wednesday 25 february at the o2 live on

Transcription

WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY AT THE O2
LIVE ON
&
brits.co.uk #BRITS2015
CONTENTS
07 Chairman’s welcome
09 Our MasterCard message
11 On your table tonight
13 Join our social network
15 Prepared to party? Here’s how
17 Exclusive! Tracey Emin talks trophies
21 Let’s Get Ready for hosts Ant & Dec
25 It all began at The BRITs launch 2015
31 Who’s up for what? Nominations revealed
Our congratulations to all nominees.
TONIGHT’S PERFORMERS &
MASTERCARD BRITISH ALBUM
OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
From your friends at iTunes.
34-51 Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Royal Blood,
Alt-J & George Ezra
53-59
Take That, Taylor Swift,
Paloma Faith & Madonna
61-65 Brilliant BRITs moments remembered
THE 2015 NOMINEES
67 British Video
69 British Male
71 British Female
73 British Group
75 British Breakthrough Act
76 British Single
79 All the world’s a stage – who’ll
scoop the Global Success Award?
83 International Male
85 International Female
87 International Group
89 British Producer
Celebrate this year’s nominees and winners at
itunes.com/brits
93 Hats off to Critics’ Choice James Bay
MORE...
Pharrell Williams - The BRIT Awards 2014
jmenternational.com
97 BRITs Week – Live and gigging
99 Remember the time? Last year’s show
103 Look out for
106 Inside the BRITs SPA
109 The BRIT School – bigger and better
112 The legendary BRITs Goodie Bag
115 Money On My Mind – The BRIT Trust
117 The BRIT Awards Voting Academy
118 Thanks for everything
03
Congratulations to
all the nominees.
Here’s to a great night.
Official download and streaming partner
Welcome to
The BRIT Awards 2015
Welcome to the year’s biggest night for
British music - The BRIT Awards 2015.
The acts recognised tonight have been part of a remarkable
year for British music, with the top ten best-selling artist
albums of 2014 made up entirely of home-grown talent,
many of whom also conquered charts the world over.
It’s been hailed the year of the British solo male with Ed
Sheeran, Sam Smith and George Ezra recognised in multiple
categories and James Bay scooping the Critics’ Choice Award,
but look beyond the headlines and you will see UK acts
flourishing across the board. Indeed, it’s hard to remember
a year in which the artistry and individuality that makes the
great British music scene so exhilarating has been better
represented, especially in the sheer variety of incredible
emerging talent such as Royal Blood, FKA twigs, Chvrches,
Jessie Ware and Clean Bandit. Add our equally diverse,
popular and acclaimed International nominees and it’s clear
that every single category will be extremely hard fought.
All because of you.
Congratulations
to all the winners tonight.
Congratulations and good luck to all our nominees.
I would like to thank this evening’s hosts - Ant and Dec
- who return to the BRITs stage 14 years after they first
fronted the show, as well as our stellar line up of presenters
handing out the Awards. On that note, I must also highlight
this year’s amazing trophy created by the wonderful
Tracey Emin CBE. Tracey joins a distinguished line of
British artists including Philip Treacy OBE, Dame Vivienne
Westwood, Sir Peter Blake and Damien Hirst, all of whom
have put their unique stamp on the coveted trophy.
The BRITs is a global celebration of UK music’s local heroes,
with fans across the world viewing, voting, sharing, liking,
and tweeting in their millions, so I would like to thank all of
our partners who make that possible. We are grateful to ITV,
our broadcaster of 22 years standing, for making the show
such an annual highlight across both their channels and their
digital network. Our fantastic social media partners - such
as YouTube who connect audiences around the world with
the programme via live feed and Twitter who provide the
platform for the vote in the British Video category - have
helped us to add a new dimension to the show and we are
excited to have them on board again. Other media partners
connecting fans with the show include Radio One who are
promoting the public vote for British Breakthrough and
Capital FM who, with Google Play, are supporting the British
Single vote. I would also like to thank MasterCard, who,
through their long-term sponsorship of the Awards, continue
to endorse the importance and appeal of British music.
This year’s live show is the culmination of a dazzling array
of events, with performances taking place across the
capital and in other major cities as part of BRITs week, not
to mention the brilliant ‘Passport’ gigs staged by War Child,
which works with artists to raise funds and awareness to
help children whose lives have been torn apart by war. Our
sincere gratitude goes to all those who have participated
in helping such an important cause. Of course, raising
funds and awareness for the BRIT Trust - of which War
Child is just one beneficiary alongside the BRIT School for
Performing Arts & Technology, who help to nurture the next
generation of outstanding artists and music professionals,
and Nordoff Robbins, a national charity dedicated to
transforming the lives of vulnerable children and adults
across the UK using music therapy - is a huge part of what
The BRITs is all about and I hope you will all continue to
support the work of these inspiring organisations.
Finally, please join me in applauding the incredible
team behind the scenes of the BRITs. From the
incomparable Maggie Crowe OBE and her team, to
Willo Perron, Creative Director, award-winning stage
designer Es Devlin, our Executive Producer Sally Wood,
the Voting Academy and everyone else whose efforts
make this evening possible, I would like to say thank
you on behalf of The BRITs committee and of all the
creators whose work you are helping to champion.
I hope you all have a very special
evening and enjoy the show.
Max Lousada
BRIT Awards Chairman
07
Acer recommends Windows.
Arctic Monkeys 2014 MasterCard Album of the Year winners.
jmenternational.com
MORE
Connecting
People to Priceless
Possibilities in Music
MasterCard is proud to be in its 17th year
as title sponsor of The BRIT Awards, the
longest-running music sponsorship in
Europe. Over the years, MasterCard has
rewarded music fans with the chance
to get closer to the artists they love
through exclusive memorabilia, amazing
duets and even music video remakes.
All of these Priceless opportunities were
tied together by the spirit of surprise.
Acer Touch & Type Range
Get in touch with the acer products at acer.co.uk
and
AcerUK
@AcerUK_Official
This year, MasterCard worked with Usher,
Paloma Faith, Mary J Blige and
The Kaiser Chiefs to connect their fans
to experiences they’ll remember forever.
From recording an exclusive track with
the Kaiser Chiefs to enjoying an exclusive
and intimate performance from Paloma
Faith in a bank vault, the fans were at the
centre of the action and what is more, they
knew nothing about what was to come.
Many lucky cardholders who purchased
their BRITs 2015 tickets with their
MasterCard® were also surprised with an
upgraded experience here this evening.
MasterCard will continue to reward
cardholders and connect them to
Priceless possibilities throughout the year.
To see some of our BRIT Awards surprises
in action and to find out about
intimate gigs with our artists visit:
PricelessSurprises.co.uk
#PricelessSurprises
09
Goldenvoice
congratulates
SAM SMITH
ED SHEERAN
ALT-J
FKA TWIGS
JESSIE WARE
JESS GLYNNE
CHARLIE XCX
ON THEIR
NOMINATIONS
PLUS 2015 BRITs
CRITICS’ CHOICE
NOMINEE
YEARS & YEARS
Ladies and
gentlemen,
welcome to The
BRIT Awards 2015!
We are delighted to have you here for
the music industry event of the year.
Prepare to be dazzled by the smorgasbord of onstage talent. And we hope the fare that we lay on
your table will, in equal measure, delight.
First up, we hope all is well with your seating
arrangements. For guests lucky enough to dine with
us this evening, we promise… you are in for a treat.
If you are seated side-of-stage in the Arena, in the
Sapphire Suites, or in the Diamond Dining zone, please
have a look on your table. Information is provided about
your dining experience. It shows how your service
and menus are tailored to your individual location.
Your pre-ordered drinks are already prepared for your table.
Soon, sixteen thousand champagne corks will be popping,
and partygoers like you will be guzzling 10,000 bottles of
beer and 4000 bottles of wine. Complimentary bottles of
Life Water are provided for each table, and in Diamond and
Arena dining, an icebox is provided too. Guests in the suites
will find all they need in the in-room bar. In all locations,
do ask your server, who is there to look after your needs!
Your dining area has the look of high-class dining,
and behind the scenes, fifty accomplished chefs
are toiling to ensure your food tastes tremendous
and is presented with an effervescent twist.
If you are eating in the Arena or in Diamond Dining, your
meal will be served on table settings designed with a rustic
or red flourish. Your meal is a fusion between the best of
British ingredients infused with Japanese flavours. The
starter includes a mouth-watering sawa wasabi, grown
in Dorset and Hampshire, and served with green tea
pannacotta, tosaka salad and salted edamame. The main
course, meanwhile, is a sumptuous twin beef wellington
treat; slow cooked rib wrapped in brioche dough alongside
slow roast fillet of west country beef served with Lincolnshire
savoy cabbage and celeriac puree. Vegetarians can enjoy
a woodland mushroom mille feuille, and wild mushroom
arrancini (that’s breadcrumb-coated fried rice balls to you
and me). And then The BRITs sherbet fountain is a trophy
for everyone – a classic lemon possett recipe dating from
the 1600s, alongside pistachio sponge, then topped with
candied lemon sherbets and a pillow of marshmallow
meringue - and yes, it is finished with a liquorice stick!
THE BRIT AWARDS 2015
ARENA AND DIAMOND DINING GUEST MENU
STARTER
Wasabi and green tea pannacotta, tosaka salad,
salted edamame, lotus root crisp, yuzu soy
dressing, smoked tofu and pickled daikon
MAIN
Wellington of slow cooked rib wrapped in brioche dough,
slow roast fillet of beef, savoy cabbage, celeriac puree
VEGETARIAN MAIN
Flat mushroom mille feuille, wild mushroom arrancini,
roulade of aubergine, shallot and red pepper
DESSERT
The BRITs sherbet fountain – pistachio cake,
lemon posset and Chantilly whirl, puffed meringue,
lemon sherbet dust and liquorice stick
Diamond Dining guests please note, you’ll receive
the show-time portion of your drinks order from your
server just before you head into the arena to take your
auditorium seats. Sit back, and savour your meal, and
then settle down to enjoy tonight’s spectacular show.
11
Watch
Paloma
Upstairs.
Stream Taylor
Downstairs.
Enjoy your favourite music with the UK’s fastest
widely available broadband for streaming.
BRITs.co.uk
STAY CONNECTED WITH THE BRIT AWARDS 2015
#BRITs2015
Once again, our digital agency Somethin’ Else
are creating engaging content across all of
The BRIT Awards’ official channels.
@BRITAwards
@BRITAwards
BRITAwards
BRITAwards
TheBRITAwards
The official BRIT Awards YouTube channel
youtube.com/thebritawards is packed with
performances, live sessions and exclusive interviews.
Stay in touch with events at the O2 as they happen, and use
hashtag “#BRITs2015” to have your say. Follow us. Be part of
the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Vine.”
There will be a LIVE Social Vote to identify the
Winner of British Artist Video of the Year – and
Live stream… both in their second year there
are more ways than ever to get involved.
Performances from tonight’s BRIT Awards
will be available on Google Play.
13
Cabled areas only. Subject to survey & credit checks. Best for streaming: up to 152Mb. Faster speeds, lower packet loss and lower latency
compared to major UK ISPs (Ofcom 2014) see www.virginmedia.com/bestforstreaming for details. Further legal stuff applies.
would like to congratulate
all 2015 BRIT Award nominees
Helter
Skelter, it’s
a belter!
The BRITs Aftershow
party is the ultimate
fairground ride…
It’s as British as The BRITs itself; all the
fun of the fair at the seaside.
If you’ve got a magic ticket, you’re in for the night of your lives.
When the party on stage is over, head over to the Official BRIT
Awards aftershow party – just follow the signs. Themed this year
around a traditional seaside resort, we think you’ll go loop-deloop for the spectacular setting; you’re in for a wonderful ride.
Roll up, roll up, ladies and gents for the end-ofthe pier action; a dreamlike picture postcard
venue with one sole aim – to have fun.
Yes, all your favourite elements of BRITs aftershows gone by are
here. The Helter Skelter will leave you dizzy with excitement.
There’s a big wheel from which you can admire the view. The
dodgems have long-since been a big BRITs tradition. Hold
tight! There’s a twist to your fun at the fairground tonight.
First up, there’s a higher class of entertainment. Expect
Critics’ Choice winner James Bay to take to the stage
in Diamond Dining. Other guest names are hushhush but whisper it – we’re expecting the best.
Nothing’s quite what it seems at our sideshows slung amid our
faded grandeur. Tarot readers and street entertainers are dotted
amongst the picket fences. Make some friends until the end.
Play Rebel Bingo to win big at The BRITs, or one of six
traditional fairground games. And raise a smile for
the Wish You Were Here BRITs photobooth. Pucker
up and take the chance to ‘kiss me quick’!
Trophy styled by Tracey Emin
If the sound of music blaring above the dodgems doesn’t
make you feel nostalgic, go back to the glitterball era
by ending the evening on the dancefloor courtesy of
our out-and-out disco. As well as DJ Johnny Russell,
do we spy guest DJs on those wheels of steel?
The BRITs aftershow party is a haven of happiness in the chill
wind of Greenwich. Expect famous faces to pop in and out as
they head to the ITV BRITs Aftershow party TV studio, hosted by
Laura Whitmore plus Rickie and Melvin, which is situated inside.
The studio is the place to be, says Laura. “One year, I remember
interviewing Rihanna, Taylor Swift would walk in, Nile Rodgers
was walking around taking pictures… expect the unexpected!”
Consider yourselves warned!
15
“Harry
Styles
collects
my work!”
Words: Helen Lamont
jmenternational.com
Music stars snap
up Tracey Emin’s
iconic artworks – but
who can win her
one‑of‑a‑kind BRIT?
The good lady Britannia has had a
makeover. Renowned artist Tracey Emin is
responsible for the BRIT statuette’s striking
new look, and her fans – if they are lucky
enough to win one – are sure to love it.
Ever since she made her name as the
enfant terrible of the BritArt movement,
Emin has been able to count the music
industry’s biggest names among her
devotees. But who might they be?
“Ooh, tons and tons of really amazing
musicians, different generations of people
from David Bowie to Madonna and Elton …
“…Oh, and George has lots of stuff…”
“…Even young people; Harry
Styles collects my work.
“…A long list of astro superstars. It’s fantastic”!
No wonder, then, that The BRITs invited the
51 year-old Croydon native to become the
latest iconic artist to style the BRIT trophy,
Discover a whole new
world of fitness.
2015fit
findyour fit
In the walk to work, at the weight room or in the last mile.
Somewhere between first tries and finish lines.
Pillow fights and pushing limits. That’s where you find fitness.
Seek it. Crave it. Live it
in the wake of successes by Philip Treacy,
Damien Hirst, Sir Peter Blake and Dame
Vivienne Westwood. And Emin has excelled.
She reveals, “[It] is very streamlined and
elegant, quite tiny as well. The award
will be pink, and I’ve made a rosette
[which] looks slightly shield-ish, but also
like a pair of wings. It looks feminine.“
It seems seeing the finished product for
the first time brought a sense of relief.
“When I was asked I didn’t think I’d be able
to fit it in. I’m really busy, it’s crazy, and
I didn’t want to do it half-heartedly”.
Certainly Tracey’s 2015 diary sees her
undertake major shows in Hong Hong,
Austria and Korea, as well as a high
profile sculpture commission in the
New South Wales capital Sydney.
There are parallels to be drawn between
working at the highest levels in art and
being an ambassador in the music world.
www.fitbit.com
“Well, when you’re on an international
level, you can’t just keep working at home,
because home gets smaller and smaller as
your audience keeps getting bigger.” Even
so, she says, there’s no place like Blighty.
“I’ve also done a poster for the London 2012
Paralympic Games and now I remember – I’ve
done quite a few British things actually. I think
its something very special being British.”
No wonder it was vital to get this
particular commission exactly right.
“It’s not just time consuming – it’s all
consuming. You don’t just want to decorate it,
you want to make it something really Traceyish, that is special for the people receiving it.”
The moment is just as special to the artist
herself: “It’s good because it’s like the art
and music worlds fitting together. There are
massive crossovers. I think especially with
my generation of artists back in the 90s,
along with BritArt came Britpop, Jarvis and
Blur. Art goes into different worlds and has
different meanings to different people.”
Emin has plundered her past aesthetic
to produce the award, saying “In style
it is more like a show I would have
done a few years ago, because it’s
got patchwork and sewing on it”.
But there is also a nod to her latest acclaimed
show The Last Great Adventure Is You
at London’s White Cube gallery, which
blocked nearby road when fans showed
up in their thousands. The heartfelt script
which spiders across Britannia’s pink
skin has echoes of that recent work.
Says Tracey, “I wrote, like, a paragraph.
Painted all the way down the trophy. It says
‘congratulations on your talent, on your life,
on everything you give to others, thank you‘.”
Of course The BRITs, and the
recipients of the unique and precious
awards would reciprocate. Right
back at you, Tracey. Thank you.
19
Wreck
the mic
Let’s get ready for the return
of two of The BRITs’
best-ever presenters!
Says Helen Lamont
The duo (or should that be
twosome?) first attended the
show in 1995. They were cruelly
pipped to the post in the British
Newcomer category by some
young upstarts named Oasis.
They then MC’d the event –
albeit nervously – six years later.
Now with their first (and
amazingly only!) number one
under their belt – a rerecording
of the cult hit Let’s Get Ready
To Rhumble which topped the
chart a couple of years ago – they
are back and ready to “roll with it”
amongst the music industry’s elite.
In 2015 they will rule the roost
at the event once more. “We’re
really excited to be hosting The
BRITs again,“ they said, probably in
unison. “It is undoubtedly the biggest
night in the British music calendar.”
Still Messers McPartlin and Donnelly
have always known how to do things in
style. In 1995, they arrived at London Earls’
Court venue in an Ice Cream Van.
Shudders Ant, “What the record company
didn’t realise was it was old and kept
breaking down. We arrived late. It didn’t make
any stops and there was no ice cream…”
Dec continues, “everybody had already gone
into the Awards so we just climbed out, pretty
embarrassed and quite ashamed in fact”!
Where Music Lives
“Needless to say in 2015 we will not be
arriving in an ice cream van! Hot dog van
maybe? Going up in the world!”
Good luck to all nominees
jmenternational.com
It’s hard to imagine how the careers of the
nations’ favourite Geordie fellas could get
any more stellar. After all Ant & Dec have been
at the top of their game for two decades.
