BBC News | ENTERTAINMENT | Brit Awards: Did you know...? Tuesday, 16 January, 2001, 12:53 GMT Brit Awards: Did you know...? No prizes for guessing who won the first Brit Award... The Brit Awards have hailed British stars from the Beatles to Blur. BBC News Online charts its history, revealing some surprising facts about the winners and losers. It's that time of year again, when the UK music industry salutes its heroes and hopefully boosts a few record sales into the bargain. The Brit Awards, which celebrate the successes of UK and overseas music, can be traced back to the big hair and hip-hugging flares of 1977. Since then, 294 awards have been handed out.

Brits facts and figures Most awards: Annie Lennox, 8 (7 as an individual and 1 with Eurythmics) Most nominations: George Michael, 17 Most successful loser: Jamiroquai (13 nominations, no wins) Most successful year: Blur in 1995, 4 wins Most successful band: Manics Street Preachers, 2 wins Best dance: M People and The Prodigy, 2 each The ceremony was created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of recorded sound, and the achievements of the growing UK record business. Not surprisingly, the first recipients of the best album prize were The Beatles, for the groundbreaking Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band. Cliff Richard was voted best male, and US duo Simon and Garfunkel won the overseas gong. But it took the pair six takes to get their song Bookend/Old Friends right for inclusion in the show. Annie Lennox: More awards than anyone else Hosted by the British Phonographic Institute (BPI), the awards took place at London's Wembley Conference Centre. Although organisers hoped to make it an annual event, the next Brit Awards did not grace the stage until 1982.

They are voted for by more than 1,000 people, including BPI member companies, DJs, music press, TV presenters, music industry members, lawyers, accountants, promoters and NUS entertainment officers. This eclectic group have voted singer and Eurythmics member Annie Lennox as the Brits' champion of champions. She has received eight awards - seven for most successful British female artist and one with the Eurythmics. Take That: Most awards for best single Just behind is Robbie Williams. He has also won eight awards but only five as a solo artist, the three others were with Take That. Michael Jackson has six awards and Phil Collins and U2 are at joint third with five awards each. The prize for the most nominations goes to George Michael, with a whopping 17, although Blur and Sir Elton John have been nominated 14 times. And, surprisingly, Jamiroquai takes the gong for the most successful loser. The highly successful band and its lead singer Jay Kay have been nominated 13 times but have never won an award.

More facts and figures Best British male: Phil Collins, three awards Best British single: Take That, three awards Best British video: Robbie Williams, two wins Most successful international female artist: Bj�rk, three awards Best international group: U2, four awards Most performances at awards: Simply Red, four times The Brits also unite Take That and Phil Collins - they have each won a particular category three times, the band for best single and Collins for best British male. Bj�rk remains in a class of her own, with three awards for most successful international female artist - more than anyone else in that category. But although the Brits gives equal nods to men and women's categories, it does not grant its presenters the same equality. Of the show's 18 presenters, only three have been women - Davina McCall in 2000, Cathy McGowan in 1990 and Samantha Fox in 1989. Bjork: Popular with the judges She and Mick Fleetwood presented the show but received very bad press for introducing the wrong acts, not being able to read the autocue and generally taking it miles away from the slick show it is today.

Government minister Kenneth (now Lord) Baker was also booed by the audience, who felt pretty disgruntled at the whole affair. He is not the only member of the government to have fallen foul of the Brits. In 1998, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, keen to maintain Labour's links with the hip world of pop music, had a barrel load of ice water poured on his head courtesy of Chumbawumba. Ant and Dec: Hosts with the most Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie are fans of the event, as is Culture Secretary Chris Smith, but so far they remain unscathed. The Brits have also been used to promote good causes. This year's event is going to be "carbon neutral", with trees being planted to counteract the carbon dioxide produced by the pollution it will generate. And in 1999, U2 singer Bono took to the podium with Muhammad Ali to urge Western governments to write off Third World debt by the year 2000.

