Theatrical indie rockers The Last Dinner Party have been named as winners of BBC Radio 1’s Sound of 2024.
The annual award is chosen by a panel of 140 music industry experts and has been conducted since 2003, when 50 Cent took home the prize. The London-based outfit are the first guitar band to win since HAIM in 2013, and other notable previous winners include Adele, Sam Smith, Keane and Pink Pantheress.
The honor was announced on Radio 1 by Florence Welch, who has declared herself a fan of the band.
"I think the nuances of femininity almost always get lost in rock," she said, "but when I saw The Last Dinner Party playing in their dresses and their chiffon, while being so fierce and ferocious, I was like, 'This is it!'"
The Last Dinner Party are the first guitar band to win the award since 2013
In a statement the band said: “We are overjoyed to have won BBC Radio 1’s Sound Of Award for 2024! We predict amazing things happening in music this year and it is truly an honor to even be a part of it.
“BBC Radio has championed us and so many other young artists from the start of their careers, we still can’t believe it every time we hear one of our songs being played. Every artist who has been nominated or won over the years is such a powerhouse, it humbles us to join their ranks! Thank you to guitar music for never dying. Bands are back, baby.”
Since first meeting at university during fresher’s week in London in 2021, the quintet – made up of Abigail Morris, Lizzie Mayland, Emily Roberts, Georgia Davies and Aurora Nishevci – have enjoyed a meteoric rise: their first gig in November of that year was attended by just 20 people.
The following year, they signed to Island Records, and in the summer of 2022 played as the opening act for the Rolling Stones’ huge Hyde Park gig. Last year they toured with Florence + The Machine, as well as supporting Lana Del Rey.
Debut single “Nothing Matters” was released in April 2023 and reached No. 16 in the UK charts, with follow-ups “Sinner” and “Lady of Mercy” showcasing an angular, baroque style, as well as a wit and sense of adventure that has drawn comparisons with artists as diverse as Kate Bush, Warpaint, Sparks and David Bowie.
Debut album Prelude to Ecstasy is due on February 2 and is already being hailed as one of 2024’s hottest releases, including by Q, which recently named the LP among Q Staffers’ Most Anticipated Music of 2024.
The Sound of 2024 prize also comes hot on the heels of the Last Dinner Party being crowned winners of the Brits Rising Star prize in December, whose previous winners include Sam Fender, Tom Odell and Florence + The Machine.
Singer Abigail Morris described that honor as "a bit like having an out-of-body experience,” adding: "It's one we can tell our family about and they'll be like, 'Yeah, that is quite massive.'
"It's amazing to win an award and we're very lucky and honored – but in real life it's about the music that we've made, and the people who buy the records and dress up and sing the songs."
The Last Dinner Party are set to take 2024 by storm.