The two have won an astounding 27 National
Television Awards to date, including fourteen
consecutive gongs for Most Popular Entertainment
Presenter. There are multiple BAFTAs and British
Comedy Awards – and thanks to a string of
popular programmes – from Byker Grove, CD:UK
and Pop Idol to Saturday Night Takeaway, I’m
A Celeb and Britain’s Got Talent, some would
say the endless goodwill of the nation.
Trophy Styled by Tracey Emin
21
LEGENDS
SUPERSTARS
NEXT BIG THING
66 nominees
13 awards
One unforgettable night
jmenternational.com
Congratulations to all nominees at
The BRIT Awards 2015, from everyone at The O2
But the last time they took on the roles
of compere on The BRITs’ stage they were
still at the fledgling stage of their careers.
Says Dec, “We don’t actually remember
too much about it in 2001, we were
so nervous. The biggest night in the
music industry calendar! I remember
Ant hugging Eminem…”
“Yeah,” says Ant, “he won an award and
I was the first person he saw on stage
and he gave me a massive rapper
hug… Coldplay, brilliant… The rest I
don’t really remember. This time we’ve
decided to enjoy it and have fun.”
Surprisingly the pair continue to suffer
from pre-show butterflies despite all
their experience of live televison.
Says Dec: “We’re still nervous on the night
[but] it was proper dry mouth last time.”
And Ant nods, “I don’t think we will be
in a state of panic. We’ve been around
the block and…” suddenly a brainwave
hits. “I say we go to the pub first!
Always good for a loosener, innit!”
Too many looseners however and they
could just about be persuaded to break
into the dance routine for Let’s Get
Ready To Rhumble. Perhaps. There’s no
better place to spring out the number
one hits after all. Our duo are justifiably
proud of their chart success, albeit
nineteen years later than hoped.
“The only advice we could give to any of
the BRITs nominees,” says Dec, “is to be
patient, be prepared to wait nineteen
years for your record to top the singles
chart. You know just hang in there –
eventually your time will come”.
Ant agrees, “Eventually the country will
take pity on you and buy it and get it to
number one”. He pauses. “We don’t even
mind that you bought it ironically.”
Says Dec: “We’re still number one artists
so who’s laughing now?” And just before
they collapse in a fit of giggles they have a
rejoinder to a nineties chart contemporaryturned Hollywood actor. Ant chuckles,
“Yeah, up yours Sean Maguire”!
Anyhow. Apart from Ant’s “nice white briefs”
and Dec’s plan to put his best foot forward
“I always put on my right shoe before my
left” there are no pre-show rituals to speak
of but there is a recipe for success on the
night. “We try to span the generations
with our shows, make programmes that
are a shared viewing experience,” says
Dec. “We want kids and grandparents
to sit down and enjoy them together. If
there’s something I’d feel uncomfortable
having my nieces and nephews watching
or hearing we shouldn’t be doing it”.
We can give it a try. (He pauses) It
might be ours but… who cares.
Ant: Well, as long as it’s someone’s,
it’ll be remembered.
Dec: And if we have to sacrifice our careers
for this BRITs to be remembered - Ant
is prepared to sacrifice his career.
Ant: That’s right, folks.
Bless. All in the name of entertainment.
And with a cheeky grin and knowing
smile, the slightly shorter one continues:
“I mean I’ll work again, that’s a given.”
“But this lad…”
”…I’m not so sure.”
That’s all very well, but what do you do
on the night, we wonder, if the great
and the good of the record industry
get a bit lairy? Our hosts shrug.
Dec: You know, if people get a little out of
hand, what do we do…? I think we’ll just go
with it. (Thinks) That’s what we expect from
The BRITs, right? I think we should just see.
Ant: But if they start talking loads
of crap we’ll get them off, ha ha!
Dec: Yeah, but lets see what happens… let’s
see how much rubbish they can talk first.
He looks at his sidekick with glee.
Dec: In fact, let’s see if we can end a
few careers here! That’ll be fun, right?
Best British Single Nominees 1995
“Let’s Get Ready to Rhumble”
Main pic: Hosts Ant and Dec at The 2001
BRIT Awards with Geri Halliwell
23
Launch
JAN 15, 2015 - IT V STUDIOS, LONDON
Jess Glynn
jmenternational.com
It’s the venue where some of the top TV
shows in the nation are made – and it’s the
venue where, once upon a time, returning
BRITs hosts Ant & Dec put together one
of the finest pop shows in British history,
CD:UK. Yes, Studio 2 at London’s ITV Studios
is steeped in entertainment history – and
yet more magic moments were made
on January 15th, when the great and
the good of the music industry came
together to celebrate the launch of the
35th annual BRITs: The BRIT Awards 2015.
“There’s no place I’d rather be…” trilled Jess Glynne
over the pumping beats of classical fusion group
Clean Bandit, and she seemed to speak for the
room as she introduced The BRITs’ launch show
with its first musical numbers. Preceded by a blast
of the band’s latest hit Real Love, and bathed in
pools of first red, then petrol blue lights, it buoyed
the crowd of lucky BRIT School students who
bounced in time with the tune in the audience pit
and brought the house down with their cheers!
Host Reggie Yates had plenty to do, with a
full complement of nominations shortlists
to announce, a raft of up-and-coming live
bands to wrestle into the chock-a-block
timeframe and excited guests to interview.
Not long after Clean Bandit cleared the stage,
Jessie Ware bounded on, ready to deliver
You & I (Forever) from the album Tough Love.
25
thE biGGESt artiStS
thE biGGESt SonGS
63 t r ac k s i n c lu d i n g
Ed ShEEran / Sam Smith
G E o r G E E z r a / Pa l o m a Fa i t h
onE dirEction / John lEGEnd
& o l ly m u r S
i n c lu d e s a b o n u s d i s c o f p r e v i o u s
b r i t awa r d w i n n e r s f e at u r i n g
QuEEn / daFt Punk /
E m i l E S a n d É / ta k E t h at
thE WhitE StriPES
& k at y P E r r y
Album out now
a l s o ava i l a b l e a s a d i g i ta l d o w n l o a d
TROPHY STYLED BY TRACEY EMIN
brits.co.uk
Top: Jess Glynn and Clean Bandit, right James Bay and Reggie Yates
jmenternational.com
What a voice! True, she could talk for England
during her little interviewette, complete
with a tale of LA overindulgence, but she
can - and does - sing for her country too.
Critics’ Choice winner James Bay bided his time
for his big moment - and then, silhouetted
against a backdrop of caramel coloured and
rose-tinted lights, he took to the stage. The
atmosphere changed as he delivered, troubadour
style, the pared-back single Let it Go. Maybe it
was the old-skool Johnny Depp-style headwear,
but there was no cooler man in the room.
James is still a little speechless about his
Critics’ Choice win and looks bashful when
the Tracey Emin original trophy is handed
over. “It’s amazing,” he blusters. “The best way
I can describe it is, it’s an enormous feeling.”
This is the evening when musicians come
down to soak up the atmosphere – but if
they’re lucky, they could go home the same
night with a BRITs nod. Charli XCX, up for British
Video is one such artist. Looking forward to the
big event, she says, “I’m really happy - I can’t
wait to go and party really hard!” Meanwhile
FKA twigs - who is nominated in the British
Breakthrough and British Female categories tells Reggie, “ It’s really exciting and I feel really
honoured to be there”. And we’re left with no
confusion as to how Clean Bandit, who could
potentially go home with British Group and
#BRITs2015
27
British Single, have taken the news.
They’re “bouncy and hysterical”.
Much like the rest of the room!
Talk turns to the big event once
more and while the hosts of
The BRITs’ ITV2 rollover show Laura
Whitmore and “roughnecks” Rickie
and Melvin consider who they
think should be the big winners.
Says Laura, “Sam Smith deserves
an award, last year people didn’t
know who he was and this
year he’s leading the way”.
For more information visit garmin.com/virb
*Device will withstand incidental exposure to water of up to one meter of depth
for 30 minutes. Optional dive case increases waterproof rating to 50 meters.
© 2015 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
VIRB 1080p HD Action Camera with GPS
®
jmenternational.com
VIRB Elite is designed for true life. HD recording yes, but it’s also more durable,
more waterproof* and with more battery power for all the places life takes you.
Main pic: FKA twigs
Life. Camera. Action.
While the Kiss FM DJs, newcomers
to the role, are torn between
Sam, Duke Dumont and Ed
Sheeran. Rickie decides: “It’s
gotta be Ed. We’ve known
him from the early days…
Top left clockwise: Laura Whitmore, Rickie and Melvin,
Charli XCX, FKA Twigs and Reggie Yates.
While Melvin agrees, “Yeah. Ed’s
great, he’s such a down-to-earth,
humble guy and he makes great
music”. We wonder how he’ll
get on not only in the awards
but in the madhouse that is The
BRITs’ aftershow studio? Everyone
needs to steel their nerves and
get ready! Says Ms Whitmore;
“We want it a little bit crazy.
Everything that we rehearse, throw
it out the window. There’s a few
drinks going around. It’s a little
bit crazy but it’s a lot of fun”.
As final preparations take place
backstage for tonight’s big show,
we’ll soon know if any of the acts
who appeared at the BRIT launch –
or any artists hotly tipped by their
peers – will emerge triumphant.
One thing we can expect are gaspinducing performances and mustsee moments, and back in January,
the BRITs Are Coming ended with
just such an eye-popping sight.
As producers wound up the show
and Reggie said his farewells,
FKA twigs took to the stage to
demonstrate why she’s one of the
most talked-about artists in the
world at the moment. Surrounded
by shards of cerise light, her band
struck up the hypnotic first bars
of the single Hide. Her powerful
and trance-like performance was
hugely atmospheric, morphing into
second track Pendulum like Kate
Bush awash with tribal rhythms,
her backing dancers writhing
disjointedly as the audience
watched open–mouthed.
Expect more must-see moments
this evening. And welcome.
This is The BRIT Awards.
29
Mc B
T
Take
M
You
e At
u s te
ha t
Six
K asa
5S
O ll y
ds
ec on
Of S
umm
bian
er
Murs
Sam
A ll T
J
d
W
es s ie
ime
Smi t
Who’s Up
For What?
h
Low
The BRITs’ nomination shortlists
provide the perfect snapshot of
who’s trending and who’s most
talked about in music today…
a re
would like to thank all the
artists and labels that supported
our live events in 2014.
@hmvtweets
home of entertainment
Jessie Ware
jmenternational.com
#hmvlive
Its hugs all round at The BRIT
Awards this evening.
Jessie Ware, nominated in the British Female
category, says that being part of the elite
gang shortlisted to win one of the prestigious
music industry trophies, is “reassuring” as an
artist; “like you’re doing something right”.
“It’s like a big old hug.”
There are thirteen cherished BRIT Awards up
for grabs at this year’s event, so there’s a lot of
love to go around. Each is designed by Tracey
Emin and features a filigree “thank you” message
written across Britannia’s chest. Two have already
been earmarked for their owners – Critics’
Choice winner James Bay received his trophy at
January’s BRITs Are Coming launch, and British
Producer Paul Epworth automatically scoops
his statuette after being named Producer Of
The Year at the Music Producer’s Guild Awards.
The final eleven are the subject of much
speculation. Who will win a haul of
heavyweight trophies this fine night?
Sam Smith leads the shortlists with five
nominations. The 22 year-old has had a
phenomenal year at home and abroad
thanks to his debut album In The Lonely Hour
and hopes to heave home as many of the
weighty wonders as he can. He is nominated
for every category he is eligible to complete
*Standard network rates apply.
31
in, repeating a feat previously managed by
Robbie Williams and Craig David – but how
many will he take home on the night?
Ed Sheeran and George Ezra also find themselves
in a strong position, with four nominations
apiece, so its fair to say that, for blue-eyed
soul boys, it’s a good year all round. These
are nominations numbered five to eight
for Mr Sheeran. He’s previously scooped
two nods from four nominations, for British
Breakthrough and British Male in 2012.
It’s worth remembering that there is no
formal shortlist for the BRITs Global Success
Award, so a number of acts – not limited to
the well-travelled Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran,
One Direction and Calvin Harris – may add
a bonus gong to their tally with that.
Newbie Rockers Royal Blood are up for three, but
otherwise, the field is wide open, and established
acts are equalled in number by the freshest
of faces. Nine acts are up for the nominations
double while the same tally of homegrown
artists attends with just a single hope. With
just three international categories, all overseas
acts – even Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams - must
content themselves with just one nod apiece.
would like to congratulate all
tonight’s nominees and thank
everyone for their continued support.
home of entertainment since 1921
@hmvtweets
*Standard network rates apply.
Historically, Damon Albarn and Coldplay are the
most successful acts here. Albarn is recognised
in the British Solo Male category. He’s previously
been nominated seventeen times with Blur,
with five wins included, plus nine nominations
with Gorillaz and one as British Producer.
Coldplay, meanwhile, have had 21 previous
nominations including a massive raft of
eight wins, most recently the 2012 British
Group and 2013 Live Act awards. They
are nominated here in British Group.
The current trend for collaborations continues,
particularly in the categories of British Single
and British Artist Video Of The Year. To clarify
it is always the main artist, not the featured
artist, who is eligible for the win on the back of
those hits – so spare a thought for Jess Glynne,
mentioned twice alongside Route 94 for My Love
and once alongside Clean Bandit on Rather Be,
who steps aside for her hitmaking chums, as
does Jax Jones on Duke Dumont’s
I Got U. American Bruno Mars, meanwhile, gets
a mention for the hit Uptown Funk because
the BRIT nomination goes to British-born
main-billed collaborator Mark Ronson.
The BRIT Awards nominations shortlists
are decided, in whole or in part, by the
thousand-strong BRIT Awards voting panel.
Three categories call on the public to cast
the deciding vote, via The BRITs’ trusted
social media partner channels. For rules in
each category please see category footnotes
specific to each award. Whatever happens,
you can be sure the strictest checks are in
place to ensure the right winner is chosen.
But who will be celebrating hardest in 2015?
The Full 2015
Nominations List!
BRITISH MALE SOLO ARTIST
Damon Albarn Parlophone, Warner Music
Ed Sheeran Asylum, Warner Music
George Ezra Columbia, Sony Music
Paolo Nutini Atlantic, Warner Music
Sam Smith Capitol, Universal Music
BRITISH FEMALE SOLO ARTIST
Ella Henderson Syco Music, Sony Music
FKA Twigs Young Turks Recordings, XL Beggars
Jessie Ware Island/PMR, Universal Music
Lily Allen Parlophone, Warner Music
Paloma Faith RCA, Sony Music
MASTERCARD BRITISH
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Supported by The Sun Bizarre Column.
Alt-J This Is All Yours
Infectious Music, BMG Rights
Ed Sheeran X
Asylum, Warner Music
George Ezra Wanted On Voyage
Columbia, Sony Music
Royal Blood Royal Blood
Warner Bros, Warner Music
Sam Smith In The Lonely Hour
Capitol, Universal Music
BRITISH PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
BRITISH GROUP
Alt-J Infectious Music, BMG Rights
Clean Bandit Atlantic, Warner Music
Coldplay Parlophone, Warner Music
One Direction Syco Music, Sony Music
Royal Blood Warner Bros, Warner Music
In association with The MPG Awards.
Identified by a panel overseen by MPG.
Alison Goldfrapp & Will Gregory
Flood
Jake Gosling
Paul Epworth (Winner)
BRITISH BREAKTHROUGH ACT
BRITISH ARTIST VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Top 5 selected by Voting Academy. Winner identified
by public vote promoted by brits.co.uk and BBC Radio 1.
Top 10 identified by YouTube views. Social vote from
Nominations Launch to identify shortlist of 5 closing 20th
February. Winner identified during live social vote during
TV broadcast on 25th February.
Chvrches Virgin EMI, Universal Music
FKA Twigs Young Turks Recordings, XL Beggars
George Ezra Columbia, Sony Music
Royal Blood Warner Bros, Warner Music
Sam Smith Capitol, Universal Music
Identified by a panel made up of media critics.
James Bay (Winner)
Years & Years
Charli XCX Boom Clap
Duke Dumont ft Jax Jones I Got U
CRITICS’ CHOICE
George the Poet
Calvin Harris Summer
Virgin EMI, Universal Music
Island, Universal Music
Polydor, Universal Music
BRITs GLOBAL SUCCESS AWARD
Identified by the international sales success of British
Acts who have released their album(s) in the calendar
year (2014). UK sales excluded.
BRITISH SINGLE
Top ten British singles based on overall sales and
streaming success in the calendar year are automatically
nominated. Supported by Capital FM & Google Play.
Calvin Harris Summer
Clean Bandit ft Jess Glynne Rather Be
Atlantic, Warner Music
Duke Dumont ft Jax Jones I Got U
Blasé Boys Club/Virgin EMI, Universal Music
Ed Sheeran Thinking Out Loud
Ella Henderson Ghost
Ed Sheeran Thinking Out Loud
Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars Uptown Funk
One Direction You and I
Syco Music, Sony Music
Rita Ora I Will Never Let You Down
Route 94 ft Jess Glynne My Love
Rinse Recordings/Virgin EMI, Universal Music
Sam Smith Stay With Me
Sigma Nobody to Love
3 Beat/AATW, Universal Music
INTERNATIONAL MALE SOLO ARTIST
Beck Virgin EMI, Universal Music
Hozier Island, Universal Music
Jack White XL Recordings, XL Beggars
John Legend Columbia, Sony Music
Pharrell Williams RCA, Sony Music
INTERNATIONAL FEMALE SOLO ARTIST
George Ezra Budapest
Beyoncé RCA, Sony Music
Lana Del Rey Polydor, Universal Music
Sia Monkey Puzzle/RCA, Sony Music
St Vincent Caroline, Universal Music
Taylor Swift Virgin EMI, Universal Music
Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars Uptown Funk
Route 94 ft Jess Glynne My Love
Sam Smith Stay With Me
Sigma Nobody to Love
INTERNATIONAL GROUP
5 Seconds of Summer Capitol, Universal Music
The Black Keys Nonesuch, Warner Music
First Aid Kit Columbia, Sony Music
Foo Fighters Columbia, Sony Music
The War On Drugs Secretly Canadian, Secretly Group
33
SAM SMITH
I N T H E L O N E LY H O U R
MASTERCARD BRITISH ALBUM OF THE YEAR NOMINEE
He says it was supposed to be a “Rihanna record”.
