The Brit awards are set to take place on Tuesday 21 February, and it’ll be the second year in a row that the prestigious music industry event will have been held at The O2 Arena. To mark the event we thought we’d look back at some of the most memorable Brit Award moments from the past 35 years.
The Beatles win at the first ever Brit Awards (1977)
The first ever Brit Awards took place in the relatively humble environment of the Wembley Conference Centre way back in 1977. As that year marked the Queen’s 25th year on the throne, it was decided to celebrate the previous 25 years of music, and The Beatles won the first ever Outstanding Achievement Award.
Sam Fox and Mick Fleetwood miss their cue(s) (1989)
The most infamous of Brit Awards saw the unlikely pairing of page 3 model Sam Fox and rock legend Mick Fleetwood as co-hosts. A mixture of the live nature of the show, a dodgy auto-cue, the hosts’ lack of chemistry and plenty of technical gremlins led to a memorably chaotic Brit Awards. A new age of Brits professionalism was ushered in as a result.
The KLF terrorise the awards (1992)
In the early nineties, art-pop band The KLF were notorious rabble rousers, so when they were booked in to open the 1992 Brit Awards something was bound to happen. The group teamed up with hardcore heavy metal band Extreme Noise Terror to perform a “special” remix of their number one hit 3 a.m. Eternal. Simply Red (who shared the Best British Group award with KLF) it wasn’t.
Blur mop up (1995)
In 1995 Britpop was in the ascendancy in the UK, and this was marked by Blur winning a staggering four awards (including Best British Album and Best British Group) – a record that has yet to be beaten in 16 subsequent years. A certain little band going by the name Oasis picked up Best British Newcomer
Jarvis Cocker invades Michael Jackson performance (1996)
1996 saw one of the most controversial and memorable incidents in the long history of the Brits. Michael Jackson’s elaborate performance of Earth Song was interrupted by a slightly tipsy Jarvis Cocker of Pulp fame, who strutted about and raised his rear end in comical fashion.
Geri Halliwell's outs that Union Jack dress (1997)
By the late nineties the whole world seemed to be infected with Spice Girls fever. One of their most iconic moments occurred at the 1997 Brit Awards, when Geri Halliwell donned a (subsequently trademark) Union Jack dress for the first time. Girl Power, indeed.
Chumbawumba soak John Prescott (1998)
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott was to regret turning up to the 1998 Brit Awards. Danbert Nobacon of politically conscious band Chumbawumba demonstrated his displeasure at what he saw as a credibility-seeking act by pouring cold water on Tony Blair’s right-hand man.
Belle & Sebastian rig the votes (1999)
One of the more delightfully bizarre results in Brits history, Scottish indie band Belle & Sebastian scored an unlikely victory in 1999’s Best British Newcomer category (not least because they had already released three albums). Allegations that the band and their fans had cunningly exploited the online voting system were subsequently made, which neatly pointed the way to today’s online-driven music industry.
Ronnie Wood and Brandon Block square off (2000)
A pretty random tete-a-tete occurred at the 2000 awards, when DJ Brandon Block – a little worse for wear from free booze – was convinced he had been called up to the stage to accept an award. Award presenter Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones was less than impressed, causing insults and drinks alike to be thrown.
Liam Gallagher throws it all away (2010)
Speaking of things being thrown, 2010’s Brit Awards saw Liam Gallagher taking to the stage to accept an award on behalf of former band Oasis. Having thanked his fans he proceeded to lob the microphone into the crowd and give his award to a member of the audience. It took 10 minutes to get the show back on the road.
Also, check out our big Brit Awards preview, and let us know who you think will end up winners this year.
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