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THE SELECTER FRONTWOMAN AND 2 TONE PIONEER RECOGNISED FOR A CAREER SPANNING MORE THAN FOUR DECADES
THE SELECTER, JALEN NGONDA AND NAIMA BOCK ANNOUNCED AS PERFORMERS
Pauline Black, the pioneering frontwoman of The Selecter and one of the defining voices of the 2 Tone movement, has been announced as the recipient of the prestigious Outstanding Contribution to Music Award at the 2026 Independent Music Awards, which will take place at London’s Roundhouse on 22 September. Pauline Black will also perform live at the ceremony with the full band of The Selecter, alongside newly announced performers Jalen Ngonda and Naima Bock.
Pauline Black is one of the most distinctive and influential figures to emerge from British music at the turn of the 1980s. She has spent more than four decades challenging conventions through music, using her platform to confront racism, sexism and inequality while helping shape a movement whose cultural influence extends far beyond ska.
As frontwoman of The Selecter, Black was one of the few women at the forefront of 2 Tone, the groundbreaking multiracial movement that emerged from Coventry in the late 1970s and brought together ska, punk and reggae while placing racial unity at the heart of British popular culture. Alongside contemporaries including The Specials, The Beat and Madness, The Selecter helped create a musical and cultural movement that provided a powerful response to the racial and social tensions of the era.
The band’s 1980 debut album Too Much Pressure reached No.5 on the UK Albums Chart, while singles including “On My Radio”, “Three Minute Hero”, “Missing Words” and “The Whisper” established The Selecter as one of the era’s defining bands. More than four decades later, Black remains an active creative force: The Selecter’s acclaimed Human Algebra reached the UK Top 10 in 2023, and she has toured with Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz, including dates in summer 2026. In 2022, Pauline was awarded an OBE for services to entertainment.
Pauline Black said: “Thank you so much to the Independent Music Awards presented by AIM for recognising my contribution to music. I started my career on an independent label, 2-Tone, because it fitted who I was perfectly: bringing together the best of black music with the best of white music in 1979, mixing it up to make something new – a hybrid, just like me.
Forty-seven years later, I’m still making music with people I trust, still mixing it up and spreading the same message: we are better together than divided. My advice? Make your music. Let it find your people. And always know your purpose for standing on a stage.”
The Outstanding Contribution to Music award recognises artists who have made key cultural contributions through their music, particularly those operating within the independent sector. Black’s music, and the wider 2 tone genre, has long been associated with the 2 Tone label, on which the Selecter released their debut album, and its parent company, and Black’s current home, Chrysalis Records.
The Independent Music Awards has also announced performances from two of this year’s standout independent artists, Jalen Ngonda and Naima Bock.
Daptone Records soul artist Jalen Ngonda arrives at the ceremony following an impressive year that has also earned him two Independent Music Awards nominations, for Independent Breakthrough and Best Independent Track, placing him among this year’s most celebrated independent artists.
He will be joined by Naima Bock, whose distinctive songwriting draws together folk, jazz and influences from her Brazilian heritage. Her EP, Live in Toulon, is nominated in the Best Independent Mixtape / EP category.
The performances will form part of the 16th Independent Music Awards, which returns to the Roundhouse on Tuesday 22 September to celebrate the artists, labels, entrepreneurs and teams driving the UK’s independent music community. This year’s ceremony takes place under AIM’s 2026 theme of ‘Collective Strength’, recognising the networks, partnerships and communities behind the sector’s continued creative and commercial success.
Black joins previously announced honourees Fabio & Grooverider, who will receive the Innovator Award in recognition of their pioneering impact on UK music and dance culture.
Finally, it is announced that AIM has partnered with DORK Magazine for the official Independent Music Awards afterparty, taking place at the Barfly in Camden, just across the road from the main ceremony. The party will feature live performances from indie rock band FEET and rising singer-songwriter Jo From School along with special guest DJs from 10pm to late. A limited run of tickets will be available for purchase to the public and AIM members, and complimentary limited access tickets will be available for IMA ceremony guests and allocated at the show on a first-come, first-served basis.
AIM would like to thank their Platinum Partners Merlin, Amazon Music, Meta, and Spotify, their event sponsors and partners PPL, IDOL, BBC Music Introducing, Hey! What?, NOTION and Qobuz – and their new category sponsor PRS for Music.