Search BBC News Online Sam Smith leads Brits nominations - BBC News BBC News Sam Smith leads Brits nominations 16 January 2015 Image copyright AP Image caption Smith's hit singles include Stay With Me and Money On My Mind Pop star Sam Smith leads the charge at this year's Brit Awards, with five nominations, it has been announced. The 22-year-old is up for best British male, breakthrough artist and best album, for In The Lonely Hour. He is closely followed by guitar-toting singer-songwriters Ed Sheeran and George Ezra, who each receive four nominations, and rock duo Royal Blood, who have three. This year's ceremony takes place in London's O2 arena on 25 February. See the full list of nominations. Smith, who won the BBC's Sound of 2014, was the only artist to sell more than a million albums in both the UK and US last year. He will go up against Sheeran, Ezra, Damon Albarn and Paolo Nutini in the best British male category. It is Albarn's first solo nomination - 20 years after Blur swept the board and won four Brit awards in 1995.

Smith's tally of five nominations - which also includes best British single and video of the year for Stay With Me - has only been bettered by Robbie Williams and Craig David who got six apiece in 1999 and 2001. But Smith will be wary of emulating the latter - who left the ceremony empty-handed. Black artists 'overlooked' The coveted best British album category will be fought between Smith, Sheeran's X, Ezra's Wanted On Voyage, Alt-J's This Is All Yousrs and Royal Blood's self-titled record. But pop group Clean Bandit, whose dance anthem Rather Be is up for best single, said the dominance of "white boys" in the main categories was "a bit weird and a problem". "It's bizarre," Neil Amin-Smith told BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat , suggesting black artists like MNEK, Labrinth and Kwabs had been overlooked. "The Oscars [nominees] were announced today and it was all white men doing everything.

"I think there is something that needs talking about there." Image copyright PA Image caption Royal Blood, who will play at February's ceremony, have received three nominations Jessie Ware, FKA Twigs and Clean Bandit, who played at a London ceremony announcing the nominations, all walked away with nominations; whilst fellow performer James Bay has already won the Critics' Choice award for emerging artists. Ware, who released her second album Tough Love last year, is up for best British female. "It's really reassuring as an artist, you feel like maybe you're doing something right," she told the BBC News website. "Like a big old hug." Ware will compete against X Factor alumni Ella Henderson, FKA Twigs, Lily Allen and Paloma Faith. Taylor Swift, whose fifth album, 1989, marked the completion of her shift from country music to pop, was among the nominees in the best international female category alongside Beyonce, Lana Del Rey, Sia and St Vincent. Up-and-coming singer Jess Glynne is also up for three awards, thanks to her guest appearances on other people's records.

The 25-year-old is the voice behind Clean Bandit's string-laden dance track Rather Be, which is up for best single; and Route 94's My Love, nominated for best single and best video. Analysis Mark Savage, entertainment reporter, BBC News Sam Smith's heartbroken torch ballads have struck a chord around the world, making his dominance at the Brits all but inevitable. His five nominations come close to matching the six he's received at the Grammys. By the end of February, he's going to need a bulk order of Mr Sheen. Smith began his career as a featured artist on hits like Latch, by dance act Disclosure, and others have taken note of his path to fame. Newcomer Jess Glynne received three nominations for singing on other people's singles - but she said she'd insist on taking home a Tracey Emin-designed trophy if any of them won. . "I'll make sure I get one," she told me. "There's a reason my name's on there.

You wouldn't have the song if there was no vocal." But in a year where the best album category is entirely male, it's interesting to note that the artists making the most experimental, cutting-edge music - FKA Twigs, Sia, Beyonce, St Vincent - were all female. Image copyright PA Image caption X Factor finalist Ella Henderson is nominated for both best British female and best single for her number one single. Ghost This year's ceremony will be hosted by I'm A Celebrity... stars Ant and Dec, who replace James Corden after three years in the role. Swift, Sheeran, Smith and Faith are all set to perform, and winners will receive trophies designed by artist Tracey Emin. Last year, David Bowie was named best British male, sending Kate Moss to collect his award, while Arctic Monkeys won both best group and best album for the third time. Ellie Goulding won best British female, while pop act One Direction were honoured for their global success for the second year running. Things you may not have known about the Brit Awards Eleven things you may not have known about the Brit Awards February 19, 2014 by hellomagazine.com Ahead of Wednesday night's ceremony, HELLO!

