The 1980 ceremony was held on 24th February 1981, to celebrate the music of the preceding year. It was presented again by Dave Lee Travis. It was also broadcast on BBC Radio 1, with commentary from Andy Peebles. A full recording of the audio is available online here, and the introduction of the TV coverage is here:
Best Album
Winner: The Police, for Zenyatta Mondatta
Best Group or Band
Winner: The Police
Best Female Singer
Presented by Mickie Most. Winner: Sheena Easton
Daily Mirror Readers’ Award for the Outstanding Pop Personality
Presented by Una Stubbs. Winner: Cliff Richard
Best Single
Presented by Suzi Quattro. Winner: The Jam, for Going Underground
Nationwide Golden Award for the Artist or Group with the Most All-Round Family Appeal
Presented by Sue Lawley. Winner: The Nolans
Best Male Singer
Presented by Lulu. Nominees included:
- Gary Numan
- Cliff Richard
- Paul McCartney
- David Bowie
Winner: David Bowie
Radio 1’s Disc Jockeys’ Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Pop Music
Presented by Mike Read. Winner: John Lennon, and accepted by Yoko Ono
Further Details
Showaddywaddy were listed as having been “in attendance”. There was also a suggestion that Ultravox may have won a video award for Passing Strangers, but this appears not to have been true.
Performances
- Adam and the Ants
- Madness
- Hazel O’Connor
- Hot Chocolate
- Ronnie Hazlehurst and His Orchestra
Sources
- British Rock & Pop Awards 1979-1981
- Radio Times article from 16-24 February 1984 (shared by Henrique Reikdal)
- BFI record for the BBC broadcast
- BBC Genome record for the BBC Radio 1 broadcast
- BBC Genome record for Look North coverage
- BBC Genome record for more Look North coverage
- Entry on David Bowie’s awards wins
- Some (largely incorrect) information on a Wikipedia talk page
- The Jam Fan Page
- Shapers of the 80s
- Showaddywaddy.net (page no longer exists)
- Time Warp: February 25
- Niamhs Daddy