, when it ceased printing and became an online only publication.

During its heyday NME was a major part of the UK music scene and featuring in the magazine was held in as high esteem as getting on top of the pops or being played on BBC Radio One. It was published weekly and was the go to place for music news, reviews and gig listings.

The Ian Edmond Collection at ADM Archive contains 943 issues of NME dating from 1984 to 2005.  There is one issue from 1984, and another from 1986, then the series runs in a reasonably complete sequence from 1987 to 2005.   NME covers a broad range of music but is notable for its 90’s Brit Pop and 2000’s Indie focus, as well as some current affairs of the time.

The magazines covers issues such as Poll Tax Riots, Apartheid, Attitude to and laws about drugs, and UK Elections favouring the liberal left featuring interviews with political figures such as Neil Kinnock and Ken Livingston. It also covers the music industry during the rise of the CD and subsequent rise of MP3 players and streaming platforms such as Napster.