Online has unearthed some interesting facts you may not have known about the greatest night in Britain's musical calendar It all started in 1977 when the first Brit Awards took place, in honour of The Queen's Silver Jubilee and to celebrate music from the last 25 years. Ahead of Wednesday night's ceremony, HELLO! Online has unearthed some interesting facts you might not have known about the greatest night in Britain's musical calendar. Adele and this year's host James Corden 1. Boy band Fine Young Cannibals stirred controversy when they returned their awards for Best British Group and Best British Album in 1990. The double winners were reacting in protest to Margaret Thatcher's appearance via video, when she announced that her favourite pop song was How Much Is That Doggy In The Window? 2. The BRIT School in Croydon has an outstanding alumni of Brit Award nominees and winners including Adele, Jessie J, Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis, Rizzle Kicks, Kate Nash and The Kooks. Jointly funded by The BRIT Trust and The Department for Children, School and Families, it is the only non-fee paying performing arts school in the UK. 3.

Robbie Williams has received the most nominations and wins in the Brits' history, 30 and 17 respectively. The Candy singer won 13 awards solo and four with Take That, and gained 23 nominations solo and seven with the band. Robbie Williams 4. Jamiroquai and Radiohead have both been nominated 15 times without winning a single Brit Award. 5. The 2009 host Kylie Minogue had six outfit changes during the night. She co-hosted the event with James Corden and Mathew Horne, with all three doing a performance of Can't Get You Out Of My Head with James and Matthew acting as dancers. To celebrate this year's event, the Australian star has made her own playlist choosing from her all-time favourite BRIT Awards winners and nominees. To listen, click on the video below. 6. Lady Gaga had three spray tans before the 2009 awards. 7. James Corden will be hosting the awards for a fifth and final time. He matched Chris Evans' record in hosting the event four times last year. 8.

After being cut short during her 2012 acceptance speech for British Album of the Year, Adele got some retribution last year while accepting her award for British Single for Skyfall. Via video, she quipped, "I won't keep you too long as I don't want to interrupt the best album speech at the end of the night." 9. Geri Halliwell's famous Union Jack dress was bought by Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas at an auction in 1998 for £41,320. Geri Halliwell 10. The 2000 awards go down in history for not only being the awards when Robbie Williams challenged Liam Gallagher to a live boxing match, with the winner getting £100,000, but also for Brandon Block drunkenly taking the stage to collect an award his friends had told him he won. He squared up to Ronnie Wood, who was presenting an award, they traded insults, and Ronnie threw a drink in Brandon's face before being escorted away by bouncers. 11.

Russell Brand's controversial turn at hosting the awards in 2007 led to ITV receiving hundreds of complaints after he made jokes about the "friendly-fire" death of a British soldier in Iraq and The Queen's "naughty bits." Awards - Robbie Williams Awards You are here: robbiewilliams.pl/en / Awards Awards Smash Hits Awards [UK]: Funniest Person In The World #1 TV Hits Poll [UK]: Funniest Person Number #1 1997 The Sun Newspaper [UK]: Best Male Singer 1998 Brit Awards [UK]: Nominations for best single “Old before I die” and Best Male Artist Nordorff Robbins Silver Clef Awards [UK]: Best Newcomer .

The London Awards [UK]: Best Male Vocalist TMF Awards [NL]: Best Male Singer The Sun Newspaper [UK]: Best Album – “I’ve Been Expecting You” Best Live Act, Best Male Singer Hit Radio FM 99.7 Music Award [Hong Kong]: Best International Male Singer Maaraiv Lanoar and Channel 1 Award [Israel]: Best Male Single Of The Year Cable YMC Award [Hong Kong]: Best International Male GQ [UK]: Solo Artist Of The Year MusikExpress [D]: Best Solo Artist of 1998 Smash Hits Awards [UK]: Best Male Solo Star #1 Sky Magazine [UK]: Action Man Of The Year Brit Awards [UK]: Best Solo Artist MTV European Music Awards: Best Male Solo Artist 1999 The 12th Headlines Readers Poll Awards [Hong Kong]: Best Male #1, Best Songs “Millennium”, Best Album “I’ve Been Expecting You”, Best Video “Millennium” Smash Hits Awards [UK]: Best Male Solo Star #1 Melody Maker’s Readers’ Poll [UK]: Best Male Solo Singer, Fool Of The Year Top Of The Pops [UK]: Best Male Solo Artist New Musical Express Premier Awards [UK]: Best Solo

