From 1982 (confusingly the 1981 ceremony thanks to the year numbering) onwards, the British Rock & Pop Awards were happening concurrently with the British Record Industry Awards (later the BPI Awards, and even later the BRIT Awards).
1979
The awards for 1979 seem to have taken place on 26th February 1980. Simulcast on BBC TV and BBC Radio 1, and again at the Café Royal, London (see BFI record). Presented by Dave Lee Travis and Sue Lawley. Awards included:
Best Single
Best Album
Best Male Singer
Best Female Singer
Best Group or Band
Radio 1’s Disc Jockeys’ Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Pop Music
Daily Mirror Readers’ Award for the Outstanding Pop Personality
Nationwide Golden Award for the artist or group with the most all-round family appeal
Presenters included Barron Knights, Kate Bush, Marianne Faithfull, Andy Gibb, and Leo Sayer.
Rick Wakeman presented The Police with the Best Album award for Regatta de Blanc.
Kate Bush seems to have either won Best Female Singer for a second year running, or the previous entry was an error (see here). Paul McCartney won the Daily Mirror Readers’ Award.
Dave Lee Travis introduced John Peel to present Jerry Dammers with Radio 1’s Disc Jockeys’ Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Pop Music for his work with The Specials. Apparently Gary Numan also won “multiple awards” (see video entry for next year).
1980
Again presented by Dave Lee Travis and Sue Lawley (see BFI record here) on 24th February 1981. This entry on a Wikipedia talk page is largely apocryphal, but mentions The Jam winning the Best Single Award for Going Underground, which is mentioned in more detail here.
Best Male Singer nominees included:
Gary Numan
Cliff Richard
Paul McCartney
David Bowie
Winner: David Bowie. Presented by Lulu. See also image here and entry here. There’s an alternative recording of the video here.
Ultravox were nominated for Best Video for Passing Strangers, but failed to win.
Showaddywaddy were also in attendance according to this page, and Madness, Adam and the Ants, Hazel O’Connor, Hot Chocolate, Madness, and Ronnie Hazlehurst and HisOrchestra all performed (see here).
1981
The 1981 ceremony took place on 8th February 1982 at the Lyceum, London, and were presented by Dave Lee Travis and SueCook (see BFI record).
Shakin’ Stevens also won the Best Male Singer award (see here), while Duran Duran were nominated for Best Newcomer, and performed Girls on Film and My Own Way (see here). Bananarama performed Shy Boy (see here).
If you would like to see the comparison, the 1982 BRIT Awards are covered here.
On February 8th 1988, Noel Edmonds once again presented the BPI Awards (the last show by that name) at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Apparently TV viewers didn’t get to see Rick Astley collecting his awards, which must have been a very great shame indeed.
This post is part of a series about the history of the BRIT Awards. You can read about the 1987 ceremony here, and the 1989 ceremony here.
Best British Album
Nominees:
George Michael – Faith
Pet Shop Boys – Actually
Sting – Nothing Like the Sun
Swing Out Sisters – It’s Better to Travel
T’Pau – Bridge of Spies
Winner: Sting
Best British Female
Presented by Chris de Burgh. Nominees:
Kate Bush
Samantha Fox
Alison Moyet
Sinitta
Kim Wilde
Winner: Alison Moyet
Best British Group
Presented by Eddy Grant. Nominees:
The Bee Gees
Def Leppard
Level 42
Pet Shop Boys
Whitesnake
Winner: Pet Shop Boys
Best British Male
Nominees:
Rick Astley
George Michael
Chris Rea
Cliff Richard
Steve Winwood
Winner: George Michael
Best British Newcomer
Voted for by listeners of BBC Radio 1 and readers of Radio Times. Presented by Mike Smith. First round nominees:
Oh yes, 1989. The single most important year in the history of the BRITs. Broadcast live from London’s Royal Albert Hall, it’s the pop music event of the year. Samantha Fox and Mick Fleetwood famously presented for the first year that it was even called the BRIT Awards.
If you think that pairing a miniature Page Three model with an enormous Fleetwood Mac baldy might be a bad idea, you have little idea of the shambles which would follow. So disastrous was it, that the event wouldn’t be broadcast live for another decade. But on the plus side, we can watch the whole thing thanks to YouTube. So let’s sit back and enjoy the event of a lifetime in full. Part 1:
The show opens relatively poorly with Gloria Estefan, before the bizarrely paired hosts stumble on stage, eventually find their way to the microphones, and stumble their way through the show introduction.
Best British Single
Phil Collins arrives to put the hosts out of their misery, but disappointingly fails to kill either of them. Julian Lennon, although announced by the hosts, does not. Nominees:
Deacon Blue – Real Gone Kid
Fairground Attraction – Perfect
Robert Palmer – She Makes My Day
Tanita Tikaram – Twist In My Sobriety
Tom Jones & Art of Noise – Kiss
Cue some embarrassed filling by the hosts while the winners try to find the stage.
Winner: Fairground Attraction.