But going into the studio to record a debut record
gripped by the worst kind of heartache meant
the pop-headed singer looked deep inside to
his jazz core, and delivered something… more.
Released in May 2014, and still in the whirl of his
BRITs’ Critics’ Choice maelstrom, In The Lonely Hour
is many things. Million-selling, tick. Genrebusting, tick. But “sad,” mostly. Melancholy too.
“What’s special
about The BRIT
Awards is that, first
of all, it’s just such
an honour to get
a BRIT because of
the history of the
award… but also
I feel like The BRIT
Awards shows our
sense of humour, a
little bit, as British
people which I
really like.”
Sam Smith
Lyrically, Smith likens the collection to “a diary from
a lonely 21-year-old,” and explains his mindset
thus: “I fell in love with someone who didn’t love
me back, and it made me get into this head space
of, ‘Will I find a man to love? When will I find love?’”
It’s that heart-on-your-sleeve emotion that struck a
chord. Says Smith: “I personally have to believe that
what’s made this record so successful is the honesty.”
“I just have to make sure I’m just as
honest on my next one!”
The whole LP is a far cry from his previous outings,
featuring on Disclosure’s Oct 12 hit Latch and
Naughty Boy’s May 2013 chart-topper La La La. Both
tracks do appear on an In The Lonely Hour Deluxe
Edition. What all have in common, through, is the
voice – a voice which the enlisted raft of hitmaker
producers allow to shine through, no matter what.
The gospel-inspired Stay With Me is the
album’s biggest hit and most searing plea. It’s
simply produced by Jimmy Napes with Steve
Fitzmaurice, says Smith. “It was the demo
on the day we wrote the song and recorded,
really roughly, the vocal and everything.”
But creating chart-toppers was not at the
forefront of his mind. “We’re going to have four
singles, I think. I don’t want people to get bored.”
“I want to be a career artist. I like the idea of
my career going in a wave, [so] I don’t feel
pressure to follow up In The Lonely Hour.”
Still, he’s teased: “Already have so many
ideas flowing through my mind for
album 2. Brace yourselves… “
34
35
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR ARTISTS
UNIVERSAL MUSIC IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE ITS
NOMINATIONS FOR THE BRIT AWARDS 2015
SAM SMITH
BRITISH SINGLE ‘STAY WITH ME’
VIDEO OF THE YEAR ‘STAY WITH ME’
MASTERCARD ALBUM OF THE YEAR
JESSIE WARE
TAYLOR SWIFT
CHVRCHES
BECK
HOZIER
SAM SMITH ‘STAY WITH ME’
SIGMA ‘NOBODY TO LOVE’
ROUTE 94 FT. JESS GLYNNE ‘MY LOVE’
DUKE DUMONT FT. JAX JONES ‘I GOT U’
BRITISH SINGLE
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
LANA DEL REY
JAMES BAY - WINNER
CRITICS CHOICE
5 SECONDS OF SUMMER
INTERNATIONAL GROUP
ST. VINCENT
ED SHEERAN
X
If there’s one thing Ed Sheeran knows how
to multiply, it’s album sales. The unassuming
Suffolk musician released his second collection,
X, in June 2014. It spent its first eight weeks
atop the chart and has notched up UK sales
of more than 1.8 million to date; don’t even
get us started on the rest of the world.
A host of famous friends join him on the record;
production legend Rick Rubin, (with whom he
worked solidly for two months in LA) Benny Blanco,
Johnny McDaid and man-of-the-moment Pharrell
Williams among them. Williams helped announce
the arrival of the album with comeback track,
Sing, a surprisingly poppy blast of jazz-funk mixed
with a distinctly Muppet-like puppet. Sweet.
But then few doubt Sheeran’s ability to straddle
genres, mixing folk, R&B, and rap with pop
sensibilities and thunderstorm moods.
Lyrically clever and sonically on-the-ball, it
includes album opener One, second single
Don’t, (a sweary swipe at an unfaithful popstar
lover). The Man is a rap track in the style of The
Streets, while Afire Love, is about his grandfather’s
Alzheimers’ battle. Meanwhile Photograph, cowritten with Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid is the
track he felt was most commercially bankable.
The album’s predecessor, +, came out in 2011 so
X has been a while in the making. The newest
tracks, the “written in the shower” I’m a Mess and
UK No.1 Thinking Out Loud, were penned after
Sheeran embarked on a new relationship; he
describes the latter Jake Gosling-produced track
as his “walking down the aisle” song. The wait
has been worth it, says the now 24-year-old. “It’s
pretty much the most accurate narrative of the
last three years of my life, very up and down”.
“I was a weird little
ginger kid and I’ve
come out of it on top.
My view on it is God
looked down one day
and was like ‘f***ing
hell, you need some
help mate, here’s
a guitar…’
…Chuffed to be
nominated for
4 BRIT Awards.”
Ed Sheeran
“I’m so happy people have been enjoying
my album so much - great to hear that
it’s still the biggest seller of the year”.
As 2014 drew to a close, he had one thing left
that he wanted to achieve. “My goal is to have
the Christmas number one album. I’m going
to do it. I’m going to make sure it happens.” It
did. What a Christmas present he had.
38
39
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR ARTISTS
FOR THEIR 2015 BRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS
Charli XCX
Clean Bandit
BRITISH GROUP / BRITISH SINGLE
Coldplay
BRITISH GROUP
Damon Albarn
Ed Sheeran
BRITISH MALE SOLO ARTIST / BRITISH SINGLE / ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Lily Allen
Paolo Nutini
Royal Blood
BRITISH GROUP / BRITISH BREAKTHROUGH ACT / ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Black Keys
INTERNATIONAL GROUP
R O YA L B L O O D
R O YA L B L O O D
“ It’s lovely to be
nominated of course,
but for me we’ve
already won the
best award, which
is releasing our first
album and having
people buy it. To have
people listening to
your music is the best
reward you can get.”
There’s a lot to be said for the mantra Keep It
Simple, Stupid. So when Brighton-based Mike
Kerr and Ben Thatcher, who make up the giantslaying Royal Blood, entered the studio with
producer Tom Dalgety in the early part of 2013,
the recording process featured a distinct lack
of in-the-mix electronic whistles and bells. Yes
there was the odd bit of percussion on top of the
duo’s bass guitar and drum mix and yes, they’ve
managed to make those instruments rattle and
roar like the sort of soundwave you’d get from
a massive band. But says Kerr, “We’re a live band
first and foremost. When we’re in the studio we
take all those live elements with us. We don’t
add anything. No organs, flutes, whatever. Not
unless Ron Burgandy himself shows up”.
Buoyed by the preceding EP Out Of The Black, the
LP Royal Blood entered the chart at UK No.1, and in
doing so became the fastest-selling rock debut by
a British band since Noel Gallagher’s High Flying
Birds in 2011. Not bad for a band who, according
to Thatcher, “tricked themselves into writing the
album…three or four songs every other month”.
They’re credited with re-energising the whole
rock genre, although Kerr insists their “secret
sound” is accidental: “We just turned up and played
the songs and had a lot of fun and created this
mismatch of riffs and parts.” Those riffs and parts
have won them fans including the Arctic Monkeys’
Matt Helders, Jimmy Page and Howard Stern.
All that success means a year and a half of touring
has blocked out the band’s diary, so it will be a
long time before they find themselves in the
studio again. But hey – they’re happy in each
other’s company. They don’t need anyone else.
Says Kerr, “me and Ben have been writing music
together for so long, we have a good chemistry.
For someone to come along and get involved, it
would be like a three way relationship. Which,
you know, I’m all for. But not in this band”.
Ben Thatcher, Royal Blood
42
43
“ We’re absolutely thrilled to be
nominated for Album of the Year
and Best British Band this year. It’s
always an honour to be considered
for a BRIT alongside so many other
talented UK artists.”
Alt-J
A LT-J
T H IS IS ALL YOURS
Previously nominated in this category in 2013
for the trippy layerfest An Awesome Wave, Alt-J’s
song writing sees them make the Barclaycard
British Album shortlist once again for their second
collection, the September UK No.1 This Is All Yours.
Preceded by three singles – the sweeping Hunger
Of The Pine, the playlist-pleasing Left Hand Free
and lyrically in-you-face Every Other Freckle, it was
the Leeds-formed band’s first as a three-piece
following the departure of guitarist Gwil Sainsbury
in January 2014. Continuity of sound was provided,
with producer Charlie Andrew, who returned to
London’s Iguana Studios to reprise his role at the
helm. It did mean the band felt a renewed urgency
to create. Says singer/guitarist Joe Newman, “I felt
like things could fall apart quite quickly. He was
the glue that bound the band. We needed to start
writing. We needed to get back on the horse”.
“Hunger of The Pine (featuring an unexpected
Miley Cyrus 4x4 sample, fact fans) was a turning
point for us,” says drummer Thom Green. “We’ve
progressed as a band. We feel like different people.”
However, says Unger-Hamilton, “the dynamic
changed, we sort of reaffirmed our commitment
to being in the band. Starting it fresh”.
“But it didn’t feel too different this time around.
Joe will always put down several guitar
parts. I’ll put in several keyboard parts. We
flavour the tracks in a very complex way.”
Peppering the tracks with eastern flutes
and sleigh bells, giggles and references to
John Hurt, the result is what The Guardian
called “a beautifully challenging labyrinth
of sound”. Which is how the band like it.
“We have a band rule,” says Unger-Hamilton,
“which is, ‘don’t let how we’ll play it live
affect what we’re doing in the studio’.”
The finished sound, he believes, “more refined,
less rough around the edges,” and “mature”.
“We’ve grown up.”
46
47
George Ezra
Calvin Harris
Mark Ronson
Ella Henderson
One Direction
Paloma Faith
Beyonce
John Legend
Pharrell Williams
First Aid Kit
Foo Fighters
Rita Ora
Sia
Congratulations to our
Sony Music artists with 20
nominations for the BRIT
Awards 2015 and to Columbia
who lead the charge with
twelve nominations
GEORGE EZRA
W A N T E D O N V O YA G E
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, “To travel hopefully
is better than to arrive”. But newcomer George
Ezra combined both with the UK No.1 album
Wanted on Voyage, which on June 30 announced
his impressive entrance into the musical fray.
A daily Bristol to Clapham commute dampened
his creative spark so instead of recording so he
inter-railed around Europe; “I needed to go. I took
my guitar but didn’t do many gigs. I just filled up
my notebooks”. The resulting songs – filled with
bluesy, folksy, joy and sometimes glee - were
moulded at producer Cam Blackwood’s Voltaire
Road studios. “When you go back [to them] it’s
like someone handed you the stories; free words.”
After Did You Hear The Rain, the June-time single
Budapest was about a missed visit to that city, but
the 12 track double platinum collection flows. Ezra
says; “You can tell they all come from a similar place.
It’s got some travelling pace to it.” Meanwhile the
album’s title comes from an order scribbled on
voyage-bound Victorian luggage; “to show that
you wanted that item on your person during the
journey.” He embraced that idea. “I love the thought
of people travelling around listening to the album
and them wanting it to be part of their journey.”
“ Being nominated is to be
recognised and appreciated
for the energy and time
put into one body of
work. Which of course is
a huge compliment and
award enough for me!
Once released, your music
becomes something you
share with whoever cares to
share it with you, therefore
these nominations are a
celebration for all those
involved! Imagine that,
congratulations one and all.
Don’t go changing.”
George Ezra
But travel is rarely all good and at times the mood
mixes a musically upbeat soundtrack with a darker
twist. Darkness hides in the shadows and the
final track, Spectacular Arrival, teases the listener
that future work may be heavier that the rest.
“Soundwise,” he explains, “I wanted to marry
contemporary lyrics and productions
with old, unavoidable influences.”
“I try to mess around with fiction and fairytale, and be
a little bit silly.” Thankfully, his joyful abandon works.
Wanted on Voyage is, he says, “a good festival
album – perfect for the sun and lookwarm cider”.
And that summer nights cheer is no bad thing.
“The only thing you can ever ask for is that,
somehow, my music can fit into somebody’s
memory. If it can be the soundtrack to somebody’s
happy days then that would be amazing.”
He’s come a long way.
50
51
“ It’s been a great year
for British music so it’s
an honour to be invited
along to be part of
proceedings. Just to be
part of it is great.”
Mark Owen
“ I love the BRIT Awards.
It’s the No.1 music event
in the UK calendar
and it’s a massive
night for anyone
connected to music.”
Gary Barlow
“ My favourite moment of all
was probably when we did
Kidz. We went right down
the catwalk with dozens of
dancers with riot helmets and
shields – perfect for The BRITs!”
Howard Donald
53
“I am so thrilled with
my nomination
for International
Female Solo Artist.
Thank you fans
and The BRITs.”
Taylor Swift
55
Sony Music International Chairman Edgar Berger
congratulates Sony Music UK’s labels and artists
for achieving a total of 20 BRIT award nominations
across all categories, especially Columbia who lead
the pack with an incredible twelve nominations.
Best of luck!
”I’m delighted to receive my fourth BRIT nomination
this year. No one said it was going to be easy and
it certainly isn’t, but the most rewarding thing is
being acknowledged for your hard work. I would be
nothing without my fans and the people who have
kept me on the map for this long. So if I win I will
give it to them. Although I think they would have a
hard time splitting it between them...
There are so many!”
Paloma Faith
57
Ladies and gentlemen, you’re
not dreaming. Madonna has
revealed via a Tweet that she
will appear here on the O2 BRIT
Awards stage this evening. It’s
been twenty years since the star
last performed at the ceremony,
although she has since picked
up International Female
trophies in 2001 and 2006.
59
We are proud to support
with MasterCard
jmenternational.com
KANYE WEST
www.vitecvideocom.com
Advancing the quality and science of media production
Kanye West proved he was the man with the Midas touch as
everything on his BRITs stage in 2006 turned to shimmering gold.
Kanye, named Best International Male the same year, began his
medley bathed in red with classical strings for the intro before
Shirley Bassey’s sampled voice rang out for Diamonds From Sierra
Leone. The track quickly morphed into Gold Digger, a truly jawdropping spectacle backed by 77 sashaying and gold painted
dancers, who marched across the stage and along the walkway
suspended among the Earls’ Court audience members. By the time
the track changed to Touch The Sky and Kanye’s own energy levels
were super-high, the gold painted ladies had shimmied out of the
hall. Like Diamonds, though, the memory of their shimmering
presence will no doubt last forever.
63
jmenternational.com
RIHANNA
Rihanna brought down the house in 2011 with her
medley of must-listen hits including Umbrella backed by
a lightshow of lasers and The Klaxons. Newly named as
Best International Female she returned in 2012 with the
biggest chart song of that year, the Calvin Harris-produced
We Found Love (pictured). Sporting blonde corkscrew curls
and cool ghetto chic style, her performance began inside
an onstage Perspex cube amid a writhing mass of dancers
before breaking free, bouncing around against a backdrop
of splattering paint and frenetic dancers. The energetic
crescendo, heaving with joyful abandon, came in a riot of
colour and sound before all on stage collapsed as a skyful of
glitter fell to the ground.
61
Good luck and
congratulations to
all nominees.
From one award winner to another.
MARK RONSON
jmenternational.com
In 2008 Mark Ronson picked up The BRITs’ gong for British
Male Solo Artist and invited some famous friends to join him
on stage to perform. Adele, just starting out with her Critics’
Choice win provided vocals on Ronson’s cover of Coldplay’s
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face before Aussie singer Daniel
Merriweather joined him for a chorus of their Smiths tribute
Stop Me. It was Mark’s Amy Winehouse collaboration however,
which provided what is now our most treasured moment.
The late beehived singer joined a sixties styled Ronson amid
a honeycombed blaze of cinema-style bright yellow lights
and as the strings played and horn section blared, the room
cheered their wonderful version of Valerie, the Zutons hit they
made their own. Precious times.
65
BRITISH ARTIST VIDEO
OF THE YEAR
TOP TEN IDENTIFIED BY YOUTUBE VIEWS. SOCIAL VOTE TO IDENTIFY
SHORTLIST OF FIVE. WINNER IDENTIFIED VIA LIVE SOCIAL VOTE
DURING TV BROADCAST ON 25TH FEBRUARY.
SUPPORTED BY CAPITAL FM & GOOGLE PLAY.
C A LV I N H A R R I S
SUMMER
ONE DIRECTION
YO U A N D I
Everyone loves a good music
video. It can set a scene,
create a memory and tell a
story like no other genre. The
continuing rise of YouTube
and other VOD platforms
means that increasingly, it
is an integral backdrop to
the musical experience.
So the British Artist Video of the
Year category was launched last
year to reflect the importance
of the visuals that add so much
enjoyment and atmosphere.
ED SHEERAN
T H I N K I N G O U T LO U D
CHARLI XCX
BOOM CLAP
SAM SMITH
S TAY W I T H M E
R O U T E 94 f t J E S S G LY N N E
M Y LO V E
Voting began during The BRITs Are
Coming launch show and each
Friday since, one of ten longlisted
acts has been eliminated as
music fans vote for their favourite
act via Twitter. The ten British
artists who chalked up the
most YouTube views during the
calendar year 2014 make the list.
The vote is open to Twitter
users across the world and
the final outcome will not be
decided until Ant & Dec reveal
voting has closed towards the
end of the BRIT Awards show.
Tonight’s event will be streamed
worldwide, so no matter where
their location, afficianados
can affect the outcome right
up until the very last bell.
Please note it is always the
main listed act, rather than
any featured artist, who could
go home with a BRIT Award.
Only one track per artist is
considered per calendar year.
MARK RONSON ft BRUNO MARS
UPTOWN FUNK
R I TA O R A
I W I L L N E V E R L E T YO U
DOWN
Roc Nation, Sony Musica
DUKE DUMONT ft JAX JONES
I GOT U
SIGMA
N O B O DY T O LO V E
There is some crossover between
the British Video Artist shortlist
and the one for British Single.
Five acts – Sigma, Calvin Harris,
Duke Dumont ft. Jax Jones, Mark
Ronson ft. Bruno Mars and Route
94 ft Jess Glynne (phew) - have
‘done the double’ with hopes of
scooping both. Ed Sheeran and
Sam Smith could add this trophy
to their haul of respectively four
or five potential BRITs. And the
final three artists are pinning
their hopes on this one being
their big triumph. For Charli XCX,
Rita Ora and One Direction, who
count last year’s British Video
gong among their growing
collection, it all rests on this.