 Artist Brit Awards [UK]: 6 nominations in 4 categories, he finally won 3: Best British Male Solo Artist, Best British Single “Angels”, Best British Video “Millenium” Ivor Novello Awards [UK]: Most Performed Song “Angels” (Robbie Williams/Guy Chambers), Songwriter Of The Year: Robbie Williams & Guy Chambers “Angels” “Company” Magazine [UK]: Most sexiest male of the planet “Cosmopolitan”Magazine [UK]: Most sexiest male of all “Playstation” Magazine [UK]: Most popular icone of 20th century 2000 Brit Awards [UK]: Best British single “She’s the one”, Best British video “She’s the one” Capital Radio Awards [UK]: Best Male Solo Artist, Best British Single “She’s The One”, Best British Video “She’s The One” Ivor Novello Awards [UK]: Best song musically and lyrically “Strong” by Robbie Williams & Guy Chambers “Company” Magazine [UK]: Most sexiest male of the planet Q Awards (Magazine Q) [UK]: Best Songwriter MTV European Music Awards [UK]: Best Song “Rock DJ”, Nominations in 3 other

 categories: Best male singer, Best video, Best Pop “Rock DJ” 2001 NRJ Music Awards [F]: Nominations for: Best artist international, Best website Brit Awards [UK]: Best Male Solo Artist, Best British Single “Rock DJ”, Best British Video “Rock DJ” Capital Awards [UK]: Best album “Sing When You’re Winning” “Company” Magazine [UK]: Most sexiest male of the planet GQ Awards [UK]: Best solo artist MTV Music Awards: Best special effects “Rock DJ” MTV European Music Awards: Best Male Artist 2002 Brit Awards [UK]: Best Male Echo Awards [D]: Best male artist international MTV Europe Music Awards [UK]: Nomination for: Best International Male Artist Edison Award [NL]: Best male artist international “Swing when you’re winning” 2003 NRJ Radio Awards [S]: Best International Male Artist, Best Pop “Feel” NRJ Music Awards [F]:Nominations for: Best male international, Best Song “Feel” MTV Asia Awards [SGP]:Favorite Male Artist Echo Awards [D]: Best International Male Artist Brit Awards [UK]: Best British Solo Male Artist 45th Grammy Awards [USA]: Nominations for

: Best Long Form Music Video, Best Short Form Music Video TMF Awards [NL]: Best Male, Best Videoclip “Feel”, Best Single “Feel” Amadeus Music Awards [A]: Best international Artist of the Year Ivor Novello Awards [UK]: Nomination for: International Hit Of The Year Lycra British Style Awards [UK]: Most elegant male artist Q Awards (Magazine Q) [UK]: Best Live Act Edison Award [NL]: Best male artist international “Escapology” 2004 Echo Awards [D]: Best male international TMF Awards [NL]: Best male international Nordic Music Award [N]: Special award of honour for being one of the best selling artists in Denmark, Sweden and Norway Music Hall of fame [UK]: award for ‘Induction for 1990’s’ Edison Award [NL]: Best male artist international “Live Summer 2003″ ) 2005 The Brit Awards - everyHit.com The Brit Awards Best British Male Solo Artist James Blunt Best British Female Solo Artist KT Tunstall Best International Male Solo Artist Kanye West Best International Female Solo Artist Madonna Best British Male Solo Artist The Streets Best British Female Solo Artist Joss Stone Best International Male Solo Artist Eminem

 Best International Female Solo Artist Gwen Stefan Brits 25th Anniversary Best Song Award Robbie Williams - "Angels" Best British Male Solo Artist Daniel Bedingfield Best British Female Solo Artist Dido The brit awards | Project Gutenberg Self-Publishing - eBooks | Read eBooks online 1977 Official website The Brit Awards (stylised as the BRIT Awards; often simply called the Brits) are the British Phonographic Industry 's annual pop music awards, and the British equivalent of the American Grammy Awards .

