Manic Street Preachers’ 1992 NME cover has been voted the Greatest NME Cover Ever by NME readers.
The poll was carried out to coincide with the release of the last ever newsstand issue of the magazine, which will relaunch in September as a free paper.
With 63 years of covers to select from, competition was tough. However, Kevin Cummins’ unforgettable image of Richey Edwards covered in inkings of Marilyn Monroe gained the most votes. The cover was released in October 1992 and marked the release of their cover of ‘Suicide Is Painless’. The track featured on the NME 40th birthday compilation ‘Ruby Trax’, where various artists covered UK Number One singles.
Kevin Cummins Manic Street Preachers also took the second place position in the poll with a 1991 cover image of Edwards alongside bass player Nicky Wire gaining many votes. Other famous covers in the top 10 included ones from Pulp, Oasis, Blur, The Libertines and the Sex Pistols as well the special covers to mark the deaths of Ian Curtis, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse.
See More: The 25 Greatest Ever NME Covers – As Voted For By You
The last newsstand issue of NME is on sale now in the form of a 132-page collectors edition magazine.
The issue celebrates the first chapter of NME (1952 – 2015) ahead of the upcoming free print relaunch, available to purchase online and at newsstands now.
It includes the best features and interviews from over the years as the NME archives are opened to revisit pivotal encounters with a troubled Nirvana, an enigmatic Bowie, Morrissey in his pomp and words by some of NME‘s biggest names through the ages, from Danny Kelly to Charles Shaar Murray, Steven Wells and Johnny Cigarettes.
The issue also includes the greatest 50 of the most iconic NME covers of all time in poster form, including Joy Division, Amy Winehouse, Blur, The Stone Roses, Björk, Rihanna, Daft Punk, the Ramones and many more.
As well as this, there’s also the best miscellaneous moments from NME history: the funniest celebrity interviews from former columnist Peter Robinson, plus NME‘s long-running humour page, in which fake Wu-Tang members rub shoulders with made-up techno DJs and we visit Mark E Smith’s house.
Other highlights include Damon Albarn dressed as Debbie Harry, Brandon Flowers’ disembodied moustache getting his own weekly column, Arctic Monkeys dressing as elves and Aphex Twin downing a bowl of lemons.
The new-look NME magazine will be launched on September 18 as a free weekly guide to the best music on the planet.