For the final run of Music for the Masses, from April to May 2005, I had secured the coveted Saturday night slot, building people up to a stomping night out in Leeds. Or alternatively helping them to revise for their exams. Or potentially neither; it was rather difficult to tell. But looking through the playlist, I can see a slightly more uptempo seam running through the show, culminating with the Electromix at the end of the show.
Show 39: Sat 7 May 2005, from 6:00pm-8:00pm
Broadcast on LSR FM, online only. Artist of the week: The Shamen.
Morcheeba – World Looking In
Erasure – Here I Go Impossible Again
1 Giant Leap feat. Robbie Williams & Maxi Jazz – My Culture
Mylo – In My Arms (Sharam Jey Remix)
The Shamen – Comin’ On (Beatmasters Mix)
Sylver – Make It
Aurora – Ordinary World
BT – Orbitus Terrarium
Kraftwerk – Aérodynamik
The Shamen – MK2A
Depeche Mode – Freelove (Live) [The Live Bit]
Stereo MCs – Connected
Technique – Sun is Shining
Felix – Don’t You Want Me
Yello feat. Stina Nordenstam – To the Sea
New Order – Jetstream (Arthur Baker Remix)
The Shamen – Indica
Binar – The Truth Sets Us Free
Talk Talk – Talk Talk
Mirwais feat. Craig Wedren – Miss You [Electromix]
Elektric Music – Lifestyle (Radio-Style) [Electromix]
Front Line Assembly – Everything Must Perish [Electromix]
Fluke – Absurd
Bent – The Waters Deep
The Electromix feature from this show still exists, and will be included on a future Playlist for stowaways.
The Mercury Music Prize launched in 1992, and has always stuck to its guns – in September, a list of the finest albums of the year will be nominated, and then in October a winner is announced. Simple as that. Despite some speculation in recent years that it may have lost its way somewhat, it’s still a good guide to what might be going on in the world of “real” music. Here’s a guide to what happened over its first three years…
Mercury Music Prize 1992
According to The Guardian, the award was devised by Jon Webster, the Managing Director at Virgin Records, who hoped it might become “the Booker Prize of the music industry”, independent of the music industry but with its endorsement. The panel is led by Professor Simon Frith, and chosen by the event’s organiser David Wilkinson.
The prize name, by the way, is purely from the event’s sponsor, the now largely defunct telecoms company Mercury. The first awards took place at The Savoy Hotel, 8th September 1992.
Nominees:
Barry Adamson – Soul Murder
Jah Wobble – Rising Above Bedlam
The Jesus and Mary Chain – Honey’s Dead
Bheki Mseleku – Celebration
Primal Scream – Screamadelica
Saint Etienne – Foxbase Alpha
Simply Red – Stars
John Tavener and Steven Isserlis – The Protecting Veil
U2 – Achtung Baby
Young Disciples – Road to Freedom
Winner: Primal Scream
Mercury Music Prize 1993
Nominees:
Apache Indian – No Reservations
The Auteurs – New Wave
Gavin Bryars – Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet
Dina Carroll – So Close
PJ Harvey – Rid of Me
New Order – Republic
Stereo MCs – Connected
Sting – Ten Summoner’s Tales
Suede – Suede
Stan Tracey – Portraits Plus
Winner: Suede
Mercury Music Prize 1994
The 1994 awards were controversial, as nobody actually seemed to like the winners very much. The Independent even suggested that they might have won due to positive discrimination. Took place on 13th September 1994.
Here’s my compendium of fascinating BRIT Awards facts based on things I learnt while researching the previous BRITs posts…
The Sad Loss of the Best Video Award
For the last time in 2002, the Best Video award was given to So Solid Crew. With that following the previous three years’ consecutive wins by Robbie Williams for Millennium, She’s the One and Rock DJ, it perhaps isn’t surprising that it was axed, but previous years had seen wins for Adamski‘s Killer, Michael Jackson‘s Smooth Criminal, New Order‘s True Faith and Peter Gabriel‘s Sledgehammer.
The Second Biggest BRIT Award Failure of All Time
Poor Jamiroquai. Somebody must like them. Even so, it’s pretty astonishing that they have managed quite so many nominations without ever managing to win a BRIT. Here’s the full list of shame:
1994 – Best British Group, won by Stereo MCs
1994 – Best British Album for Emergency on Planet Earth, won by Stereo MCs
1994 – Best Dance Act, won by M. People
1994 – Best Video for Too Young to Die, won by Take That
1994 – Best British Newcomer, won by Gabrielle
1995 – Best Video for Return of the Space Cowboy, won by Blur
1997 – Best Video for Virtual Insanity, won by Spice Girls
1997 – Best Dance Act, won by The Prodigy
1998 – Best Dance Act, won by The Prodigy
1999 – Best Dance Act, won by Fatboy Slim
1999 – Best Video for DeeperUnderground, won by Robbie Williams
2000 – Best Dance Act, won by The Chemical Brothers
2002 – Best British Group, won by Travis
2003 – Best Dance Act, won by Sugababes
Speaking personally, I don’t think there’s a single one of those that I don’t agree with! But believe it or not, there’s an even bigger failure to come.
Genre-Based Awards
Awards come and go at the BRITs. A lot of the less popular ones were specifically genre-based, and included:
Pop Act – awarded from 2000 to 2006 and won by Five, Westlife (twice), Blue, Busted, McFly, and James Blunt. And then for some reason nobody else.
