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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.
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.
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.
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.
Björk 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.
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.
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.
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