The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored by Britannia Music Club), but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust. [1] In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for classical music , called the Classic BRIT Awards , is held each May. Robbie Williams holds the record for the most Brit Awards, 12 as a solo artist and another five as part of Take That . The awards began in 1977 as part of the commemoration of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee [2] and as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry's trade association, the BPI. The last BPI Awards show was the first of the ceremonies to be broadcast on television, by the BBC, and in 1989 they were renamed the Brit Awards. [3] MasterCard has been the long-time sponsor of the event. [4] The Brit Awards were broadcast live until 1989, when Samantha Fox and Mick Fleetwood hosted a widely criticised show in which little went as rehearsed.

[5] Subsequently, the event was recorded and broadcast the following night. This was part of a revamp by Jonathan King , who created the "BRITs" moniker, and organised a new look show. [6] From 2007, the Brit Awards reverted to a live broadcast on British television, on 14 February on ITV . [5] In that year, comedian Russell Brand was presenter and three awards were dropped from the ceremony: Best British Rock Act, Best British Urban Act and Best Pop Act. [5] On 18 February 2009, the venue for the BRITs was once again the Earls Court Exhibition Centre , London. The 2011 Brit Awards were held at The O2 Arena in London for the first time. [7] Contents 7 External links Ceremonies The first awards ceremony was in 1977 and there have been 32 editions to date (with no ceremonies held between 1978 and 1981). [8] The 2013 BRIT Awards were held in February 2013.

The last BPI Awards was the first of the ceremonies to be broadcast on live television, by the BBC in 1988. BBC continued to broadcast the renamed BRIT Awards, live in 1989 and pre-recorded from 1990–1992. BBC Radio 1 has provided radio coverage since 2008. ITV have broadcast the awards since 1993, pre-recorded until 2006 and live from 2007 onwards. [5] Table summary "Our Version of Events" – Emeli Sandé Adele - "Skyfall" Not awarded ^ these awards were to mark the Queen 's Silver Jubilee and were for the previous 25 years of her reign. Notable moments Electricians' strike (1987) In 1987 the BPI Awards ceremony was held in the Great Room at the Grosvenor House Hotel . At the time there was a BBC electricians' strike in effect and the organisers decided to use a non-TV events production company, called Upfront, to manage the show. Despite the show being picketed, the event was transmitted as intended.

For a while the outdoor broadcast scanner was rocked on its wheels by the protesters and they managed to shut off the power to one of the big GE video screen projectors. Upfront was then asked to organise the following year and persuaded the BPI to move the event to a larger venue, starting the trend that continues to this day, albeit at Earls Court, and with a different production company (MJK Productions). Rick Astley and The Who (1988) 1988 was the first year that the show moved to the Royal Albert Hall . A major coup at the time was to get The Who to perform, which was intended to be the first appearance of their much awaited comeback. The show was running late because the amount of time needed for the winners to get to stage to collect their awards had been underestimated. Rick Astley was the final winner of the day, and was seated in a box rather than at a table. With 9:00 pm and the news broadcast fast approaching, the decision was made to let The Who on and Astley was halfway to the stage when the band started playing.

Even with this change, The Who's performance was still going to overrun, and the BBC took the decision to delay the 9:00 pm news by over a minute. Bananarama (1988) 1988 saw the final performance of all three original members (until 2000) performing their single Love in the First Degree with fourteen partially clothed male dancers. [10] Samantha Fox and Mick Fleetwood (1989) In 1989, the ceremony was broadcast live and presented by Fleetwood Mac 's Mick Fleetwood and singer Samantha Fox . The inexperience of the hosts, an ineffective autocue and little preparation combined to create an unprofessional show that was poorly received. The hosts continually got their lines mixed up, a pre-recorded message from Michael Jackson was never transmitted and several star guests arrived late on-stage or at the wrong time, such as Boy George in place of The Four Tops . The Samantha Fox/Mick Fleetwood show proved to be the single most important event in BPI/Brit Awards history. It was perceived to be so disastrous that the British public's interest was revived and the BRITs became associated with risky live TV.

[11] Freddie Mercury (1990) The 1990 awards ceremony saw the last public appearance of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury . [12] Queen appeared at the ceremony to receive the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. [12] [13] Mercury (who had been suffering from AIDS since 1987 but had not disclosed it to the public) did not make a speech, as Brian May did the talking on behalf of the other members, but his gaunt appearance was noticeable. The KLF (1992) In 1992, dance/art band The KLF were awarded Best British Group (shared with Simply Red ) and were booked to open the show. In an attempt to hijack the event, the duo collaborated with grindcore metal band Extreme Noise Terror to perform a death metal version of the dance song " 3 a.m. Eternal " that prompted conductor Sir Georg Solti to walk out in disgust.

[14] The performance ended with Bill Drummond firing blanks from a vintage machine gun over the audience and KLF publicist/announcer Scott Piering stating, "Ladies and gentlemen, The KLF have now left the music business." Producers of the show then refused to let a motorcycle courier collect the award on behalf of the band. Later, guests arriving for an after show party witnessed the band dump a dead sheep outside the venue with the message "I died for ewe – bon appetit" tied around its waist. Suede (1993) In previous years the Awards were primarily aimed as a tribute to already legendary status stars such as Annie Lennox , Phil Collins and Rod Stewart . However before the ceremony, publication The NME had critisied the Awards show for not representing new exciting music. In 1993, Suede were an up-and-coming indie band who already had a sizeable following. As a result of NME's criticism and the release of new single " Metal Mickey ", Suede earned a last-minute invitation to play at that year's Brit Awards ceremony where they performed their third single, " Animal Nitrate ".

Impressed by the band's charged sexuality, in particular the androgyny and energy of singer Brett Anderson , Suede's debut album shocked audiences and critics alike and earned them the Mercury Prize , and "Animal Nitrate" rose into the UK top ten. Looking back on the performance Anderson has said, "I've never felt more out of place then that time we played at the Brits, it was so ridiculously corporate." Blur (1995) In 1995, British band Blur won 4 Brit Awards (Best Album for Parklife , Best Single and Best British Video for the single with same name as the album " Parklife " and Best Band) in only one night, something unheard in the history of the awards' show. Michael Jackson and Jarvis Cocker (1996) In 1996, the pop singer Michael Jackson was given a special Artist of a Generation award. At the ceremony he accompanied his single " Earth Song " with a stage show, culminating with Jackson as a 'Christ-like figure' surrounded by children. Jarvis Cocker , of the band Pulp , mounted the stage in what he would later claim as protest at this portion of the performance.

Cocker ran across the stage, lifting his shirt and pointing his (clothed) bottom in Jackson's direction. Cocker was subsequently questioned by the police on suspicion of causing injury towards three of the children in Jackson's performance, who were now on stage. No criminal proceedings followed. Oasis and Blur (1996) 1996 saw the height of a well-documented feud between Oasis and fellow Britpop band Blur . The differing styles of the bands, coupled with their prominence within the Britpop movement, led the British media to seize upon the rivalry between the bands. Both factions played along, with the Gallaghers taunting Blur at the 1996 BRIT Awards by singing a rendition of "Parklife" when they collected their "Best British Band" award (with Liam changing the lyrics to "Shite-life"). Geri Halliwell's Union Jack dress (1997) Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell , wore an infamous Union Jack dress made so when she popped out of the dress whilst performing onstage with the group.

[15] [16] Spicemania was at its height in the UK and the Spice Girls had just cracked the US as well, reaching number 1 with their debut single and album. Geri Halliwell captured the zeitgeist and became pin-up girl for Cool Britannia . Halliwell was originally going to wear an all-black dress, but she thought it was too boring so her sister sewed on a Union Jack tea-towel, with a 'peace' sign on the back, so as to not offend anyone. It was worn during the Spice Girls' performance of their number one song " Who Do You Think You Are ". Later on she sold her dress in a charity auction to Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas for a record £41,320, giving Halliwell the Guinness World Record for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold. [17] The performance won Most Memorable Performance Of 30 Years at the Brit Awards in 2010.

Melanie C and Liam Gallagher (1997) Prior to the ceremony in 1997, Liam Gallagher stated in the British media that he "wasn't going to the Brit Awards because if he bumped into the Spice Girls, he would smack them". In response to this, as the Spice Girls received the award for Best British Video, during their acceptance speech, Sporty Spice, Melanie C , challenged Gallagher by saying "Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough". Chumbawamba and John Prescott (1998) In 1998, Danbert Nobacon of politically active band Chumbawamba threw a bucket of iced water over Labour cabinet minister John Prescott . Despite apologies on behalf of the band from EMI Europe, Chumbawamba were unrepentant, claiming "If John Prescott has the nerve to turn up at events like the Brit Awards in a vain attempt to make Labour seem cool and trendy, then he deserves all we can throw at him." Belle & Sebastian (1999) In 1999, indie band Belle & Sebastian were nominated for Best British Newcomers, despite having released three albums before the 1999 Awards.

The award was sponsored by Radio One and voted for online by their listeners. At the time, Steps were arguably Britain's biggest boy/girl pop band and were also nominated. Despite this, the award was won by Belle & Sebastian. On the Saturday after the awards, a story appeared in the press alleging that the group had rigged the vote in their favour, encouraging students from two universities to vote online. However, fans argued that the band had a predominantly large student following, that band member Isobel Campbell had attended one of the universities in question, and in particular, the award ought to be given on artistic merit as opposed to popularity or CD sales. Robbie Williams and Liam Gallagher (2000) Around the time of his departure from Take That , Robbie Williams had begun a friendship with the Gallagher brothers from Oasis at the Glastonbury Festival . However, it was short-lived and the two parties regularly traded insults in the press with Noel Gallagher referring to Williams as "the fat dancer from Take That". Having won Best British Single and Best Video for "She's the One", Williams challenged Liam Gallagher to a televised fight, saying: "So, anybody like to see me fight Liam? Would you pay to come and see it?

Liam, a hundred grand of your money and a hundred grand of my money. We'll get in a ring and we'll have a fight and you can all watch it on TV, what d'you think about that?". Liam Gallagher was not in the country at the time. Ronnie Wood and Brandon Block (2000) Dance DJ Brandon Block was told by his friends that he had won an award and had been summoned to the stage to collect it. Because of his advanced state of intoxication he believed them and walked on to the stage, eventually ending up next to a bemused Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and actress Thora Birch , who were about to present the award for Best Soundtrack Album. After Block was removed from the stage by security, Wood aimed an insult in his direction, at which Block broke free to square up to the guitarist. A series of insults were then traded between the two, both of which were audible through the stage microphone, causing claims that the whole event may have been staged. Wood then threw his drink into Block's face, and the DJ was ejected from the event. Some time after the incident, Block claimed that he had subsequently apologised to Wood for his behaviour, and Wood had merely brushed it off.

Geri Halliwell Vs. The Spice Girls (2000) The Spice Girls were set to receive the Outstanding Contribution award at the 2000 Brit awards, reportedly to mark their dominance of the music scene in the past decade. There was much media speculation before and even during the event as to whether or not former Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell would accept the award with the four remaining members of the group. [18] On the night, however, Halliwell declined to join her former band mates and instead ensured front page coverage the following day by performing her solo number 1 single " Bag It Up " straddling a pole between a pair of giant inflatable legs. Noel Gallagher and A1 (2001) During the night, British pop rock/boyband group A1 picked up an award for 'Best Newcomer'. At the end of the night, Noel Gallagher walked onto stage to present the night's Outstanding Contribution winners, U2 , their award.

As Gallagher took the microphone at the start of his presenting speech, he said "This award ceremony over the years has been accused of not having a sense of humour, but when you see A1 winning best newcomer, you know that someone's taking the piss somewhere". Apparently, A1 were offended, and in April 2001 they performed a cover version of the Oasis song "Don't Look Back in Anger" in a mocking way, live using instruments, and not a backing track, as Gallagher had also called the band "manufactured". [19] Russell Brand (2007) Some controversy was caused by the host of the 2007 Awards ceremony, comedian Russell Brand , who made several quips relating to news stories of the time including singer Robbie Williams ' entering rehab for addiction to prescription drugs, the Queen's 'naughty bits' and a fatal friendly fire incident involving a British soldier killed by American armed forces in Iraq . ITV received over 300 complaint calls from viewers. [20] He would again instigate controversy the following year at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards .

Vic Reeves and Sharon Osbourne (2008) After Vic Reeves appeared to forget which award he was presenting, Sharon Osbourne attempted to wrestle the microphone from him, insisted he was drunk and called him a "pissed bastard". She proceeded to make the full announcement herself. The next day it was reported that Reeves was not intoxicated and was hurt by Osbourne's behaviour. [21] The incident has since been ascribed to an autocue malfunction, but Reeves said in his defence that he was trying to read the autocue screen, but he couldn't read it because Osbourne was pushing him out of the way. Arctic Monkeys (2008) When the Arctic Monkeys took to the stage to collect their award for 'Best British Album', the band were dressed up in traditional English country and hunting outfits, and even took a plastic duck to the stage with them. During the acceptance speech, they made a rude tirade about the BRITs School, which forced the television producers to pull it from the television broadcast.