Dance Act – always a curious award, as Jamiroquai were nominated nearly every year but never won (see below). Awarded from 1994 to 2004 and won by M. People (twice), Massive Attack, The Prodigy (twice), Fatboy Slim (twice), The Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx, and, as we saw above, erm… Sugababes. Some good winners, but no great loss really given how out of touch the awards committee really were.
Rock Act – awarded just three times between 2004 and 2006, and won by The Darkness, Franz Ferdinand, and Kaiser Chiefs.
Urban Act – awarded four times between 2003 and 2006, and won by Ms Dynamite, Lemar (twice), and Joss Stone.
Speaking of which…
The Classical BRIT Awards
Until 1993, there was a strange quiet patch during the ceremony in which the pop star of the day attempted to pronounce classical composers and musicians with strange names. But Nigel Kennedy‘s Violin Concerto was the last winner of the Best Classical Recording award. Until 2000, when Sir Trevor McDonald turned up to present a ceremony all of their own.
The Biggest BRIT Award Failure of All Time
Even less successful than Jamiroquai, and infinitely more surprising, is the sorry tale of Radiohead. Nominated for no less than fifteen awards, they have somehow managed never to win a single thing at the BRITs. A conspiracy perhaps? Who knows – perhaps they have just been unlucky…
1994 – Best British Single for Creep, won by Take That
1996 – Best British Group, won by Oasis
1996 – Best British Album for The Bends, won by Oasis
1996 – Best Video for Just, won by, erm, Oasis
1998 – Best British Group, won by The Verve
1998 – Best British Album for OK Computer, won by The Verve
1998 – Best British Single for Paranoid Album, won by All Saints
1999 – Best Video for No Surprises, won by Robbie Williams
2001 – Best British Group, won by Coldplay
2001 – Best British Album for Kid A, won by Coldplay
2002 – Best British Group, won by Travis
2002 – Best British Album for Kid A, again. To add insult to injury, this time it was won by Dido
2004 – Best British Group, won by The Darkness
2009 – Best British Group, won by Elbow
2009 – Best British Album for In Rainbows, won by Duffy
Well that’s all for now, but I might pick this up again later in the week. Enjoy the awards tonight!
The fourteenth BRIT Awards, on the fourteenth of February 1994, were something of a turning point for the BRITs. After corporate suits, total unmitigated chaos, and The 1980s, they had been through a number of incarnations, but somehow in 1994 the BRITs came of age. Since then, it has been essential annual viewing (or avoiding) for any fan of music.
In 1994, they were presented by Elton John and RuPaul, and took place at Alexandra Palace, in London.
Best British Newcomer
Presented by Tori Amos. Nominees:
Apache Indian
Gabrielle
Jamiroquai
Shara Nelson
Suede
Winner: Gabrielle.
Best International Newcomer
Presented by Kylie Minogue. Nominees:
4 Non Blondes
Björk
Rage Against the Machine
Spin Doctors
SWV
Winner: Björk.
Best British Dance Act
Presented by Seal. Nominees:
Apache Indian
Jamiroquai
M People
Stereo MCs
The Shamen
Winner: M People.
Best Soundtrack/Cast Recording
Presented by Rozalla. Nominees:
Reservoir Dogs (various artists)
Sleepless in Seattle (various artists)
The Bodyguard (Whitney Houston / various artists)
The Jungle Book (various artists)
Whats Love Got To Do With It (Tina Turner)
Winner: The Bodyguard, accepted by Whitney Houston.
Best International Female Solo Artist
Presented by ze Jean-Paul Gauthier. Ze nominees:
Björk
Janet Jackson
Mariah Carey
Nanci Griffith
Tina Turner
Longeur vidéo ere.
Winner: Björk.
Best International Group
Presented by Kiki Dee. Nominees:
Crowded House
Nirvana
Pearl Jam
Spin Doctors
U2
Winner: Crowded House.
Best Selling Single and Album of 1993
Video here. Look at the size of his mouth!
Winner: Meat Loaf.
Best British Producer
Nominees:
Brian Eno
Flood
M People
Nellee Hooper
Youth
Winner: Brian Eno.
Best Music Video
Voted for by viewers of MTV Europe, and presented by Pip Dann. Nominees:
Gabrielle – Dreams
Jamiroquai – Too Young To Die
New Order – Regret
Peter Gabriel – Steam
Suede – Animal Nitrate
Shortlist:
Take That – Pray
Pet Shop Boys – Go West
Depeche Mode – I Feel You
David Bowie – Jump They Say
Sting – Fields of Gold
Winner: Take That.
Best International Male Solo Artist
Presented by Vivienne Westwood. Nominees:
Billy Joel
Lenny Kravitz
Meat Loaf
Neil Young
Terence Trent D’Arby
Winner: Lenny Kravitz.
Best British Single
Voted for by listeners of BBC Radio 1, and presented by Steve Wright. Nominees:
Apache Indian – Boom Shak-A-Lak
Dina Carroll – Don’t Be a Stranger
Gabrielle – Dreams
M People – Moving On Up
New Order – Regret
Paul Weller – Wild Wood
Radiohead – Creep
Shaggy – Oh Carolina
Suede – Animal Nitrate
Take That – Pray
Winner: Take That.
Best British Album
Presented by Jack Dee. Nominees:
Dina Carroll – So Close
Jamiroquai – Emergency on Planet Earth
Stereo MCs – Connected
Sting – Ten Summoners Tales
Suede – Suede
Winner: Stereo MCs.
Best British Female Solo Artist
Presented by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. Nominees:
