Pauline Black has been announced as the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution To Music Award at the 2026 Independent Music Awards.
Black, who rose to fame as frontwoman of The Selecter, will perform live with the band at the ceremony, which takes place at London's Roundhouse on September 22. The announcement comes after the final wave of nominees was revealed last month.
Black was at the forefront of the 2 Tone movement, which emerged from Coventry in the late 1970s, releasing celebrated records alongside contemporaries including The Specials, The Beat and Madness.
The Selecter's 1980 debut album Too Much Pressure reached No.5 in the UK, while a run of singles including On My Radio, Three Minute Hero, Missing Words and The Whisper helped make the band’s name.
My advice? Make your music. Let it find your people. And always know your purpose for standing on a stage
Pauline Black
In 2022, Black was awarded an OBE for services to entertainment, and in 2023 The Selecter reached the Top 10 with Human Algebra. More recently still, Black has played shows with Gorillaz.
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.”
Black added: “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.”
Jalen Ngonda and Naima Bock have also joined the bill for the 16th edition of the Independent Music Awards. 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.
Also appearing alongside Black on the night, Fabio & Grooverider will receive the Innovator Award.
Also, AIM has partnered with Dork Magazine for the official Independent Music Awards afterparty, which will take place at the Barfly in Camden and feature performances from Feet and Jo From School, plus special guest DJs from 10pm to late.
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