One Direction went to Somerset
to shoot the end-of-Clevedon-Pier
promo for You & I. The fourth track
from Midnight Memories, it sees
them freeze-frame and morph
into each other on the boardwalk,
all in the chill seaside wind.
The Voice judge Rita Ora made
UK No. 1 with the Calvin Harrispenned I Will Never Let You Down
in April. The video was a stylised
monochrome versus colour
energy burst with 80s inspired
fashion. And Harris appears on
the list himself with Summer
and its ‘slice of sunshine’ promo.
The chart-topper wins the prize
for best famous face cameo
with Jason Statham behind the
wheel in a desert drag race.
If it’s a feel good vibe you’re
after other artists also raised
temperatures with their promos.
Sigma went to South Africa to
shoot the road-trip-style promo
for Nobody To Love and the March
No. 1 for Duke Dumont provided
the perfect snapshot of a tropical
timeout in Thailand. Route 94,
meanwhile, used heat seeking
infrared for their raw and ready
take clubland romance, resulting
in an eerie but eye-catching
promo that got plenty hot under
the collar with its innovation.
Uptown Funk’s promo features
Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars, and
Mars’s Hooligan sidekicks in a
dance-tastic tongue-in-cheek,
Damon Runyon-esque cityscape.
It’s well worth watching. While
also boasting a cinematic feel is
the Charli XCX promo for Boom
Clap, showing the singer hanging
out in Amsterdam, edited together
with tear jerking moments from
teen flick The Fault In Our Stars.
Of course, Sam Smith and Ed
Sheeran also make an appearance.
Smith walks the streets of London
in the Stay With Me promo, mulling
over his romantic woes while
Sheeran is blissfully sharing a
loved-up moment with ballroom
dance partner Brittany Cherry in
Thinking Out Loud. Who knew he
could dance like that? Well, we all
do now – in the sixteen hours after
it first launched on YouTube, the
video notched up two million hits.
67
Parlophone, Warner Music
ED SHEERAN
GEORGE EZRA
PA O LO N U T I N I
SAM SMITH
DAMON ALBARN
BRITISH MALE
Singer? Check. Songwriter? Check. Tender
album full of heartfelt hits? The British Male
Solo Artist shortlist is for you. The artists here
range from the fledgling to the full-on Britpop
legend. And all of them have excelled here.
Damon Albarn’s career is longer than George Ezra’s
lifetime. Having already picked up the Outstanding
Contribution award with Blur and yet more gongs
with the Jamie Hewlitt collaboration Gorillaz, this
is his first nod – and his first studio album – as a
solo star. Everyday Robots is Leytonstone-born
Albarn’s “most personal record” and features guest
spots from Brian Eno and Natasha Khan.
New albums by Gorillaz and The Good The Bad
and McQueen are slated for release in 2016. In the
meantime Albarn has also written the score for a
new West End musical, a reinterpretation of Alice In
Wonderland, or should we say, Wonder.land to you.
Paisley-born Paolo Nutini is nominated on the strength
of his 2014 LP Caustic Love, which spent three weeks
at UK No.1 upon its release in April 14. It is the follow
up to These Streets (2006) and Sunny Side Up (2009) for
the Scottish Italian. The single Scream (Funk My Life
Up), released in January 14, was the biggest hit from
the record while One Day had the most talked-about
video, starring Joanna Lumley. Nutini had a great start
to 2015, playing a string of live dates across the UK,
rescheduled from last October due to tonsillitis. He’s
scheduled to play festival dates including Isle of Wight.
Sam Smith, of course, has had a remarkable year. Born
in London and brought up in Cambridgeshire’s Great
Chishill where he was a member of the junior operatic
society, he returned to the capital aged 18 to fund his
music industry dream, including opening for Adele in
2008. He has a jazz-tinged, torch song diva style and the
lyrics on debut album In The Lonely Hour centre on his
experience of unrequited love as a gay man. Meanwhile
Mary J Blige and Ed Sheeran are keen to collaborate with
him while Beyoncé purred, “your voice is like butter”.
George Ezra’s career, too, has hit the ground running.
The Wanted On Voyage creator is one year younger than
Smith at age 21. With a bluesy voice and songwriting
depth older than his years, he had made showbiz friends
including Macauley Culkin, whose home he gatecrashed
on the Inter-railling trip that inspired single Budapest and
more. He and Smith played double-header US shows last
month and his February 2015 tour sold out in 10 minutes.
The genre-defying Ed Sheeran, who already has two
BRITs under his belt (British Breakthrough and British
Solo Male in 2012 on the back of debut album +)
completes our list. The Suffolk-raised 23 year-old’s
offering X (pronounced Multiply) was the UK’s biggestselling album of 2014. It sold 1.2 million copies and
topped the chart for twelve weeks. As well as his own
tracks, Sheeran has written for Taylor Swift and One
Direction, Rixton, Jessie Ware, Rudimental, Usher and
more. He plays three nights at Wembley Stadium in July
2015 as part of his X tour; his biggest shows to date.
69
FKA T WIGS
Young Turks Recordings, XL Beggars
Paloma Faithvvv
J E S S I E WA R E
L I LY A L L E N
PA LO M A FA I T H
Island/PMR, Universal Music
ELLA HENDERSON
BRITISH FEMALE
“If you want something done,” the old adage
goes, “ask a busy woman”. The shortlisted acts
in the category of British Female Solo Artist
certainly have a lot on their plate. From acts
showcasing debut albums to established artists,
just listen. This is the sound of The BRITs 2015.
Ella Henderson made her name on The X Factor series
nine in 2012. Hailed as the most talented performer
host Dermot O’Leary had ever seen on the show, she
hasn’t stood still since. Now nineteen years old, she
released her debut album Chapter One in October
2014; it topped the chart. First single Ghost, co-written
with Ryan Tedder, also made UK No.1 while follow-ups
Glow and Yours helped grow her reputation worldwide.
Henderson supports Take That on their Spring 2015 tour.
FKA twigs is our second debutante. Otherwise known
as Tahliah Barnett, the 26-year-old released her debut
album LP1 in August 2014. A former dancer, she appeared
alongside Kylie Minogue, Ed Sheeran and even in the
Jessie J video Price Tag. FKA twigs released her first EP1
on December 2012, then a single, Water Me, and second
mini-showcase, EP2, in September 2013. Described as
“sexually assertive” and “a subversion of R&B,” she’s since
released three further tracks: FKA x inc, Two Weeks, and
Pendulum. twigs ended 2014 on her first world tour.
Jessie Ware, Lily Allen and Paloma Faith return to this
category after previous nominations. Jessie Ware and
Paloma Faith are hoping to scoop the prize they both
missed out on 2013 (and, for Faith also in 2011) while Lily
Allen, also nominated in 2007, triumphed in 2010 on the
back of her second album It’s Not Me before embarking
on a hiatus. She made her ‘mumback’ with Somewhere
Only We Know, the Keane track, which made UK No. 1
after appearing in a John Lewis advert. The subsequent
singles including Hard Out Here and Air Balloon appear
on her third studio album, May 2014’s UK No. 1 Sheezus.
Jesse Ware’s second album Tough Love was released in
October 2013. It includes the title track single, the Ed
Sheeran co-write Say You Love Me, You & I (Forever) and
Champagne Kisses. A former journalist, Ware has been
getting rave reviews since her debut Devotion in 2012.
Meanwhile Paloma Faith’s third collection, hot on the
heels of Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful
(2009) and Fall to Grace (2012) is March’s platinum-selling
A Perfect Contradiction. It includes the Pharrell Williams
produced single Can’t Rely On You plus Only Love Can
Hurt Like This, and Trouble. The Stoke Newington singer’s
most successful to date, it received a new lease of life
when a repackaged version, The Outsider’s Edition,
came out in November 2014 featuring five additional
tracks including Ready For The Good Life. When she’s
not working on her parallel acting career, Paloma Faith
is usually touring. She continues with seven forest
dates, as well as festivals, scheduled for summer.
71
ALT-J
Infectious Music, BMG Rights
BRITISH GROUP
In a year where the media headlines have
mostly noticed the great commercial
success of solo artists, it takes something
special to stand out as a group.
CO L D P L AY
tic, Warner Music
ONE DIRECTION
R OYA L B LO O D
CLEAN BANDIT
But my goodness, look at the names on this shortlist.
Two newly-launched acts – Clean Bandit and Royal
Blood – have created a tremendous buzz of excitement
around them. They sit alongside Alt-J, one of the most
innovative acts of our era, plus Coldplay and One Direction;
both arena-filling, million-selling, bankable stars.
Whatever energised Mike Kerr during his working
holiday to Australia it worked, because right after his
2013 return he teamed up with fellow south coaster Ben
Thatcher and Royal Blood were hailed by Matt Helders
and others as rock’s big return. The duo supported
Helders’ Arctic Monkeys at Finsbury Park and have been
on-the-up since, singles Out of The Black, Little Monster,
Come On Over, Figure It Out and Ten Tonne Skeleton were
all gleaned from their August ‘14, No. 1 debut LP Royal
Blood. The band will play festivals aplenty as well as
stadium-sized gigs with Foo Fighters in summer 2015.
If Royal Blood are what folk would call “hard rock,” then
according to Coldplay’s Chris Martin, his group would be
better described as “limescale rock”. University College
London-formed band came together in 1996 and
recorded classic albums including Parachutes (2000),
A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002), X&Y (2005), Viva
La Vida…(2008), and Mylo Xyloto (2011), which they
promoted at London’s Paralympic Games. Already three
times winner in the British Group category, Coldplay
are nominated now thanks to Ghost Stories, released
in May 2014, and singles Midnight, Magic, A Sky Full of
Stars and True Love. A seventh album, A Head Full Of
Dreams, is already in the works; Martin teased break-up
rumours by likening it to ‘the last Harry Potter book.”
When Alt-J reached a career turning point, the departure of
guitarist Gwil Sainsbury, they found the urge to create not
disband. Something of a concept album, the chart-topping
This Is All Yours was released in September 2014. It follows
An Awesome Wave, the 2012 debut for the Leeds Universityformed prog rock band. Previously nominated in this
category in 2012, the understated trio can add Miley Cyrus
to their ever-growing fanbase. The unlikely collaborator
appears via a sample of 4x4 on single Hunger of The Pine.
Even One Direction have taken a step toward soft rock with
their latest collection, the November 2014 release Four.
Containing singles Steal My Girl and Night Changes, it comes
hot on the heels of the band’s latest Where We Are Tour;
those who missed the massive shows had the chance to see
a San Siro stadium date in the cinema or later home release.
The band is back on the road once more with the 80 night
global money-spinner, the On The Road Again Tour in 2015.
One Direction have previously won the British Single BRIT for
What Makes You Beautiful and the British Video BRIT for Best
Song Ever, as well as two remarkable Global Success awards.
Clean Bandit are an almost unheard of breed in the
music world – a classical dance crossover. Formed six
years ago at Jesus College Cambridge the band ruled the
singles chart with their debut Mozart’s House, the Jess
Glynne collaboration and fastest-selling single of the year
Rather Be, and baroque pop Come Over, Extraordinary
and A&E. Clean Bandit joined the BBC Philharmonic
Orchestra for a unique 45 minute “symphony” in
September; they round off a spring 2015 UK tour with
a date at London’s Alexandra Palace next month.
73
Young Turks Recordings, XL Beggars
CHVRCHES
FKA T WIGS
GEORGE EZRA
R OYA L B LO O D
SAM SMITH
BACKS BRITISH MUSIC
MASTERCARD
BEST BRITISH ALBUM
WITH BIZARRE
BRI TI S H BR E A K TH R OUG H
TOP FIVE SELEC TED BY VOTING ACADEMY.
WINNER IDENTIFIED BY PUBLIC VOTE
PROMOTED BY BRITS.CO.UK AND BBC RADIO 1.
What a year it has been for new music. The
strength of the British Breakthrough shortlist
is second-to-none. The only downside here
is that the five acts nominated by the BRIT
Academy can’t all be winners. In the end,
the public vote via brits.co.uk and Radio 1
to choose which will emerge triumphant.
It’s been just twelve short months since Sam Smith
was crowned The BRITs’ Critics’ Choice winner, 2014.
With his near-constant chart presence and worldwide
success, he has packed an inordinate amount into his
launch year. Sam’s plaintive and soulful voice soaked
into the nation’s psyche and stayed there. After guesting
on Disclosure’s October 2012 record Latch and on
La La La, Naughty Boy’s May 2013 chart-topper, the
Londoner released his record-breaking debut album
In The Lonely Hour in May 2014. Of the five singles it’s
delivered so far, two have made UK No.1 – February’s
Money On My Mind and May’s Stay With Me – with I’m
Not The Only One celebrating an August-time UK No. 3.
George Ezra played his earliest gigs alongside Sam
Smith and the two worked together again with last
month’s make-it-big string of North American tour dates.
Although Ezra’s launch was softer his appeal has also
been far-reaching. With a baritone range belying his 21
years the Hertfordshire singer songwriter’s first releases
were EPs Did You Hear The Rain? and Cassy O’ before
the seemingly effortless Budapest reached UK No. 3
and top ten worldwide thanks to its gruff folksy feel. All
appear on the June 2014 album Wanted on Voyage – a
vagabond collection mixing gritty gusto with skiffle,
falsetto and uncynical charm – how can you compare?
Brighton’s Royal Blood are the next big-hitters to
make the shortlist. The duo, comprising bassist/singer
Miles Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher hit the ground
running after their 2013 inception with a Glastonbury
appearance and Arctic Monkeys support slot ticked
off their to-do list within their first year. The rockers
released the singles Out of The Black in November
2013 and Little Monster in Feb 2014, before their No. 1
debut LP, August’s eponymous Royal Blood collection,
reclaimed the chart for unashamedly riff-laden rock.
The remaining two acts share a love of electronica
and a female vocal sound. Glasgow band Chvrches,
made up of Lauren Maybury, former Aereogramme
member Iain Cook and Martin Doherty, have been
around since 2011. They released singles Lies and The
Mother We Share, then toured with Depeche Mode
in 2013 ahead of the release of their first album The
Bones of What You Believe (UK No. 9) in September that
year. Chvrches’ music has appeared in everything from
Grey’s Anatomy to CSI and in games including Gran
Turismo 6 and FIFA 14, but it was the use of their music
in the opening ceremony of Glasgow’s Commonwealth
Games that really brought their success home.
Meanwhile FKA twigs is a one-woman creative
powerhouse. The Gloucestershire native is a former
backing dancer to artists including Kylie Minogue, Jessie J
and Ed Sheeran she’s also appeared in BBC comedy and is
an accomplished filmmaker to boot. FKA twigs’ highlycharged ethereal vocals are showcased on releases EP1
and EP2, and the August 2014 collection LP1, described
as trip-hop, catchy pop and to her chagrin, twisted R&B.
Standout tracks include Papi Pacify and Water Me.
75
BRITISH SINGLE
TOP TEN BRITISH SINGLES BASED ON OVERALL
SALES AND STREAMING SUCCESS IN THE CALENDAR
YEAR ARE AUTOMATICALLY NOMINATED.
SUPPORTED BY CAPITAL FM & GOOGLE PLAY.
The music industry is all about what’s hot. And two trends
led the way throughout 2014, keeping the industry agile
and buoyant. The first is the continuing success of British
artists. They are flying the flag worldwide but equally
importantly holding their own on home shores.
True, we loved to sing along to global hits including Happy by Pharrell
Williams, the year’s biggest seller in Britain with combined sales and
streaming of 1.62 million. John Legend, Mr Probz, Meghan Trainor and
Pitbull Ft. Kesha also delivered singles that were huge worldwide. But
for a nation boasting less than 1% of the world’s population, half of the
ten top charting tracks here featured homegrown talents. And the ten
best-selling British single artists feature here on the BRITs longlist.
C A LV I N H A R R I S S U M M E R
GEORGE EZRA
BUDAPEST
In terms of numbers alone, the biggest-selling British single of 2014 was
Rather Be by Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne. The classical crossover dance
track knocked Pharrell off the top spot in February to settle in for its own
four week residency and notch up 1.29m totals by the end of the year.
Featured artist Jess managed to unseat Happy off the top spot once more
when it popped back up the chart in March; this time on deep house track
My Love, alongside Rowan Tyler Jones, aka 21-year-old producer Route 94.
Her five week chart triumph, albeit as a featured artist, is one of the best of the
decade. Only Calvin Harris, whose March release Summer brought his charttopping tally to ten weeks at the top with five tracks since 2010 (in fact, 16 is his
career total), and Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars, which sneaked
the first of its many weeks at the top into December 2014 beat that feat.
E D S H E E R A N T H I N K I N G O U T LO U D
SAM SMITH
S TAY W I T H M E
More dance tracks did well. I Got U, based on Whitney Houston’s My Love
Is Your Love by producer Duke Dumont ft. Jax Jones was a springtime
hit as was Nobody To Love by duo Sigma, a reworking of Kanye West’s
Bound 2 featuring vocals by One True Voice’s Daniel Pearce.
Alongside the raft of standalone feelgood singles there were, of course,
anthems from big-selling albums by household names. Ed Sheeran’s Thinking
Out Loud edged out Sing as his biggest seller. It was a slowburn song, topping
the chart 19 weeks after its first release to become the second British millionseller at 1.1m copies. And the gospel-inspired Stay With Me by Sam Smith, his
third UK No. 1, just beat his own Money on My Mind in terms of numbers sold.
George Ezra’s Budapest may have topped out at UK. No.3 in June but the
firm favourite track ended the year as the Britain’s tenth biggest seller.
MARK RONSON FT BRUNO MARS
UPTOWN FUNK
CLEAN BANDIT FT JESS GLYNNE
R AT H E R B E
Finally, it’s Ella Henderson. Hers is the only name on the British Artist longlist
where the main listed performer is female. She is doing it for the girls
with Ghost, which topped the chart for two weeks. It was the year’s sixth
biggest-seller, selling more than 750,000 copies since its June release.
The second trend in music consumption is the streaming of music, and,
as of July 2014, it affects the way the British Singles Chart is compiled.
Streaming services are growing and to reflect this the charts now
including data from platforms including Spotify, Deezer, Napster,
O2 tracks and Google Play when calculating the UK’s charts.
There’s a complicated algorithym as to the value of streams versus sales and
downloads, but in general terms each stream must last at least 30 seconds
and 100 ‘listens’ is worth one ‘buy’ (i.e. a physical sale or download).
ELLA HENDERSON GHOST
S I G M A N O B O DY T O LO V E
As physical sales of CDs continue to fall and even download numbers
have started to plateau, it is streaming, showing a 65% rise year-on-year,
that makes sure that loud, proud glorious music is still being heard. Almost
15 billion songs were streamed in 2014, up from 7.5 billion in 2013.
Streaming now makes up 12.6% of music consumed in the
UK and that percentage is only going to get bigger.
Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith were the most streamed artists
of 2014 while Clean Bandit’s Rather Be was the most popular
single track of the year chalking up 39.7million streams.
DUKE DUMONT FT JAX JONES
I G OT U
76
R O U T E 94 F T J E S S G LY N N E
M Y LO V E
77
jmenternational.com
Flood & Alan Moulder (left)
AND THE AWARD FOR
UNEXPLAINABLE JUICINESS
GOES TO…
Music
is Great
British!
The success of British
Artists worldwide just
keeps on growing…
There was once a record company called
Postcard Records. Working from a flat in a
run-down British city, it produced perfect
three minute pop songs, and sent them
“like postcards,” to fans all over the world.
They ended up in record store racks round
the corner and in far flung nations. Those
Postcard era songs were saying, “This is what
we’ve done. How are you guys doing?”
Ed Sheeran
Main pic: One Direction, last year’s Global Artist winners.
Find us on:
Postcard Records is long since gone and our
methods of music consumption have changed
beyond all recognition. But still, Britain’s
musicians are sending their sound near and far,
showcasing their music across the planet. Music
exports are not just a source of creative pride –
they are a major business earning millions for
the nation. Exports alone last year contributed
£2.2bn to the UK economy with sales of recorded
music, live shows and publishing combined.
While the UK is home to just 1% of the world’s
population, it is, by most recent count,
responsible for creating 13% of global music
consumed. We are second only to the behemoth
US in terms of turning out music artists of
global renown. For every eight albums sold
anywhere in the world, one is made by an
artist from Blighty. Up to 2013, six of the seven
preceding years had global charts topped
by British artists. Quite a feat especially as
Coldplay, Susan Boyle, Adele (twice) and One
Direction have vastly differing musical styles.
In recognition, the same year, The BRITs launched
the British Global Success award. With a fanbase
to rival even The Beatles, the remarkable
One Direction have won it both times.
The stats of that band’s success are astounding.
Their fourth album, November’s Four, made
them the first band in US Billboard 200 history
to debut at number one in the chart with their
first four collections. Their third album, Midnight
Memories, was the biggest global seller of 2013
– despite also being released in November
that year. The massive-earning Where We Are
tour ran from April to October last year playing
to more than the whole population of Wales,
at 3.4 million people. With group estimated
earnings of £50m to June 2014, they are a
phenomenon worldwide. But One Direction
are not a stand-alone success for British Music
or a shoe-in for winning. Far from it. Instead,
2014 saw other acts happily challenge and in
many sectors outsell them, cementing their
reputations as globally known household names.
The Global Success Award is given to the act that
has chalked up the biggest selling albums and
singles of releases in the calendar year across
the planet – sales from all countries are counted
except, crucially, the UK Although the continually
evolving landscape of music consumption
means exports of actual albums are down
13%, Live music is up 4% while publishing
revenue has grown by 20% - a massive leap.
In the World Chart, which is collated from
album sales around the planet, four of the six
biggest acts are British Coldplay, One Direction,
79
Continued from page 79
jmenternational.com
Connect.
Collaborate.
Create.
Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran, with sales for each
ranging from 2.5million – 4.5 million sales.
Meanwhile Calvin Harris, Sam Smith, Clean Bandit
Ft. Jess Glynne, as well as Jessie J’s collaboration
with Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea, make
the chart for the top 20 global single sales.
Ed Sheeran triumphs as the most streamed
artist overall for 2014 according to Spotify.
And for the first time in 20 years UK soloists
occupied the top two spots on America’s
Billboard Charts. Sheeran’s X debuted with the
biggest album sale for a British Male in ten
years while Smith’s In The Lonely Hour sold a
bigger 1.21 million copies in the US last year.
Bring your global talent to the table with
visual communications that inspire ideas
without the carbon impact.
Socialise with Ricoh:
www.facebook.com/RicohUK
www.twitter.com/RicohUK
ricoh.co.uk
Sam Smith also made chart history by becoming
the first act to have a No.1 with their debut album
on both sides of the Atlantic at the same time.
Coldplay’s sixth album, the May release Ghost
Stories, topped the chart in a hard-to-imagine 100
countries. They are Spotify’s most streamed band
of 2014 and the third most streamed of all artists.
Calvin Harris and Rita Ora on last year’s red carpet.
Main pic: Coldplay’s BRIT Awards 2012 performance.
And Calvin Harris is, according to Forbes, the
world’s biggest-earning DJ/Producer ever,
and he explains, “The rise of dance music has
been astronomical in the last three years.
And I happened to be in the right place at
the right time”. He’s also the first British artist
to pass a mind-boggling one billion streams
crossing that line thanks to 160m streams for
the single Summer. That tally according to
Music Week, is worth £4.3m to the artist.
A raft of other artists continue to fly the
flag for Britain. Ellie Goulding headlined at
Coachella, Adele’s sales continue despite a
career pause and Mumford & Sons remain
live show favourites. David Bowie, Depeche
Mode, Take That and Robbie Williams remain
among our most bankable names.
Clearly established artists signed by UK
labels are flourishing. Whether a legacy
artist with a decade-long career or a
newcomer unveiling debut songs, the
reach of social and mobile media networks
means their audience is worldwide.
The BPI and UKTI-administered Music Export
Growth Scheme launched in 2013 aims to
provide a springboard to help other aspiring acts
signed to SME Indie labels. In the latest round of
funding, a total of £250,000 has been earmarked
for grants helping seventeen acts from Imogen
Heap to Hadouken and The Wombats, while
fellow recipients The Waylayers said, “This support
secures our debut US tour so we can capitalise
on our chart success, and reach our American
fans. We’re proud to represent UK music abroad”.
Apply for the Music Export Growth Scheme at
bpi.co.uk/export-scheme.aspx
81
BECK
HOZIER
Island, Universal Music
XL Recordings, XL Beggars
JACK WHITE
JOHN LEGEND
PHARRELL WILLIAMS
I N T E R N AT I O N A L M A L E
Innovation is all about having vision. And the
artists on the International Male Solo shortlist
have the foresight to know just what magic’s
needed to create exciting new sounds.
Pharrell Williams is the man of the moment. Formerly of
N*E*R*D and The Neptunes, he’s always been one of the
planet’s most in-demand producers, but chart-wise, 2014
was certainly his year. After collaborating on two millionsellers in 2013 – alongside Robin Thicke on Blurred
Lines and from Random Access Memories, Daft Punk’s
Get Lucky, he released solo track Happy. The infectious
song featured on the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack, as
well as Williams’ own second album, G I R L. It sold 1.62
million copies in the UK and 12 million copes worldwide
and made him the first artist since 1957 to notch up
three million-selling singles in the space of a year.
Jack White, too, has evolved through many guises
– The BRIT Award-winning White Stripes, The
Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather among them
- and he, too, is nominated here on the strength
of his second solo collection, Lazaretto, released
June 2014 on his Third Man record label. Following
up 2012’s Blunderbuss, it was partly inspired by an
attic-full of his teenage musings, containing singles
High Ball Stepper, and Lazaretto, the title track.
Hoping to turn his two previous BRIT nominations into
a win, is John Legend. His fourth studio album Love In
The Future was released in August 2013 with a veritable
who’s who of music lending a hand. Produced by
Legend, Kanye West and Dave Tozer, it features guest
appearances by Kimbra, Stacy Barthe, Rick Ross and
Seal. Following up his 2010 collection Wake Up!, Love
In The Future found huge success on the back of the
single All Of Me which knocked Pharrell’s Happy off the
top of the chart and catapulted the LP to UK No. 2.
Beck, meanwhile, is currently enjoying one of the
most creatively fruitful periods in his career. Previously
named Best International Male Solo Artist at The BRITs
in 2000, he parted company with the label that put
out his iconic works Odelay and Mutations, and after
a string of self-funded FONOGRAF singles, signed to
Capitol to release the work-in-progress Morning Phase
in February 2014. It is his twelfth studio album and
a “companion” to 2002’s atmospheric Sea Change.
Lauded as a “downtempo stroke of genius,” the acoustic
atmospherics of Morning Phase offer up singles Blue
Moon and Waking Light. The 44-year-old, who is also an
accomplished producer working with artists Thursdon
Moore, Jamie Lidell and Charlotte Gainsbourg, promises
a second, more in-your-face album, with guests
including (you guessed it) Pharrell Williams, soon.
At 24, Hozier is by far the youngest act up for
International Male. The Irishman – born Andrew HozierByrne, has released two EPs, Take Me To The Church
and From Eden, and an eponymous album, Hozier,
which charted globally and made UK No. 5 in October
2014. A former member of Trinity College Orchestra
and Celtic choral group Anuna, he is known for his
emotional live performances, and has been likened
to a mix of Jackie Wilson, Jeff Buckley, and Bon Iver.
83
Polydor, Universal Music
BEYONCÉ
LANA DEL REY
SIA
Monkey Puzzle/RCA, Sony Music
Caroline, Universal Music
ST VINCENT
TAY LO R S W I F T
Never miss a moment with
the SanDisk Extreme® mobile
memory card – the perfect
companion for your 4G
Smartphone and Tablet*
I N T E R N AT I O N A L F E M A L E
Behold the behemoth battle between
Amazonian women. Taylor Swift, Lana Del
Rey and Beyoncé, all previous nominees,
plus two artists long due recognition,
St Vincent and Sia, fight it out here.
Taylor Swift has had a mammoth year. Still just 25, her
album tally now tops 30 million. Her fifth LP, the synth
and drum-heavy confessional 1989, celebrated UK No.
1 upon its release in October. It’s her biggest-selling to
date, featuring Max Martin/Shelbeck-produced singles
Shake It Off and Blank Space plus co-writes with BRIT
school alumni Imogen Heap, and One Republic’s Ryan
Tedder. Swift continues acting, in the sci-fi flick The
Giver, and despite having hardly unpacked after her
Red tour, she’ll soon be back on the road, dropping
into Hyde Park this June for the 1989 world tour.
Third time’s a charm for Lana Del Rey who is hoping to
collect her third BRIT trophy in recognition of collection
number three, the June 2014 LP Ultraviolence, which
topped the chart in twelve countries and has so far
sold 2 million copies worldwide. Del Rey had followed
up her breakthrough second album Born To Die with
a short film, Tropico, then worked on Ultraviolence
and its four preceding singles West Coast, Shades of
Cool, Ultraviolence and Brooklyn Baby. Del Rey will
headline The Endless Summer Tour with Courtney
Love in Summer 2015, and is currently working on
her next album, provisionally entitled Honeymoon.
After performing at The BRITs 2014, one-time BRIT
winner Beyoncé continued full speed into the year. She’d
released a surprise collection Beyoncé in December 2013,
including the standout Drunk In Love, and continued
her guerrilla assault on the music world with the On
The Run Tour and November’s Beyoncé Platinum Edition
Box Set, including DVD extras and second CD More.
It featured remixes by Kanye West, Nicki Minaj and
Pharrell Williams plus new tracks 7/11 and Ring Off.
New to The BRITs’ shortlists, but not new to the music
industry, are St Vincent and Sia. Multi-instrumentalist
St Vincent, AKA Annie Clark, is a founding member
of Polyphonic Spree and member of Surfjan Stevens’
touring band; she released solo albums Marry Me (2007),
and Actor (2009) before a David Byrne collaboration
in 2012, We Love This Giant. The self-titled St Vincent
was hailed as “teetering between happiness and
madness” upon its February 2014 release. She is in
demand by fellow artists, appearing on the Swans’
2014 album To Be Kind and fronting Nirvana during the
band’s induction into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
Meanwhile Australia’s Sia’s vocals on David Guetta’s
Titanium in 2012 thrust her to a new level of fame. A
retrospective Best Of in 2013 preceded a sixth studio
album (and her first in four years), 1000 Forms of Fear,
in July 2014, including a single Chandelier. The uneasy
singer reportedly had a “no press, no promo,” clause
written into her contact, but the tracks she writes for
other artists travel the globe. Her talents appear on
albums by Rihanna, Rita Ora, Britney Spears, Celine
Dion, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Kylie Minogue,
Maroon 5, Eminem and Gwen Stefani. She’s the go-to
girl for famous names and in terms of chart success
she certainly delivers. But can she collect a BRIT?
*Backward compatible with 3G phones. Speed of data transfer to card may vary and depends on wireless carrier’s 4G network and host device.
See product packaging or online product page for additional details.
© 2015 SanDisk Corporation. All rights reserved. SanDisk and SanDisk Extreme are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries. Telling Life’s Stories From Memory
is a trademark of SanDisk Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The microSDXC logo is a trademark of SD-3C, LLC. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. The Android robot is
reproduced or modified from work created and shared by Google and used according to the terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License.
85
Nonesuch, Warner Music
T H E B L AC K K E YS
Success, it seems, is a lucky by-product
for our music-loving International Group
hopefuls. These artists would do what they
do without the trinkets or trappings of fame.
Leading our list are Foo Fighters who already have
three BRITs - including 2008 and 2012 International
Group wins – to their name. Formed in 1994 by former
Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the Seattle band
celebrated their 20th anniversary with their eighth
studio album in November 2014. It reached No. 2 in
the UK chart. The Butch Vig-produced Sonic Highways,
featuring new songs and ‘local legend’ performers,
was recorded in eight famous city studios across the
States. It was also accompanied by an HBO/BBC4
documentary road trip of the same name. Foo Fighters
play stadium tour dates in the UK this summer.
They say never meet your heroes but here, Foo Fighters
sit on the shortlist alongside their pop-punk-loving
self-confessed fans, 5 Seconds of Summer. The riff-laden
Aussies found fame on YouTube soon after their 2011
formation then went global as support on One Direction’s
Take Me Home Tour. The Sydney-siders released a debut
single She Looks So Perfect (UK No. 1) in February 2014 and
an eponymous debut collection (also UK No. 1) in June
2014. A live album, LIVESOS was released in December.
YouTube also brought Swedish duo First Aid Kit
– Johanna and Kiara Soderberg - to the fore. The
country folk album, The Big Black & The Blue (2010)
was followed by The Lion’s Roar in 2012, then the
more orchestral June 2014 collection Stay Gold which
included singles My Silver Lining and Cedar Lane. First
Aid Kit recently contributed vocals on six tracks on
Conor Oberst’s Upside Down Mountain collection. The
sisters also played an eleven date UK tour last month.
FOO FIGHTERS
RCA, Sony Music
Secretly Canadian, Secretly Group
The War on Drugs and Black Keys complete the
line-up. The War on Drugs formed in 2005 around
founding members Adam Granduciel and Kurt Vile,
who left after their first LP Wagonwheel Blues (2008)
although a close creative relationship continues. A
second album, Slave Ambient (2011), was followed by
the melancholy and sometimes paranoid Americana
of Lost in the Dream, released March 2014.
T H E WA R O N D R U G S
FIRST AID KIT
5 SECONDS OF SUMMER
I N T E R N AT I O N A L G R O U P
Finally, Ohio’s Black Keys won the International group
statuette in 2013 on the back of their breakthrough
seventh collection El Camino (2011). Their blues rock
sound continues in the May 2014 collection Turn Blue.
Produced, like its predecessor, by Danger Mouse, it
boasts singles including Fever and Turn Blue and reached
UK No. 2. After sending Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl to
collect the BRIT on their behalf in 2013, band members
Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney will be hoping to
step up to the 2015 podium under their own steam.
87
Desk
Duties
Accenture’s global media and
entertainment practice is powering
the digital supply chain across
the music industry. We distribute
digital content in any format
across all platforms to any device,
delivering recorded music to over
700 online and mobile retailers
across 200 countries.
Flood & Alan Moulder (left)
Accenture wish everyone
an amazing night at
© 2015 Accenture. All rights reserved.
jmenternational.com
Paul Epworth scoops his third BRIT as he’s
named British Producer of The Year…
We live in the age of the super-producer. While
others choose to make a song and dance about
their talents in front of the camera, still others prefer
to toil to tease unexpected sounds out of long
studio days. Everyone’s efforts are recognised by
the trade industry body, the Music Producers Guild,
and here tonight with a coveted BRIT Award.
Hi Paul! You’re making a habit of
winning the British Producer BRIT!
The BRITs trophy for British Producer goes to the recipient of
the MPG’s Producer of The Year award, which was announced
at a star-studded event held in London’s Park Plaza Riverbank
Hotel in Vauxhall on Thursday February 12 so the recipient
here has had plenty of time to perfect his shocked face!
Winning is always exciting, even if, like the triumphant Paul
Epworth, you’ve picked up this award on two previous
occasions - in 2010, after producing Florence + The Machine’s
Ceremonials, and in 2013 during a wave of acclaim for the
album 21 and single Skyfall, the result of his longstanding
working relationship with Adele. Since, the much-in-demand
producer has packed as many big names into a couple
of years as would fill out the C.V. of a lifetime: As well as
working alongside Daniel Green and Rik Simpson to create
Coldplay’s Ghost Stories, he produced large chunks of several
big-hitting albums, Paul McCartney’s New, Supermodel by
Foster The People, and Songs of Innocence by U2. Always
keen to help mould the sound of the next generation,
he also worked on Yellow Flicker Beat by Lorde, Pendulum
by FKA twigs, and the album Zaba by Glass Animals.
We asked Paul Epworth how he feels about
winning, third time around…
What were last year’s highlights?
It does seem that way, I’m not sure who’s doing
it! It is an honour to be here again and since it
is my peers who vote, its nice to see that the
people around you whose work you love and
respect also like what you’re doing, you know?
Working with two massive huge artists, U2
and Coldplay. It’s amazing to work with such
driven artists of that calibre and learn their
processes. Equally, working with Lorde, for the
Hunger Games soundtrack, was amazing - she’s
an incredible and instinctive artist. I also did
Band Aid 30 – an amazing thing to be part of
and the longest working day of my career!
How do you decide who to work with?
Instinct. A feeling that I have something creative
that I want to express that connects with that
artist. There’s something wonderful about working
on debut albums, with its sense of anticipation.
I’m always quite nervous on day one!
You’ve also completed another
big project this year…
Yes I’ve been refurbishing Church Studios, and it’s
been brilliant - luckily a lot of great people have
helped do it. There are three studios, so it’ll cater
for just me and a solo artist working together, like I
did with FKA twigs sitting at the computer, or a big
set up with lots of people, as it would be with U2.
What’s coming up in 2015?
There are a few things in the diary but I try not
to talk about what’s in the future. It should be
a good year – but I don’t want to jinx it!
89
The competition was stiff
for Producer of the Year
with three very notable
runners up!
ALISON GOLDFRAPP
AND WILL GREGORY
Mcateer Photography
Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory, who
together make up the electobeat/trance duo
Goldfrapp, are nominated here on the strength
of their self-produced sixth studio album, Tales
of Us. Their work as producers begins with
Goldfrapp debut Felt Mountain and its follow
up Black Cherry. They veered toward glam rock
with Supernature, the ambient and downbeat
Seventh Tree, before heading back to out-and
out-dance for Head First. Tales Of Us has a softer
palette and uses lush multilayered synths as well
as orchestral tones. Gregory and Goldfrapp’s
cinematic sound echoes their belief music
should be a visual experience. Tales of Us is
accompanied by an anthology of short films on
the themes of love, loss, madness and identity.
FLOOD
After winning the British Producer gong in
2014 alongside his Assault & Battery studios
partner Alan Moulder, Flood – aka Mark Ellis
- followed up his work on Foals’ Holy Fire album
with tracks for U2 and Findlay and albums for
Wolf Gang and psychedelic band Warpaint.
Famous for providing a ‘flood’ of tea to early
cohorts, he’s recognised for his genre-defining
work with Bono & Co. as well as Depeche
Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey,
The Smashing Pumpkins and the Jesus and
Mary Chain. He’s also produced for The Killers,
Sigur Ros, Goldfrapp, Editors, and Glasvegas.
JAKE GOSLING
www.thessehydro.com
The SSE Hydro, officially listed as the world’s second
busiest live entertainment arena in 2014 by the leading
entertainment industry publication, Pollstar.
Glasgow’s front row.
Jake Gosling returns to the British Producer
shortlist after a busy year. He produced seven
tracks on Ed Sheeran’s album, X, including the
No.1 single Thinking Out Loud. It continues
an association begun with Sheeran’s early EP
No. 5 Collaborations Project and subsequent
debut +. In the last couple of years he’s worked
with One Direction, Paloma Faith, Professor
Green, Yelawolf, Mikill Pane, The Orbs, Birdy,
Nina Nesbitt and Christina Perri. As well as
running his own management company, Jake
runs Sticky Studios, where he hosts The Sticky
Sessions featuring established and up-andcoming artists, and a publishing company
alongside Sarah Liversage, The Movement.
91
jmenternational.com
words: Helen Lamont
privileged and proud to be a part of
Hats off to James Bay
The BRITs Critics’ Choice winner 2015 knows how to get ahead in the music biz.
congratulations to all of tonight’s nominees and winners
creating and managing exceptional guest experiences globally
www.7sense.co.uk
18, King William Street | London | EC4N 7BP | +44 (0)203 356 9675
The Townhouse | 35, Willow Street | Oswestry | SY11 1AQ | +44 (0)1691 670027
Twenty-four-year-old Hitchin native James
Bay has a lot to live up to. The Hertfordshire
singer embarks on his biggest year ever,
as he gets set to release his debut LP. Bay
joins the likes of Florence + The Machine
(2009), Ellie Goulding (2010), Jessie J (2011),
Emeli Sandé (2012), Tom Odell (2013), and
last year’s breakout star Sam Smith on
the ever-lengthening list of Critics’ Choice
winners. A veritable who’s who of the
modern music industry, what a list it is.
And troubadour James has a lot to offer.
He cut his teeth opening for household
names including The Rolling Stones and
Kodaline, and after honing his craft on
back-to-back tour dates both here and in
the States, he can now augment the rasping
vocals of his previous four EP set list with
tracks taken from Chaos and The Calm, the
Nashville-produced LP, out March 23rd.
We asked the softly spoken singer songwriter
what it’s like to suddenly become a big noise…
Congratulations on scooping The
BRITs’ Critics’ Choice Award!
Thank you! It’s all been bizarre and
a bit mad but lots of incredibly kind
words have been flooding in!
How did you find out you’d won?
It was out of the blue! I was doing a sound
check at a gig, running backstage to get
something when I got a call from my
management. I sat down on some steps and
they said, “I’ve got to tell you – you’ve won”!
You’re now part of a fine BRITs tradition…
It’s so cool to spend time watching The
BRITs and then find out that you’ve got one!
I’m a bit proud because I’m a fan. I looked
online for a line-up of who’d won before
and it was incredible! What an honour!
And you are already friends
with Sam and Tom…
Yeah, Tom I know from college back in
Brighton and I toured with him. Sam and
I both did our first London gig two years
ago, on the same bill on the same night.
It was crazy! I saw him recently in Mexico
and we reminisced and drank tequila…!
You have many famous fans…
I had a crazy moment on Hozier’s tour where
Taylor Swift started dissecting my songs in front
of me, and said “I love this bit and this bit”. It
blew my mind. The Creative Director of Burberry
Christopher Bailey asked me to sing at his
catwalk show. And it was very cool to meet Mario
Testino. He said he’d love to shoot me sometime!
It’s great, but it’s like doing TV shows… just
take a deep breath and get on with it.
Are you going to join in the fun on BRITs night?
Oh yes, definitely. I’m not going to miss that
opportunity. I want to celebrate. I’d like to see
someone like Ben Howard sing or I enjoyed last
year’s performance by Lorde with Disclosure.
Of course Adele’s Someone Like You moment
is big for me as well as everyone else…
93
T7 Bluetooth Speaker
with Micro Matrix™
Or in layman’s terms,
it sounds great.
CRITICS’ CHOICE
Also on the shortlist…
Identified by a panel made up of media critics.
Two more acts featured on the
BRITs Critics’ Choice shortlist
have a bright future ahead…
James Bay continued from page 93
Well, that’s one night out sorted.
What else does 2015 hold?
I’m up for everything that comes at me. I want
to release the album and tour as much as I can
in 2015. The album was recorded in Nashville
with a guy called Jacquire King, who’s done
work I love with Tom Waits, Norah Jones and
Kings of Leon. I was in my first week at Blackbird
studios, trying to catch my breath in the car
park and take it all in, when Willie Nelson pulled
up. I thought where am I? It was quite a ride!
It has taken Bowers & Wilkins 50
years of acoustic knowhow to make
the T7. And thanks to high-resolution
streaming via Bluetooth aptX® and an
incredible 18 hours battery life, you’re
guaranteed best-in-class performance
wherever you are.
How did you first get into music?
When I was kid I liked a bit of Motown and ‘70s
rock’n’roll like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye,
as well as Black Eyed Peas who were big on the
radio at that time. Then I discovered a guitar in
a cupboard of the spare room at my parents
house, heard Layla by Derek and the Dominos,
and it was an immediate thing! It became an
addiction. From learning to play to learning to
write to playing live and loving all those things.
Was your hometown of Hitchin a good
place for wannabe rock ‘n’ rollers?
It gave me a great platform for doing live gigs
and learning some tricks of the trade, and
my brother Alex and I played in a band we
put together for a while. But it also gave me
the ambition to get out and see the world! I
wanted to be a Delta Bluesman; I was obsessed
with that for a minute. You discover new
things and keep the tastes you enjoy…
GEORGE THE POET
Harlesden-born George Mpanga is a
24 year-old rapper and spoken word
performer. After showcasing poetry on
tracks My City and It’s Yours his work took
a more musical edge in 2014 with The
Chicken and the Egg EP and single 1, 2, 1, 2
alongside dance producers Bodhi. He
released a soulful EP Deeper in December
while an album follows later this year.
One thing you have kept is the hat!
Yeah! There is a blues guy called Eric Bibb
I saw playing a guitar, singing a song and
wearing a hat, and I thought, “I could do that’”.
I have two. One I bought in a shop called Mad
Hatters, in the Lanes in Brighton. The other
I bought in Nashville. Ha Ha, I’m working
on getting them a seat on the plane!
The James Bay album Chaos and the Calm is
released on March 23rd on Republic Records.
“Knocks the competition
out of the park”
What Hi-Fi?
“Sound quality is stunningly
detailed”
GQ
“The best wireless speaker
available”
Daily Telegraph
YEARS AND YEARS
Olly Alexander, Mikey Goldsworthy
and Emre Turkmen formed the London
electronica trio Years & Years in 2010. The
band have released four EPs to date, with
the most recent, 2014’s Desire reaching
their highest chart position to date.
bowers-wilkins.co.uk
95
Amazing music
eight days a week!
A special series of one-off gigs raised much-needed funds for charity War Child.
There’s just too much good music to
cram into one BRITs Night – so the
BPI in association with longstanding
charity partner War Child launched a
special celebration of music in the city.
The eleven event programme spanning
eight nights in London and Manchester
included a wide range of gigs with one
thing in common – lucky attendees knew
they had the hottest tickets in the land.
INTRODUCING BRITS WEEK
Scotland is the perfect stage for events hosting music events & festivals right across the
country, all year round.
From the hugely popular T in the Park in Perthshire to the Wickerman Festival in Dumfries
& Galloway and one of the world’s greatest new year celebrations; Edinburgh’s Hogmanay.
Scotland’s music scene is as legendary as its crowd. It’s something to experience.
For more information go to visitscotland.com/events
Three brilliant shows showcased the
cream of record company talent. Sony
Music curated an evening celebrating
artists signed to their imprints at
the Electric Brixton on Monday
February 16. The line up included a
few surprises as well as the publicised
headliner George Ezra plus Nothing
But Thieves, Josef Salvat and Seafret.
The following evening Camden’s
Koko played host to a Warner
Music UK event featuring Royal
Blood, The Bohicas and more.
For those still with enough stamina to go
gigging, independent labels put together
a Brooklyn Bowl-based extravaganza for
indie fans – The Charlatans with special
guests We Are Ocean and Superfood.
Then there was a show-stopping night
at Shepherds’ Bush Empire, where
Universal Music’s Take That played
one of their most intimate dates; it
is the annual War Child BRIT Awards
show, in The BRITs’ finest tradition of
War Child’s low key headliner gigs.
The lucky audience members who
managed to bag tickets for the city’s
hottest live events enjoyed sets from
exciting new acts and legendary names.
Profits from all tickets sold included
a contribution made towards
War Child’s invaluable work in the
world’s most challenging places.
In association with Heineken, ‘BRITs Week
Presents…’ is a joint partnership between
the BPI, concert promoters AEG, and
London First, a business membership
organisation tasked with making London
an unrivalled place to live and work.
PASSPORT BACK TO THE BARS
A second celebration of live music in
support of War Child also took place in the
week preceding The BRITs. Passport Back
To The Bars was a series of six intimate
shows by headline name acts that ran
concurrently with the BRITs Week shows.
The Vaccines, Duran Duran, Ride, You
Me At Six, Bastille and Elbow played
small but perfectly formed venues
across London and Manchester. Each
venue holds less than 300 people. And
tickets for the shows really were money
can’t buy – as they were raffled via a
prize draw on the War Child website.
Fans were invited to pay just £4.50
via text to be in with a chance of
winning tickets for their chosen
gig – and £4.15 of that cost went
straight to the coffers of War Child.
As the charity says, sometimes
the smallest gigs can make the
biggest difference to the life of
a war-traumatised child.
ABOUT WAR CHILD
War Child is a small but influential
charity with strong ties to the
music world. Set up in 1993 by
film-makers David Wilson and Bill
Leeson, it aims to improve the
lives of children born into the
world’s toughest war zones. Today,
they are active in Iraq, Afghanistan,
D.R. Congo, Uganda and are on
the ground in the bitter Syrian
conflict. Musicians first came
together to help War Child with
the 1995 album Help, and later
projects included an anniversary
album, Help – A Day in The Life in
2005. Last year saw Jessie J, Tinie
Tempah, and Plan B take part in
the charity’s On/Off fundraising
campaign, while many more of
the industry’s most famous names
have taken part in post-BRITs
fundraisers since 2009. The Killers,
Coldplay, Kasabian, Calvin Harris,
Mark Ronson, Ed Sheeran, Damon
Albarn and Graham Coxon and
Muse have raised the roof in these
late-night exclusive events.
Learn more at warchild.org.uk
97
Pick up a Brit tonight.
Your Set Is On Fire!
Download our hotel booking app now so you’re ready
to go whenever you need a hotel – even if it’s tonight.
L A S T Y E A R ’ S BRI Ts
Save £20 off your first app booking with code BRIT20*
The BRIT Awards 2014 was a blazing
success for Arctic Monkeys and more!
ANDROID APP ON
There are any number of quips that could start off
a fire-themed BRIT Awards feature – “It’s Getting
Hot in Herre,” or “I’m the Firestarter” and “Oh look,
it’s Blazin’ Squad!” among them. But what The
BRITs 2014 gave us – Arctic Monkeys opening
the most anticipated BRITs show in recent years
in an accelerant-soaked dose of guitar-fuelled
excitement called R U Mine?, doesn’t need it. Even
in the shadow of their pyrotechnic A.M. panorama,
all eyes were on the Sheffield rockers. It didn’t
bode well for stalwart James Corden, hosting the
event for the fifth and last time. Bless him – luckily
his suit-on-fire stunt was the safest of gambles
– all a bit of armless fun, and on with the show!
jmenternational.com
Without stopping for breath, 3rdEyeGirl and
Prince hopped on stage and presented the
British Female gong to Ellie Goulding, who
shook with emotion as she met the long-oncharm legend. What a coup! Then it was nu-rave
a-go-go for Katy Perry, who blew the budget on
an on-stage Carry on Cleopatra extravaganza in
Day-Glo to complement her track Dark Horse.
Mohican’d dancers jiggled before neon pyramids
to a slavish rhythm with Gangnam overtones.
And this is why we talk about The BRITs.
*Offer open to UK & Ireland residents over 18 years of age. Promo code is valid for bookings made on the Hotel App only. Valid between 00:01 25th February to 00:01 25th March 2015 for hotel bookings
in London only. Limited number available and other exclusions apply. Minimum spend of £100 required. Offer does not apply to package holiday bookings. Visit http://www.lastminute.com/hotels/
promos/promos-terms-and-conditions.html for full terms and conditions. Hotel bookings subject to availability and dates.
He’s up for the gong himself this year but 12
months ago Pharrell Williams and sidekick Kylie
read out the nominations for International
Solo Male and delivered the Philip Treacy
designed trophy to Bruno Mars. Mars would
show us why on stage a little later. Were
there echoes of Elvis’s Jailhouse Rock in his
all-singing, swinging-hipped rendition of hit
Treasure? We asked the horn section and the
twinkle-toed trombonist said “wuh-huh”!
And the international stars just kept on coming
with perhaps the most anticipated artist in the
world right now, the one and only Mrs Carter,
Beyoncé. She stripped back the set and did
away with the tinsel and trickery, choosing
to rely on the simplest of stagecraft for her
performance of XO, a big-lunged ballad if
ever there was one. Dressed in shimmering
sequinned scales in the brightest emerald tones,
she was a siren whose voice called to all.
More gongs were given. Sam Smith received his
Critics’ Choice trophy, starting a stellar year off in
style. Fearne Cotton and Tinie Tempah delivered
the Breakthrough Act gong to a sharp-suited
Bastille – much deserved although just one of
the four they were up for. Then Lily Allen did
the honours with the British Group shortlist,
revealing Arctic Monkeys as triumphant. Matt
Helders quipped, “There’s that £15 we put on
One Direction to win down t’drain, innit?”
You should have backed them later in the show,
Matt, as the X Factor alumni bagged the big
prize in both the British Video (for Best Song
Ever, co-written by James Corden, fact fans) and
Global Success categories. The first act since
the Beatles to have two number one albums
in the US in the same calendar year, it’s the
second year in row One Direction have won
the award based on global sales. Made all the
more memorable as Harry Styles missed his big
“Thank you” moment, due to “having a wee”.
Katy Perry and her mockney-accented mouth
gave the British Single award to Rudimental
featuring Ella Eyre for Waiting All Night – and
they were a popular choice in the room. They
showed us why they deserved it later with a
three-way mash up of that track plus Pompeii
penned by stage-sharers Bastille. Hands in the air,
Bastimental is why BRITs mash-ups are made!
Proving you can’t have too much of a good
thing, over to NZ songstress Lorde and dance
act Disclosure, who put a new spin on the song
du jour Royals before AlunaGeorge joined
them on stage for a the disco-spinning White
Noise. Like them? Lots did, as both live tracks
charted that night on the iTunes chart.
As the night drew to a close Nicole
Scherzinger and Cesc Fabregas announced
Daft Punk as International Group winners,
with Nile Rodgers collecting the gong on
behalf of the talented Parisian robots.
Next, a vision in white, Ellie Goulding got us all
in a frenzy of drumming as she put her all into
her rabble-rousing Halcyon hits I Need Your Love
and (the Arctic Monkeys would like it, there was
ever a bit of flame-throwing thrown in) Burn.
Noel Gallagher invited Kate Moss onto the stage
in her capacity as “David Bowie’s representative
on earth”. Sadly the fiercely private Bowie couldn’t
collect his British Male award – thirty years since
his first – but his admirably bonkers acceptance
speech delivered by Ms Moss did the trick!
Then it was that group’s turn again, as the Arctic
Monkeys were announced as winners of the
era-defining British Album award for their – ahem
– red hot collection A.M.. The accolade announced
their place in BRITs history as the only band ever to
collect three British Group and three British Album
awards on the back of three consecutive discs.
And ending the night on a high was a landmark
performance by Nile Rodgers and Pharrell
Williams, who had everyone up and dancing
with the Daft Punk hit Get Lucky, Good Times
by Chic, plus Pharrell’s Happy. And that’s how
we got home. Finger clicking, roof-raising
Happy. Ahh. We’re all back in the room for
The BRITs 2015, and the show’s about to
begin. Let’s make memories tonight.
