Q awards name Oasis world's best act

Oasis' Noel Gallagher (second L) said his brother Liam (second right) was hanging with monkeys.

LONDON - It is more than a decade since their debut album Definitely Maybe helped to launch the Britpop phenomenon and the band won three Brits.

But Oasis's enduring popularity with music fans was reflected yesterday at the 2006 Q Awards in London, where they were named best act in the world today and Noel Gallagher took the prize for classic songwriter.

His younger brother Liam failed to turn up for the awards, which also honoured the rock legends U2, The Who and Smokey Robinson.

Noel Gallagher, explaining his brother's absence, joked: "He's gone to the zoo. The monkeysare bringing their kids to go and have a look at him."

The double honour comes after Live Forever was named greatest song of all time in a Q poll earlier in the year while 40,000 music fans polled for the Guinness World Records British Hit Singles & Albums named Definitely Maybe as best album.

The band is now due to receive a lifetime achievement award at next year's Brits, and two new characters in the television soap Coronation Street are even alleged to be inspired by the Gallagher brothers.

In a ceremony that smacked of nostalgia, A-ha, the Eighties Norwegian export, were honoured with the Q inspiration award and Take That took the idol award.

Both prompted scathing responses from Noel Gallagherand from the Arctic Monkeys, whose frontman, Alex Turner, said: "I'm not old enough to know a lot of [the people accepting awards] but even I know Take That were bollocks."

Other awards prompted generous applause and even ovations, however.

Smokey Robinson, who was honoured for his outstanding contribution to music, said it was his first award in the UK.

"To know that I have had some sort of impact on your lives through music is so special to me," he said.

Accepting the Q legend award, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who paid tribute to the vibrancy of the British music scene.

"The music industry is really rocking again," Townshend said.

U2 were also winners, receiving the Q "award of awards" - for the band which has received most votes from readers in the 20 years of the magazine's existence.

Paul Rees, the title's editor, said that U2 were bold, compelling and passionate, and, like Oasis, remained "perennially popular with Q and its readers".

After a long acceptance speech about the magic of playing in a rock band, Bono wished the magazine a happy 20th birthday.

"You are much cooler than when you started and so are we," he said.

Boy George prompted laughs when he accepted the classic song award for Karma Chameleon with a reference to his recent brush with the law in America.

"I'm so glad to get this award because it means you now recognise me again as a singer and not a road sweeper."

Corinne Bailey Rae, who beat nominees including Lily Allen and the Arctic Monkeys, was named best new act.

The Arctic Monkeys took the best album prize for Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not and the people's choice award.

Gnarls Barkley, the Killers, Faithless, Peter Gabriel, Manic Street Preachers, Muse, Primal Scream and the ELO's Jeff Lynne were also honoured.

- INDEPENDENT