FOR MORE THAN 36 years, The Brit Awards have played annual host to the music industry’s biggest and brightest.
Every February since 1982, the artists behind the biggest tracks and albums of the year have battled it out for a Brit, and every year, the viewing public have crossed their fingers for a moment which will go down in Brit history.
At the height of the Britpop era in the mid-90s, you could be guaranteed a watershed moment with the likes of Liam Gallagher, Damon Albarn and Robbie Williams trading insults from the podium, but the years that followed didn’t disappoint either.
Let’s take a look at just a handful of the most memorable Brit moments of the last 25 years.
1. Oasis slagging Blur.
Remember when Oasis scooped three Brit Awards back in 1996, and used their acceptance speech to rip it out of Blur’s Damon Albarn?
Who could forget the magic moment when Noel suddenly realised where Liam was going with his thank you speech?
2. Union Jack dress.
Let’s be honest, The Brit Awards and that Union Jack dress are practically synonymous at this stage.
Worn by Geri Halliwell at the 1997 ceremony, the gúna, which was reportedly crafted from a tea towel by the woman herself, grabbed headlines all over the world in the days that followed.
And let’s not forget the moment she revived it for the Return of the Spice Girls tour back in 2007.
3. Jarvis storming the stage.
The last thing anyone expected to see during Michael Jackson’s performance of The Earth Song at the 1997 award show was an impromptu appearance from Pulp frontman, Jarvis Cocker.
But saw him, we did.
After finding himself unsettled by Jackson’s ‘Jesus routine’, the Common People singer rushed the stage, wandered around looking vaguely bemused before eventually getting chased off by security in a scene that wouldn’t have looked amiss in a Benny Hill sketch.
4. Robbie Williams challenging Liam Gallagher.
Bizarre and all as it may seem today, the dawn of the new millennium saw a serious feud manifest between Liam Gallagher and Robbie Williams.
And the contempt ran so deep that the former Take That star took it upon himself to challenge the Oasis frontman to a few rounds in the ring while accepting an award at the 2000 Brit Awards.
5. Joss Stone’s bizarre accent.
Toes curled and heads disappeared behind cushions in homes around the UK and Ireland when Joss Stone rocked up at the 2007 Brit Awards with an accent which sounded nothing like her native British one.
Oh, and let’s not forget her attempt at a stand-up comedy routine.
6. Adele’s Someone Like You performance.
Pared back, raw with emotion and utterly captivating, Adele’s performance of Someone Like You in 2011 will go down in Brit Award history.
And the fact she choked back tears at the end? Yeah, just like the rest of the world.
7. Alex Turner’s (literal) mike drop.
Looking pretty nonplussed by their Album of the Year win, the Artic Monkey lads stood behind Alex as he rambled on about swamps, sludge and rock and roll.
And then came the mike drop.
8. Adele giving the finger.
The woman had just won Album of the Year, and was moments into her heartfelt speech when a mortified James Corden was forced to cut her off.
And then Adele went full-blown Adele on us.
9. When Harry had to have a wee.
While his One Direction bandmates took to the stage to accept one of the most coveted awards of the evening, Harry was in another wing of the building answering nature’s call.
And was then forced to provide an acceptance speech despite not knowing what he had actually won.
10. Madonna’s on-stage collapse.
It was 2015. It was mid-performance. And Madonna was sprawled across the stage.
Having gotten stuck in her cloak, the then 54-year-old found herself tumbling backwards down a set of steps before picking herself up, dusting herself up and carrying on like the champ she is.