99
Bright lights of 2015
Paul McCartney James Corden Freddie Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle of Wight Festival The BRIT Awards The Horrors Ronan Keating Lionel Richie The Saturdays Charlie Simpson Herb
Lester Ping Pong Cosmo Awards Take That MTV Brand New MTV Crashes Andreya Triana Jermain Jackman Woman’s Hour The Smashing Pumpkins Two Door Cinema Club The
Gaslight Anthem Troy Gary Barlow Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds of Summer Katherine Jenkins Laura Doggett Soundgarden Ride Laura Mvula Manny Norte Queens Of The Stone
Age Black Sabbath Paul McCartney James Corden Freddie Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle of Wight Festival The BRIT Awards The Horrors Ronan Keating Lionel Richie The Saturdays
Charlie Simpson Herb Lester Ping Pong Cosmo Awards Take That MTV Brand New MTV Crashes Andreya Triana Jermain Jackman Woman’s Hour The Smashing Pumpkins Two
Door Cinema Club The Gaslight Anthem Troy Gary Barlow Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds of Summer Katherine Jenkins Laura Doggett Soundgarden Ride Laura Mvula Manny Norte
Queens Of The Stone Age Black Sabbath Paul McCartney James Corden Freddie Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle of Wight Festival The BRIT Awards The Horrors Ronan Keating Lionel
Richie The Saturdays Charlie Simpson Herb Lester Ping Pong Cosmo Awards Take That MTV Brand New MTV Crashes Andreya Triana Jermain Jackman Woman’s Hour The
Smashing Pumpkins Two Door Cinema Club The Gaslight Anthem Troy Gary Barlow Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds of Summer Katherine Jenkins Laura Doggett Soundgarden Ride
Laura Mvula Manny Norte Queens Of The Stone Age Black Sabbath Paul McCartney James Corden Freddie Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle of Wight Festival The BRIT Awards The
Horrors Ronan Keating Lionel Richie The Saturdays Charlie Simpson Herb Lester Ping Pong Cosmo Awards Take That MTV Brand New MTV Crashes Andreya Triana Jermain
Jackman Woman’s Hour The Smashing Pumpkins Two Door Cinema Club The Gaslight Anthem Troy Gary Barlow Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds of Summer Katherine Jenkins Laura
Doggett Soundgarden Ride Laura Mvula Manny Norte Queens Of The Stone Age Black Sabbath Paul McCartney James Corden Freddie Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle of Wight Festival
The BRIT Awards The Horrors Ronan Keating Lionel Richie The Saturdays Charlie Simpson Herb Lester Ping Pong Cosmo Awards Take That MTV Brand New MTV Crashes Andreya
Triana Jermain Jackman Woman’s Hour The Smashing Pumpkins Two Door Cinema Club The Gaslight Anthem Troy Gary Barlow Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds of Summer Katherine
Jenkins Laura Doggett Soundgarden Ride Laura Mvula Manny Norte Queens Of The Stone Age Black Sabbath Paul McCartney James Corden Freddie Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle
of Wight Festival The BRIT Awards The Horrors Ronan Keating Lionel Richie The Saturdays Charlie Simpson Herb Lester Ping Pong Cosmo Awards Take That MTV Brand New
MTV Crashes Andreya Triana Jermain Jackman Woman’s Hour The Smashing Pumpkins Two Door Cinema Club The Gaslight Anthem Troy Gary Barlow Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds
of Summer Katherine Jenkins Laura Doggett Soundgarden Ride Laura Mvula Manny Norte Queens Of The Stone Age Black Sabbath Paul McCartney James Corden Freddie
Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle of Wight Festival The BRIT Awards The Horrors Ronan Keating Lionel Richie The Saturdays Charlie Simpson Herb Lester Ping Pong Cosmo Awards Take
That MTV Brand New MTV Crashes Andreya Triana Jermain Jackman Woman’s Hour The Smashing Pumpkins Two Door Cinema Club The Gaslight Anthem Troy Gary Barlow
Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds of Summer Katherine Jenkins Laura Doggett Soundgarden Ride Laura Mvula Manny Norte Queens Of The Stone Age Black Sabbath Paul McCartney
James Corden Freddie Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle of Wight Festival The BRIT Awards The Horrors Ronan Keating Lionel Richie The Saturdays Charlie Simpson Herb Lester Ping Pong
Cosmo Awards Take That MTV Brand New MTV Crashes Andreya Triana Jermain Jackman Woman’s Hour The Smashing Pumpkins Two Door Cinema Club The Gaslight Anthem
Troy Gary Barlow Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds of Summer Katherine Jenkins Laura Doggett Soundgarden Ride Laura Mvula Manny Norte Queens Of The Stone Age Black Sabbath
Lester Ping Pong Cosmo Awards Take That MTV Brand New MTV Crashes Andreya Triana Jermain Jackman Woman’s Hour The Smashing Pumpkins Two Door Cinema Club The
Gaslight Anthem Troy Gary Barlow Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds of Summer Katherine Jenkins Laura Doggett Soundgarden Ride Laura Mvula Manny Norte Queens Of The Stone
Age Black Sabbath Paul McCartney James Corden Freddie Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle of Wight Festival The BRIT Awards The Horrors Ronan Keating Lionel Richie The Saturdays
Charlie Simpson Herb Lester Ping Pong Cosmo Awards Take That MTV Brand New MTV Crashes Andreya Triana Jermain Jackman Woman’s Hour The Smashing Pumpkins Two
Door Cinema Club The Gaslight Anthem Troy Gary Barlow Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds of Summer Katherine Jenkins Laura Doggett Soundgarden Ride Laura Mvula Manny Norte
Queens Of The Stone Age Black Sabbath Paul McCartney James Corden Freddie Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle of Wight Festival The BRIT Awards The Horrors Ronan Keating Lionel
Richie The Saturdays Charlie Simpson Herb Lester Ping Pong Cosmo Awards Take That MTV Brand New MTV Crashes Andreya Triana Jermain Jackman Woman’s Hour The
Smashing Pumpkins Two Door Cinema Club The Gaslight Anthem Troy Gary Barlow Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds of Summer Katherine Jenkins Laura Doggett Soundgarden Ride
Laura Mvula Manny Norte Queens Of The Stone Age Black Sabbath Paul McCartney James Corden Freddie Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle of Wight Festival The BRIT Awards The
Horrors Ronan Keating Lionel Richie The Saturdays Charlie Simpson Herb Lester Ping Pong Cosmo Awards Take That MTV Brand New MTV Crashes Andreya Triana Jermain
Jackman Woman’s Hour The Smashing Pumpkins Two Door Cinema Club The Gaslight Anthem Troy Gary Barlow Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds of Summer Katherine Jenkins Laura
Doggett Soundgarden Ride Laura Mvula Manny Norte Queens Of The Stone Age Black Sabbath Paul McCartney James Corden Freddie Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle of Wight Festival
The BRIT Awards The Horrors Ronan Keating Lionel Richie The Saturdays Charlie Simpson Herb Lester Ping Pong Cosmo Awards Take That MTV Brand New MTV Crashes Andreya
www.dawbell.com
www.twitter.com/dawbell
Triana Jermain Jackman Woman’s
Hour The Smashing Pumpkins
Two Door Cinema Club The Gaslight Anthemwww.facebook.com/dawbell
Troy Gary Barlow Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds of Summer Katherine
Jenkins Laura Doggett Soundgarden Ride Laura Mvula Manny Norte Queens Of The Stone Age Black Sabbath Paul McCartney James Corden Freddie Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle
of Wight Festival The BRIT Awards The Horrors Ronan Keating Lionel Richie The Saturdays Charlie Simpson Herb Lester Ping Pong Cosmo Awards Take That MTV Brand New
MTV Crashes Andreya Triana Jermain Jackman Woman’s Hour The Smashing Pumpkins Two Door Cinema Club The Gaslight Anthem Troy Gary Barlow Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds
of Summer Katherine Jenkins Laura Doggett Soundgarden Ride Laura Mvula Manny Norte Queens Of The Stone Age Black Sabbath Paul McCartney James Corden Freddie
Tel: 0203Ronan
327 7111
Email:
[email protected]
Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle of Wight Festival The BRIT Awards The Horrors
Keating
Lionel
Richie The Saturdays Charlie Simpson Herb Lester Ping Pong Cosmo Awards Take
That MTV Brand New MTV Crashes Andreya Triana Jermain Jackman Woman’s Hour The Smashing Pumpkins Two Door Cinema Club The Gaslight Anthem Troy Gary Barlow
Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds of Summer Katherine Jenkins Laura Doggett Soundgarden Ride Laura Mvula Manny Norte Queens Of The Stone Age Black Sabbath Paul McCartney
James Corden Freddie Flintoff Leona Lewis Isle of Wight Festival The BRIT Awards The Horrors Ronan Keating Lionel Richie The Saturdays Charlie Simpson Herb Lester Ping Pong
Cosmo Awards Take That MTV Brand New MTV Crashes Andreya Triana Jermain Jackman Woman’s Hour The Smashing Pumpkins Two Door Cinema Club The Gaslight Anthem
Troy Gary Barlow Jamie Cullum 5 Seconds of Summer Katherine Jenkins Laura Doggett Soundgarden Ride Laura Mvula Manny Norte Queens Of The Stone Age Black Sabbath
It’s time to see who is blazing trails and set
to spark up the sonic fires in 2015. Besides
BRITs Critics’ Choice forerunner James Bay,
there is a plethora of young artists defining
this year’s musical landscape. Here are
some of the ones to watch out for…
Dance pop star Becky Hill’s vocal talents
urged will.i.am and Jessie J to turn around
for her - she has since risen to prominence
and signed a record deal with Parlophone
records. Her sound is electronic with a
mainstream appeal. Hill has been hailed as
one of the new artists for 2015 by iTunes and
Spotify along with the delectable Rae Morris.
Morris marks her own sound and story
with her debut album Unguarded released
January 2015. She has been compared to the
likes of Florence Welch and Ellie Goulding
and is holding her own against such
impressive comparisons. Another powerful
female vocalist to look out for is northern
Irish singer Bridie Monds-Watson aka Soak,
her striking, unique voice is interspersed
with subtle tones and Celtic melodies. She
explores deep emotional complexities in her
songs and has been playing the guitar and
recording since the age of 13. Her hauntingly
melodic voice was picked up by Chvrches
for the first single on their label Goodbye
Records. Not bad for a first release…
Media Relations for
• Publicity
• Brands
• Digital/Social Networking
• TV Plugging
• Events
Words: Tracie Storey
Proud to support the best of British music
More female talent is introduced in
the rather fabulous form of Holly
Låpsley Fletcher aka Låpsley, a multi
instrumentalist who plays the oboe, piano
and guitar. Although her talents do not
stop there, her delicate and elegant voice
radiates an intimacy over her truthful lyrics.
Described as “ethereal minimalist electronica,”
her songs have a momentum of their own
leading her into all the right places; “a one
woman XX or London Grammar,” says The
Guardian. Laura Doggett was spotted by
talent scouts as a teenager. She released
her first single Phoenix produced by Sohn in
July 2014. It received a remarkable response.
She has since embarked on her first tour
supporting the superb John Newman; she
explains “I’m a very introverted performer,
I get into my own world and don’t really
say too much”. She may not say too much
but her sound melts electronic pop with
a soulful vocal and her debut album is
anticipated for release this spring. Hugely
talented singer, songwriter, producer
and editor, Shura was inspired whilst
watching her brother spin drum & bass at
the weekends. This galvanized her musical
ambition and the Moscow-born BritishRussian started to make her own sounds
and sculpt her own take on classic R&B. Her
DIY video Touch featuring her close friends
kissing was released online in February
2014 to wide acclaim with Jessie Ware
swiftly becoming one of her biggest fans.
You have probably heard if not seen Jess
Glynne whose impressive vocals featured
on Clean Bandit’s single Rather Be and
Route 94’s My Love, both of which reached
Wolf Alice
number one in the UK Singles Charts in
2014. Her own debut single Right Here
produced by Gorgon City stormed into
the charts. Further collaborations with Rita
Ora and Tinie Tempah ensure her debut
album looks set to make a big splash very
soon. Incubators of new talent Black Butter
Records signed Sinead Harnett, a London
based British singer, in order to release her
first single Got Me in 2013. Having caught
the attention of Wiley, she has also featured
on Disclosure’s Boiling track and appeared
as a guest vocalist on Rudimental’s debut
album Home. Coined as ‘Track of the Week’
in both The Guardian and Huffington
Post this sweet soul singer is forging her
very own brand of jazz electronic pop.
Moving on to solo males, we start with the
formidable baritone neo soul vocalist Kwabs
who has been laying the foundations for his
future since 2012 with his notable cover of
James Blake’s The Wilhelm Scream, followed
by collaborations with the illustrious Sohn.
Kwab’s 2014 releases Wrong or Right and
Walk are an indication of what’s to come
from his anticipated forthcoming album
on Atlantic. Tapping into a similar audience
but on a very different tip is Uzo Emenike
aka MNEK who has been referred to as
a young Bobby Brown, a talented writerproducer who has collaborated with the
impressive Gorgon City & Rudimental. He
swings his audio pendulum from soul and
garage to R&B and doesn’t shy away from
103
A
business
Awards Parties Dinners Weddings
For more information call 0870 850 1848 or visit payneandgunter.co.uk
TAX
•
ACCOUNTANCY •
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
We are proud to work with
Commercial, financial and taxation advice for
growing businesses and their owners
a killer bassline - he is set to make some
serious waves this year. Rory Graham aka
Rag ‘n’ Bone Man is an underground UK soul
and blues singer, brought up with music
from an early age - his mother was a singer
and father an accomplished guitarist. He
released his first solo project on High Focus
records last year and his gifted vocal tones
and adept lyrics show a forward thinking
take on the soul and blues terrain. Another
equally gifted young male artist is Rhodes.
Supporting Sam Smith, London Grammar,
Laura Marling and Rufus Wainright, Rhodes
made waves with his release of Breathe taken
from his Home EP last Sept 2014. Breathe is a
beautifully intimate song showcased when
he ventured out on the road for his debut
UK tour: “I had to overcome a lot of demons,
I suppose, but I think the more I do it, I learn
a little bit more how to deal with that. It’s
getting easier. It’s really great fun,” he says.
Finally, the bands that are coming up
through the ranks are Wolf Alice, a north
London grunge quartet who have just
recorded their first album with seminal
producer Mike Crossey of Arctic Monkeys
and Jake Bugg fame. Fresh off the support
slot of Alt-J’s O2 arena shows last month,
they have hit the ground running this year.
Female front woman Ellie Rowsell says, “We
want people to jump around and have fun”.
They don’t take themselves too seriously and
have been described by Clash Magazine as
“the lovechild of folk and grunge”. Sunset
Sons corner the market for pop rock
anthems inspired by surfing, snowboarding
culture and a love of the outdoors. The
band were born when Bournemouth-born
singer Rory was singing covers in a French
surf resort, whilst Jed, Pete, & Rob came
together between the backdrop of some
fresh white breaks. Two years later they
signed to Polydor records with a collection
of their own material which they are taking
on the road, preferably at gig locations sur la
mer. Flying the flag for the ladies are London
trio Georgia, Chalin & Cherish aka JUCE, an
r&b girl band with fans in high places. They
supported Basement Jaxx at the O2 Arena
last year and are much loved by Public
Enemy - who introduced them onstage at
Tramlines in Sheffield last year. Their debut
single Call You Out is super fresh, with styling
comparable to 80s girl group Salt-N-Pepa.
Prides from Glasgow are best known for
playing at that city’s 2014 Commonwealth
Games. With a ton of remixes under their belt
and headline tour announced for early 2015,
these boys will be in a town near you very
soon. Also out on the road are Tunbridge
Wells duo Slaves. Isaac Holman and Laurie
Vincent bring their own brand of punk,
grunge and Sex Pistols-style songs to the
table. Rumour has it, when on Jools Holland’s
TV show last year, Bono told them; “you are
really good.” The newcomers replied, “cheers
mate – you too”. Their sharp songs and
equally laconic humour is earning these two
British geezers Radio 1 A-list plays with their
single Hey and an ever-expanding fanbase.
With such a magnitude of talent producing
the freshest new sounds, 2015 is already
shaping up to be a special time for British
music. Which of our bright lights will shine
strongest by this time next year? Take your
pick and leave it to fate, because all are
primed and ready to step up to the plate…
At Smith & Williamson, we work with founders
and management teams providing end-to-end
services to meet all your financial needs. With a
dedicated Media Group that truly understands the
industry and advises early-stage growing
businesses through to international organisations,
we are in tune to support you in delivering your
financial objectives, whatever they may be.
Andrew Wilkes | 020 7131 4321
[email protected]
Dave Mouncey | 0117 376 2133
[email protected]
smith.williamson.co.uk/media
Smith & Williamson LLP regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants In England and Wales for a range of investment business activities. A member of Nexia International.
Top Left Clockwise:
Kwabs, Sunset Sons & Slaves.
105
And…
…Relax!
ARE DELIGHTED TO ONCE AGAIN
PRESENT THE BRITS SPA 2015
The eyes of the world are on The BRIT Awards tonight.
VO5, the UK’s No.1 styling brand is excited to return
Designed to answer the prayers of London’s
With over 50 years experience in caring for even
for the second year running as an official BRITs Spa
time-poor urbanites, PRIV harnesses its network of
the most sensitive skin, Simple skincare uses only
backstage partner at the coveted 2015 BRIT Awards
highly-trained beauty and wellness professionals
the purest possible ingredients including multi-
- creating hairstyles to express the very best of you.
and the latest geo-tagging technology to enable
vitamin goodness and skin loving nutrients to
you to order a huge range of beauty services and
provide gentle yet effective skincare solutions.
