Music stars’ most memorable moments of the year – in pictures

2011's most impressive artists select their own favourite live shows and songs
  
  


Best moments: Björk
Antony Hegarty, frontman of Antony and the Johnsons: 'Biophilia, which I saw Björk perform in the summer, is the future. It was performed in a circle, with a choir of young women and a few boys helping with instruments around the perimeter and Björk walking around the circle. She was not front and centre, necessarily: we were there to think about it, not just focus on her. What is it? Nature, technology, the future, hope, our relationship with the ecology, all from a very strong, feminine perspective. Biophilia is the frontier' Photograph: PR
Best moments: Various in London, Britain - 2010
Laura Marling, singer-songwriter: 'Seeing James Blake playing in an atmospheric little church in King’s Cross completely blew me away. It was just him with several keyboards and pedals, and a guitarist and a drummer, but they had so much going on, it felt like your heart was going to explode' Photograph: Tom Oldham /Rex Features
Best moments: ***BESTPIX*** The Glastonbury Festival 2011 - Day Four
Wretch 32, rapper: 'I was at the Brits this year and saw Adele singing “Someone Like You”. There were no acrobatics on stage like you usually see at award shows: it was just her and a guy on a piano. You don’t need more than that when you sing like she sang. The O2 arena went dead quiet – everyone was soaking it in – and when she finished it was massive: I think she got a standing ovation. Beyoncé’s performance at Glastonbury was another highlight. She delivered a fantastic show and totally commanded the stage' Photograph: Ian Gavan/Getty Images
Best moments: The Walkmen
Guy Garvey, frontman of Elbow: 'I’ve gone fan boy on the Walkmen in a way that I haven’t since I was 19 or 20, with the Pixies. The rest of Elbow are into them, too. We’ll quite often put their music on in the dressing room to get us teed up before a show. When they played at Glastonbury this year, everyone in our band went to see them independently of one another. We didn’t realise until we got together for our show afterwards. It felt, at Glastonbury, like the Walkmen were finally getting the recognition they deserved in this country' Photograph: PR
Best moments: I'll Be Your Mirror London Curated By Portishead & ATP - Day 1
Anna Calvi, singer-songwriter: 'I went to ATP at Alexandra Palace, the festival Portishead organised. I’d never seen them live before and I thought Beth Gibbons’s singing was really amazing. I loved the way she clasped the microphone with both her hands, closed her eyes and this amazing, beautiful voice came out. It reminded me of Billie Holiday – fragile and really intimate' Photograph: Jim Dyson/Redferns
Best moments: We Love Green - Ecological Music Festival Day 1
Serge Pizzorno, guitarist and songwriter from Kasabian: 'I was at the Q awards earlier this year, talking with Rhys from the Horrors. He mentioned this guy from New Zealand, Connan Mockasin, and said: “I think you’d really like his album.” So I got it and it was pure delight. It doesn’t really sound like Syd Barrett or Bowie, but it’s coming from that sort of place. He’s got such a weird voice, but unique – a really high falsetto' Photograph: David Wolff-Patrick/WireImage
Best moments: Omar Souleyman
Tom Fleming, bassist of Wild Beasts:' I expected a full band on stage. Instead, it was just Omar standing statue-like and a guy on two keyboards playing drum and oud lines. Five thousand Portuguese kids were going utterly insane and there were whole groups of them dressed like Omar Souleyman. It was one of the most impressive performances I’ve ever seen and a lesson in stagecraft. He’d make the smallest gesture, like putting his hands together and saying thank you, and all these dreadlocked Portuguese kids would scream their heads off' Photograph: PR
Best moments: Jarvis Cocker
Charlie Fink, frontman of Noah and the Whale: 'I saw Pulp about four times over the summer: there isn’t another band like them at the moment. The first time I saw them was at a festival in Australia. I was absolutely blown away. Jarvis writes about what’s under his nose: that’s something I’ve found very inspiring. And, as a frontman, it’s exciting to see someone who isn’t a slick pop star dancing and giving the set that extra life that he does. Since seeing him there have been a lot more moves in my delivery!' Photograph: Mark Allan/AP
Best moments: 2011 Celebrate Brooklyn Summer Season - Sufjan Stevens
St Vincent, singer: 'The most amazing show I’ve seen over the past year was Sufjan Stevens’s final performance of The Age of Adz in Prospect Park. It was authentically psychedelic and a truly transcendental experience – I looked around and everyone in the crowd was smiling and completely awestruck. Stevens's music is largely about fear, but on stage he gives a fearless presentation. You can see his strength in overcoming that panic' Photograph: Al Pereira/WireImage
Best moments: 'Later with Jools Holland' TV programme, London, Britain - 03 May 2011
Joseph Mount, frontman of Metronomy: 'We did Later... with Jools Holland for the first time in May. R Kelly stole the show. He came on in a black suit and shades and sang a song off his most recent record called “When a Woman Loves”. The biggest moment was a choreographed open-armed gesture in time with the music, which ended with him falling to his knees à la James Brown. It was just the most ridiculously brilliant performance I’ve ever seen. Later on, we were playing one of our songs, “The Bay”, and at one point all of us noticed R Kelly air drumming along. It felt like the most perfect day of my life' Photograph: Andre Csillag/Rex Features
Best moments: Metronomy
Ghostpoet, singer-songwriter: 'I’ve been a Metronomy fan from the beginning, but The English Riviera was the album that tipped them over to a big audience. The Mercury nomination was the icing on the cake. They really deserve their success because they always put out quality music' Photograph: PR
Best moments: Skrillex
Example, rapper: 'Skrillex is now not only one of the biggest names in dubstep, but one of the biggest DJs in the world. His music is like the new punk rock and most of his fans are young kids. Everyone at Koko seemed to be around 18 and they were moshing for the whole gig. His gig was great, don’t get me wrong, but the reason I think it was so good was the amount of people who turned up in support of him and the vibe of the night. The whole scene was there. The biggest compliment he could have been paid was having every important person in drum’n’ bass, dubstep and electro at his gig – Skream, Artwork, Nero, Jack Beats, Pendulum, Zane Lowe, Annie Mac, every journalist you can imagine... it just goes to show how much people rate and value him' Photograph: PR
Best moments: sv
tUnE-yArDs, XXX: 'My top musical moment this year was the first minute of “Chloe in the Afternoon”, the first track on St Vincent’s album Strange Mercy. I am a big St Vincent nerd so I was incredibly excited about the new album. I pressed play and heard those first seconds of strange, eerie organ, and that mismatched guitar that cuts its way boldly through everything, and I nearly had to turn it off because I was worried I wasn’t ready to take the whole thing in. But then the chorus comes in and all is clear and crystalline' Photograph: Tina Tyrell
Best moments: the Horrors
Miles Kane, co-frontman of the Last Shadow Puppets and solo artist: 'I’ve been a fan of the Horrors since they started. Skying is their best album yet. I couldn’t stop playing it when we were on tour. It’s one of those records that’s good to wander the streets with during the day – it’s good for people-watching and daydreaming to. It’s the catchiest album they’ve done, too, and the songs have got great choruses. My favourite track is probably “Monica Gems”. It reminds me of the Faces – it’s got a similar vibe to “Stay With Me”, but they’ve put their own twist on it' Photograph: PR
Best moments: Beyonce Hosts A Screening Of
Rebecca Ferguson, singer and X Factor runner-up: 'My highlight of the year was catching up-and-coming artist Luke James live in New York a couple of months ago. I think he’d just been signed to a label and you could tell from his face that he really wanted it and was giving it his all. Luke’s stage presence was absolutely amazing. He captivated everyone' Photograph: Jim Spellman/WireImage
Best moments: Emeli Sandé
Professor Green, rapper: 'Heaven is my favourite song of the year. It has a real euphoric feeling, but it’s nostalgic too. I’m a junglist at heart; I grew up in an era when all the older kids on my estate were going to squat parties – I was a little bit too young but I still had my Jungle Mania CDs. Jungle was a massive part of me finding my feet musically, so “Heaven” took me back a bit, but obviously it’s pushing things forward at the same time. I love the fact that Emeli Sandé is not saccharine, not even remotely. There’s always an edge to everything she does' Photograph: PR
 

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