Best British Group
Presented by the fabulous The Fo… the wonderful The Four… the brilliant The Four Tops. Oh, it’s Boy George. Nominees:
Christians
Def Leppard
Erasure
Pet Shop Boys
Wet Wet Wet
Winner: Erasure.
Best International Male Solo Artist
This time, with a bit of culture (you know, because he was in Culture Club) it’s Boy Geo… oh, OK, The Four Tops. Nominees:
Alexander O’Neal
Luther Vandross
Michael Jackson
Prince
Terence Trent D’Arby
A clean sweep for… why on earth did he feel it necessary to bring race into it? The Four Tops steal the award, claiming they’ll pass it onto the winner “at some point”.
Winner: Michael Jackson.
At which point Fairground Attraction start doing bird impressions.
Best International Female
In possibly the worst introduction yet, we learn that Madonna has been busy glorying in her bask. Presented by Michael Hutchence and John Farris out of INXS. Nominees:
Anita Baker
Enya
Kylie Minogue
Tracy Chapman
Whitney Houston
Winner: Tracy Chapman.
Best British Album
Presented by Carol Decker and Mike Rutherford. Nominees:
Aztec Camera – Love
Fairground Attraction – First of a Million Kisses
Pet Shop Boys – Introspective
Steve Winwood – Roll With It
The Pasadenas – To Whom It May Concern
Winner: Fairground Attraction.
Best International Group
Whose turn is it? Um… no idea, let’s just fade the hosts out. Presented by Kevin Godley and Lol Creme out of 10cc. Nominees:
Bon Jovi
Fleetwood Mac
INXS
U2
Womack & Womack
Winner: U2.
Next up, Yazz, who sat on top of the chart for five weeks. Which must have been uncomfortable. Then Mark Knopfler and Alan Price bang on about the BRITs School for a bit.
Best British Newcomer
In an interesting move designed to completely outfox (ha!) the presenters, Ronnie Wood and Bill Wyman turn up with a mystery third person, without having shown us a list of “possibilities”. So the only nominee we know about is:
Bros
What a dreadful acceptance speech. Thanks Mum.
Winner: Bros.
Best International Newcomer
Presented by Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox out of Eurythmics, who seem to have locked the winner in a studio. Nominees:
Belinda Carlisle
Enya
Michelle Shocked
Salt ‘n’ Pepa
Tracy Chapman
Winner: Tracy Chapman.
Def Leppard turn up for some heavy, heavy metal. And massive perms.
Best Classical Recording
Presented by Courtney Pine and Mica Paris. Nominees:
Andre Previn – Violin & Viola Concertos: Walton
Jeffrey Tate – Opera Arias – Mozart – Kiri te Kanawa
Phillip Brunelle – Paul Bunyan – Britten
Simon Rattle – Symphony No 2 – Mahler
Trevor Pinnock – Messiah – Handel
Handel has been totally up there for loads of years.
Winner: Trevor Pinnock.
Best Soundtrack/Cast Recording
If we’re not careful then the whole show might grind to an abysmal and moody halt. Which would leave everyone feeling very pleased, probably. Presented by Justin Hayward, someone else out of The Moody Blues, and Belinda Carlisle.
Buster (various artists)
Good Morning Vietnam (various artists)
Hairspray (various artists)
Rattle and Hum (U2)
The Princess Bride (Mark Knopfler)
Winner: Buster, accepted by Phil Collins and The Four Tops.
Tanita Tikaram then performs in a suit.
Best Music Video
Voted for by viewers of Going Live on BBC1, and presented by Jools Holland, outshouted by Ken Russell. Nominees:
Bananarama – Nathan Jones
George Harrison – When We Was Fab
Michael Jackson – Smooth Criminal
The Christians – Harvest for the World
Wet Wet Wet – Temptation
Winner: Michael Jackson.
Best British Male Solo Artist
By this stage we’ve pretty much settled into a pretty dreadful style. Presented by Joan Armatrading and Joe Elliott. Nominees:
Chris Rea
George Michael
Phil Collins
Robert Palmer
Steve Winwood
Winner: Phil Collins.
Best British Female Solo Artist
Presented by Tina Turner, complete with the kind of sexist introduction that you’ve never seen in any tabloid newspaper. Nominees:
Annie Lennox
Mica Paris
Sade
Tanita Tikaram
Yazz
Winner: Annie Lennox.
Bros follow with a lot of jumping around.
Outstanding Contribution
Presented by the chairman of the BPI Peter Jamieson, who should really have been hanging his head in shame by this stage.
Winner: Cliff Richard. After an appallingly pseudo-religious speech, Cliff deservedly leaves the stage to almost total silence.
Which artist could be singled out to close a show like this? I think we’d agree, no one. Mark Knopfler, Randy Newman and the BRITs Supergroup close the show with a song which even the performers don’t even seem to be enjoying, and finally the thing comes to an end.
Performances
Bros – I Owe You Nothing
Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar On Me
Fairground Attraction – Perfect
Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine – Rhythm Is Gonna Get You
Mark Knopfler, Randy Newman and the BRITs Supergroup – Falling in Love
