Ian Brown will win the Godlike Genius Award at this year's NME Awards, a title dubbed the "ultimate rock honour" by, erm, the NME. The former Stone Rose joins a list of former Godlike Genius winners that includes New Order, The Clash, U2, John Peel and the Happy Mondays' Shaun Ryder.
Explaining their choice for this year's winner, the panel who pick the Godlike Genius gong told reporters: "We're extremely proud to be honouring Ian Brown with this year's Godlike Genius Award. His lasting influence on British rock music, both as a member of The Stone Roses and also a subsequently successful solo artist, is without question and can be felt everywhere from the baggy beats of Kasabian through to the Arctic Monkeys' northern soul."
Brown himself, welcomed the prize saying: "It's a mega honour. Did you know the word genius comes from the Arabic word jinn which means spirit? So I'll take that. It's a mega honour that."