[22] Girls Aloud (2009) British reality band, Girls Aloud , marked their first ever performance at the 2009 ceremony, by performing their single " The Promise ". The performance saw the band members, including Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts , Sarah Harding and Kimberley Walsh appear as though they were naked , with their modesty being covered by pink feathers. This performance was nominated in the 2011 ceremony for the "BRITs Hits 30 - Best Live Performance at the BRIT Awards", alongside Oasis and The Who , which the Spice Girls eventually went on to win. The Promise won best British single, their first BRIT award. Mick Kluczynski (2009) Ten days before the 2009 Brits, Mick Kluczynski, the production manager for the Brits since 1995 who assisted with the transition from the Fleetwood/Fox debacle to the scale of the current ceremony, died. Despite this setback the team he put in place ensured that everything went as planned, and the show was dedicated to him.

[23] Liam Gallagher and Peter Kay (2010) At the 2010 Brits, Liam Gallagher made a surprise appearance to accept his award for Best Brits album of the past 30 years. After thanking all of his former bandmates (apart from brother Noel ) and declaring his fans "the best fans in the fucking world", he gave his award to a fan and hurled his microphone into the audience; a search for the microphone caused a 10 minute delay. After walking off stage, comedian Peter Kay , who hosted the awards, commented "what a knobhead". Adele's performance of "Someone like You" (2011) Adele performed her song "Someone like You" at the 2011 Brits with only a piano accompanying her. Her emotional performance was received with a standing ovation at the O2 Arena and the video received 450 million views on YouTube within days. The performance launched "Someone Like You" 46 spots up the UK charts to number one, and in the process, made Adele the first artist in the UK since The Beatles to have two top five singles and two top five albums at the same time.

The performance had all lights down and focused Adele and her piano. James Corden, Justin Bieber and Plan B (2011) James Corden , the host of the 2011 ceremony (as well as the 2012 ceremony and co-host for the 2009 ceremony), made jokes which drew criticism on Twitter . An example was talking to acts in between awards when he came across Justin Bieber . Corden said to Bieber "You smell amazing! How old are you?". A bemused Bieber replied "thanks". [24] Similarly, after Plan B 's performance of his hit " Prayin' " finished with a man on fire, Corden described it as a really violent episode of Porridge and remarked "is Justin Bieber OK? The amount of hair products that boy uses. He could have gone up in flames." As the man on fire took to the stage during Plan B's performance, some of the crowd showed their disapproval and booed. [25] Adele and Blur (2012) Adele won the award for 'British Album of the Year', widely regarded as the most important award.

Less than half a minute into her acceptance speech, host James Corden was forced to cut Adele off [26] in order to introduce Blur who were due to perform an eleven minute set as they had won the 'Outstanding Contribution to Music' award and the ceremony was over-running. [27] Adele was visibly annoyed and proceeded to raise her middle finger [28] and the producers of the show came under fire on Twitter for the decision. [29] Following the incident Adele said "I got cut off during my speech for Best Album and I flung the middle finger. But that finger was to the suits at the BRIT Awards, not to my fans". [30] Adele received an apology from the show's organisers, who stated; "We send our deepest apologies to Adele that her big moment was cut short. We don't want this to undermine her incredible achievement in winning our night's biggest award. It tops off what's been an incredible year for her." [31] Due to the tight schedule, only three of the five songs Blur played were broadcast on ITV .

Categories British Female Solo Artist British Male Solo Artist British Breakthrough Act British Group BRITs Global Success Critics' Choice British Producer of the Year Best Live Act British Single of the Year British Album of the Year International Male Solo Artist International Female Solo Artist International Breakthrough Act International Group International Album Most successful acts There have been numerous acts, both groups and individuals, that have won multiple awards. The table below shows those that have won four or more awards. British acts

Question: Which singer won the BRIT award for "Best British single record" in the years 1999, 2000 and 2001 ?
Answer: ROBBIE WILLIAMS