The VO5 hub is headed up by stylist to the music
elite, Claire Rothstein, who will be on hand with
As every camera lens is trained towards our glamorous
guestlist, those celebrities know it’s important to
look as good as you can – and feel great!
her team to meet the backstage styling needs
treatments, direct to your home, hotel or office
within an hour of booking – all available from 6am
to 10pm, 7 days a week. Offering everything from
Factors of daily life can leave skin dehydrated, which is an
underlying cause of skin sensitivity. Skin can dehydrate
from the inside as well as from the outside; hard water,
on the biggest music night of the year!
haircuts to manicures, make-up, massages and
Fun, spontaneous and creative, whatever the style
personal training sessions, PRIV has revolutionised
That’s where The BRIT Awards 2015 Spa comes in.
and whoever the artist, VO5 will be the answer to
the beauty services industry. Free to download
weather contribute to skin
Hidden away backstage at the O2 is a must-visit
gem of a pamper suite, designed to take
care of our VIPs’ last minute needs.
all styling backstage needs. Guys will be quiffed
and available at the click of a button, users are
dehydration, which can cause
and groomed, whilst girls will be tousled and styled,
able to search for highly trained, freelance
We’re delighted that the most respected names in fashion,
beauty and grooming join us once again to provide
treatments ranging from skincare and tanning
to hair, makeup and nail treats.
Many thanks to the world-famous
brand partners and renowned beauty
professionals who ensure The BRITs
goes without a style hitch…
using VO5’s high-performing products.
In addition, all artists will have
exclusive access to the upcoming
launches from the brand, for him
the NEW VO5 “Thicken Up” range
and for her the NEW VO5 ‘Give
professionals, based on their proximity,
expertise and user rating, and can even book
such as dryness and
irritation. All Simple products
the PRIV team for an exclusive express
contain triple purified water
manicure inspired by The BRIT Awards.
to quench skin’s thirst, Simple
gopriv.com
knows that sensitivity isn’t just
a skin type, it’s a symptom
Join VO5 for styling and
of our skin’s relationship
finishing touches at the
with the outside world.
chill-out “Style To The
At the BRITs Spa, Simple is
introducing new Micellar
ultimate music night!
by industry experts to help women find
products that will make them look and
feel beautiful. The collection includes
foundations which harness groundbreaking technology, radiance
boosting primers, mascaras that
bring together lengthening
and volumising all in one
tube and fabulous colour
for eyes, lips and nails.
superdrug.com/
brandshop/B
weakened skin barrier is more
prone to signs of sensitivity
nails do the talking this evening and join
Beat Bar” - before the
B. offers premium makeup made easy, created
weakening of the skin barrier. A
multiple services at the same time. Let your
Me Texture’ products.
vo5.co.uk
harsh skincare products and the
Water, which harnesses the
Luxury tanning and skincare brand Vita
Liberata is the Official BRITs Spa Tanning
Partner Backstage at the 2015 BRIT Awards.
For the second year running, Vita Liberata are
providing BRIT nominees and performers backstage
with gorgeous golden tans and flawless skin
finishing. Vita Liberata will be unveiling their worldfirst self tanning bronzer Trystal™ Minerals alongside
their brand new Self Tanning
Night Moisture Mask which is
sure to give performers stageready skin for the big show!
Also on offer will be their
celebrity-favourite odourless
spray tan treatments and
luxe skin finishing with
the stunning Capture
The Light Collection for
red-carpet-ready skin.
power of water for truly
beautiful, hydrated skin.
simple.co.uk
Get your hands on the
products used backstage at
vitaliberata.co.uk
106
107
A festival
of talents
BACKBEAT PRO
Wireless, active noise-cancelling headphones.
Immerse in your music and block out
the noisy world.
You’re going to need a longer playlist
Multi Device
24 Hour Play Time
BRIT School’s blossoming
industry links include
Glastonbury supremo
Michael Eavis.
Auto Play/Pause
Visit plantronics.com or tweet us @Plantronics_UK
©2015 Plantronics, Inc. Plantronics and BackBeat are trademarks
of Plantronics, Inc. registered in the US and other countries. 01/15
19550_BackBeat_PRO_Ad_A5_AW.indd 1
PROUD TO BE THE
LIVE AUDIO
PROVIDER TO
THE BRIT
AWARDS
16/01/2015 16:35
In Memory of our
dear friend
Derrick Zieba
1955 - 2014
Sound Designer to the
BRIT’s for over
two decades.
The BRIT School is never short of a guest speaker
or two and in September 2014 the king of
Glastonbury’s famous music festival, Michael
Eavis, became the latest celeb to stop by its
Selhurst, South London campus to meet pupils.
The 79 year-old founding father was in London
to receive the prestigious MITs award. But he also
took to the BRIT School’s main theatre stage to
engage in a Q&A held for eager BRIT students.
Eavis’s self-starting determination, coupling
hard work with industry nous, fits in well with
the entrepreneurial BRIT ethos. These days,
BRIT alumni could easily keep Glastonbury
going, with talents trained across the board in
entertainment, media, and technology spheres.
WORLD CLASS AUDIO
www.britanniarow.com
The school, which has undergone a massive
rebuild and rebranding project recently,
continues to flourish thanks to the vision of
its Principal Stuart Worden, its dedicated staff,
and expanding roll of 1200 students ranging
from 14-19 years of age. What’s more, equality
of opportunity is ensured as no student pays
to study at BRIT thanks to the school’s unique
educational status. Set up in 1991, it is a one-off;
a joint commitment to the fields of technology
and the performing arts by the Department
of Education and the school’s main champion,
the music industry’s charity arm, the BRIT Trust.
To date, the BRIT Trust has channelled funding
exceeding £8m toward its much-loved (and
now super-successful) beneficiary. But the
industry’s involvement doesn’t end there.
Certainly, the BRIT School’s emphasis on
academic achievement (68% of students
gained the vocational equivalent of A*-B at A
level), as well as its Ofsted Outstanding rating
is impressive. Alongside academic subject like
English and Maths, students specialise in one
of nine strands of vocational training – Music,
Theatre or Musical Theatre, Dance, Technical
Theatre Arts or Community Arts Practice,
Interactive Media, Broadcast, Digital and
Communication, or Visual Arts and Design.
But success hinges also on their personal
drive to swap ambition for practice; often
109
CREATING EVENTS WITH THE WOW FACTOR
Gala Dinners
Awards Ceremonies
Concerts / Festivals
Corporate Events
Hospitality
“ BRIT gave me independence
and allowed me to realise
my potential to be a song
writer and performer”
Ella Eyre
it is the school’s close ties with the creative industries
that provide an all-important first foot in the door.
Contact our team to see how we can work with you
[email protected]
Manic depression stopped me from
playing to the point of getting rid of my
guitar to pay for somewhere to live.
Help Musicians UK got me back on my
feet. I dread to think where I would be
without them.
We helped Matt when a crisis stopped him
from performing. Can we help you?
helpmusicians.org.uk
020 7239 9100
Registered charity 228089
Even as school-leavers face challenging times, 99% of BRIT
students went into further education, training, or straight
into the highly competitive fields they’ve chosen. Students
gain insight into the world of work thanks to regular talks by
names including Cash Jumbo and the Inbetweeners’ Blake
Harrison, through programmes such as work experience
blocks on Anya Hindmarch’s London Fashion Week
Catwalk and at Sunday Night At The London Palladium
over at ITV. Relationships triumph again through industry
funded studies; the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation
bankrolls a Theatre Bridge Course at the school while the
Cameron MacIntosh bursary helps a promising Musical
Theatre student. Prizes and stipends from Westfield, Rolls
Royce, and the Obie Bursary Fund ensure students can
put financial worries to the side while forging careers, and
expertise from diverse outlets Grand Theft Auto, The V&A
and Aardman Animation shows the way. And the use of
equipment in state-of-the-art studios is advantageous as
well as exciting – just ask the students on hand to take
delivery of the 22 Gibson guitars on loan so the school can
deliver its wide-ranging 21 project community outreach
programme with a delicious twang instead of a swing…
Glastonbury Boss Michael Eavis’s own connection to BRIT
is longstanding – after all, he has previously welcomed
former BRIT students including Jessie J, Ella Eyre, Katy
B, King Krule, Rizzle Kicks, The Kooks, The Noisettes,
and Athlete to his event stages, as well as the late Amy
Winehouse. Hmm, that leaves, among others, jazz queen
Zara McFarlane and the school’s biggest name of all, Adele.
Could she headline the event in the future?
Maybe. Just wish upon a star…
“ The learning at BRIT is
unrestricted, everything
I was taught has had
a direct impact on my
future”.
Cush Jumbo
111
The
Ultimate
Collection
THE BRIT AWARDS PRESENTS THE
VERY BEST GOODIE BAG GIFTS, 2015
Competition to win one of
Tracey Emin’s coveted trophies is
fierce – but everyone’s a winner
here on BRITs night.
All our invited A-list performers,
presenters and of course the
award winners themselves will
take home more than memories.
Each will also receive a treasured
momento of this glamorous night.
SENSICHIC
SENSICHIC CLASSIC COLLECTION
SCENTED CANDLE
MADE OF CARPET®
Founded by former beauty PR Patrizia Galeota from
her North-West London kitchen where she now
lovingly hand-pours batches of 10 soy candles at a
time; the idea for SensiChic began in 2011 with a
wedding in Southern Italy and trying to decide
on the perfect ‘Bomboniere’ (wedding favour).
MESSENGER DECOR NAVY
At Made of Carpet® we decided
to bring justice and restore the
former glory of unique and
elegant Victorian Carpet bags.
sensichic.com
For the last 150 years you could
find “carpet” bags made of tapestry,
kilim, velvet or velour and even
simple cloth, some of them even
have carpet patterns, but none of
them were made of real plushy rugs.
We have closely examined all
possible modern materials and
technologies, and have found those that meet
a performance capability of modern machinery, all
high quality requirements of the real Victorian Carpet
bags and modern health and safety standards.
madeofcarpet.com
Thanks to our generous gifting
partners, The BRIT Awards Goodie
Bag 2015 is a special collection
of hand-picked luxury pieces;
an eclectic array of marvel and
must-haves, mixing classic British
style with the freshest of design
ideas, and is our heartfelt way
of saying “thank you.” So here’s
what the lucky recipients will
be taking home…
MISFIT WEARABLES
BOSE
MISFIT SHINE
BOSE® SOUNDLINK® COLOUR
BLUETOOTH® SPEAKER
The Misfit Shine is an elegant and waterproof fitness
activity monitor that can be worn on the wrist, as a
necklace or as a discreet accessory anywhere on the
body for up to 4 months without the need for being
charged. Synchronising data from the Shine onto a
phone or tablet is easy thanks to the Misfit Shine
app, simply place the Shine on the screen of any
phone and tablet and watch it sync #Misfituk
A dedication to research and excellence:
It’s the Bose approach to better sound and
it has been since our founding in 1964.
bose.co.uk
JBL
misfit.com
SYNCHROS S400BT PREMIUM PERFORMANCE
BLUETOOTH HEADPHONES
JBL engineers have used decades of audio engineering
and expertise to develop headphones that deliver a
balanced audio experience with amazing clarity and
deep, powerful, bass. The JBL S400BT high performance
premium headphones adds the freedom of Bluetooth®
wireless connection and advanced aptX digital
encoding technology to offer the best possible audio
experience. Other advanced features include touch
sensitive controls, NFC for simple pairing and 15 hours
of playback - the JBL S400BT a portable revolution.
HUGO BOSS
HUGO MAN & HUGO WOMAN
This spring HUGO introduces a new fragrance for
women who live the HUGO attitude: passionate, bold
and always at the forefront of a new, empowered
generation that does things in its way and lives
up to the motto “invent yourself”. For men this
spring, HUGO presents refreshed HUGO MAN,
the ultimate fragrance for today’s “freethinker”.
JBL.com
fragrances.hugoboss.com/en/
RE
NORTHSKULL LONDON
PREMIUM JEWELLERY & ACCESSORIES
Northskull London is an independent, luxury jewellery
design house bringing their own unique style and
sophistication to the fashion scene. Specialising in
bracelets made of natural stones, leather and Swarovski
crystals creatively incorporating their trademark skulls,
every piece from each collection is expertly handcrafted
in meticulous detail for both formal and casual wear.
nor thskull.com
RE is a remarkable little camera. Launched in New York in
October 2014 by global smartphone manufacturer HTC, RE
is a palm-sized camera that allows people to experience
the moment rather than looking through a lens.
Its wide angle lens means there is no need for a viewfinder,
and its small size means it fits in the palm perfectly making
it easy to carry everywhere with you - events, parties or
travelling. It’s even waterproof so perfect for luxurious
holidays. Capturing both photos and video with the tap of
the button, it also has the ability to record slow motion and
timelapse video – it’s the perfect companion for those with
a creative flair! It syncs
up to both Android and
iOs phones so it’s easy
to share socially too.
Available in white, bright
orange and navy, RE
is the first of a kind for
HTC and a new way to
REimagine photography.
recamera.com
112
PAUL’S BOUTIQUE
GRACIE SLOUCHY SUEDE HANDBAG
Paul’s Boutique is an international
premium accessories brand, with a unique
personality and a distinctive DNA.
We take inspiration from the streets of
London to create high quality, fun and
stylish products with an edgy approach.
Recognised for our bold prints,
dynamic shapes and bright pops
of colour, our creative designs
celebrate our brand identity.
“Quirky, edgy, vibrant, feminine
and sophisticated” are a few of
the characteristics that we believe
reflect our global consumer
and distinguish Paul’s Boutique
handbags and purses.
paulsboutique.com
PANDORA’S LOUNGE
Pandora’s Lounge is thrilled to have put together
this year’s Goodie Bag for The BRIT Awards 2015!
We’re experts in Celebrity Gifting and
our aim is to give brands access to the
most exclusive events and talent.
As well as creating carefully chosen Goodie
Bags, we can add that little extra to your event
by creating an exclusive Gifting Lounge where
your guests are able to personally select their
gifts. We can help provide competition prizes,
great sampling opportunities and direct gifting.
So if you’re an artist looking for some great
gifts, want to put your brand
in the hands of the right talent
or want to add that little extra
to your event, we can help!
pandoraslounge.com
113
Let It Go
Everyone enjoys a
party… but The
BRITs 2015 is about
so much more…
Left to right:
Rickie Haywood
Williams (ex-BRIT
School student),
Max Lousada
(BRITs 2015 Chairman),
Shaun Springer
(MasterCard UK).
jmenternational.com
The British music industry is full of surprises. The
success that our talented artists achieve both
at home and abroad can amaze. But while our
musicians give us recordings to treasure and
live moments to cherish, what really impresses
is the music world’s generosity of spirit. The BRIT
Awards 2015 is the latest in a long line of selfless
endeavours. Thanks to the fundraising arm of
the BPI, The BRIT Trust, tonight’s extravaganza
is a charity shindig on a massive scale.
We don’t need to remind you how often
musicians band together to raise awareness and
cash for good causes. The stars turned out in force
for December’s reprise of the Band Aid project,
and there have been many other worthy deeds.
Perhaps its because music so easily touches
the heart that its makers are so quick to help
others. And since its 1989 inception, when a
group of likeminded industry players came
together to harness the power of music for
good, The BRIT Trust has donated in excess of
£20m to those in need. As well as delivering
much needed aid to disaster appeals
overseas, it has funded a multitude of Britishbased projects. Its ethos? To support young
people through education and music.
The BRIT Trust runs a year-round calendar
of exciting fundraising events, including the
prestigious Music Industry Trust Dinner, Silver Clef
Awards and Classic BRITs, but it is tonight’s event,
The BRIT Awards, that delivers by far the biggest
charity donation. Proceeds from ticket sales and
TV rights, bar bills, merchandising and more have
swelled the charity’s coffers by £15m so far.
The BRIT Trust appreciates your generosity in
attending the event as well as every penny
raised in bar bills from the compilation CD to
the bar bills – because the need for The BRIT
Awards’ donations is greater than ever.
As well as a number of carefully-selected
grassroots and community projects, The BRIT
Trust continues to support the wonderful
work of its two main beneficiaries, The BRIT
School and Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy.
Learn more at brittrust.co.uk
THE BRIT SCHOOL
The BRIT School prepares students for lives in the
artistic spheres thanks to its unrivalled general and
vocational training. Uniquely funded by The BRIT
Trust alongside the Department of Education, it is
the UK’s leading performing arts and technology
state school. Welcoming 1,200 students to its
site in Selhurst near Croydon, BRIT provides
those ages 14-19 with a unique and muchadmired education; importantly, it is free to all.
The school’s alumni now work across the
creative industries in the widest variety of roles.
Producers, composers, painters, film-makers,
choreographers, editors, set designers, costumiers,
webmasters, DJs, games makers and community
artists have learnt their trade behind the school’s
doors. Meanwhile globally successful artists
– Adele, Rizzle Kicks, Ella Eyre, Jessie J, Kate
Nash, Katie Melua, The Feeling, Leona Lewis
and many more all honed their craft there.
The BRIT School continues to expand and in
turn encourages the arts in a wider community
setting. The BRIT Trust is proud of its ongoing
relationship with the BRIT School and beyond.
brit.croydon.sch.uk
NORDOFF ROBBINS
Nordoff Robbins, the music therapy charity,
is dedicated to transforming the lives of
vulnerable children and adults. It works with
people who have a range of challenges such
as autism, dementia, and depression, as
well as physical and learning disabilities.
Music therapy is a specialist use of music,
which helps people in many different ways.
Some may experience physical benefits,
while others make emotional or social
breakthroughs. Music also helps many to
communicate where they have previously
struggled to do so. The results of music therapy
can have a profound impact on individuals,
their families, and all those around them.
Nordoff Robbins, wholly funded by
charitable donations, carries out its work
in dedicated music therapy centres, in
schools, community centres, hospitals
and care homes. The organisation also
trains music therapists through a specially
devised Masters degree programme.
This vital service often works alongside the
NHS and care sector, but Nordoff Robbins
receives no government funding. The charity
derives a significant amount of income from
individual sponsors, including its largest
benefactor, The BRIT Trust. With continued
support from Annie Lennox, Paul McCartney,
Muse, Emeli Sandé, Bill Nighy, Gary Barlow, Alfie
Boe, Laura Wright and many more, and through
events like the O2 Silver Clef Awards and The
MITs, Nordoff Robbins continues to build
awareness of its services and transform lives.
nordoff-robbins.org.uk
A special welcome
The BRIT Awards also continues to donate
ever-popular event tickets to organisations
that enable deserving individuals to be part
of the most glamorous night of the music
industry year. The BRITs donates coveted prizes
to charity auctions including ITV’s Text Santa
plus Stand up to Cancer campaign. A further
ticket allocation goes to Tickets For Troops, a
charity that gives serving British servicemen
and women a welcome night off from their
duties. Those injured in military action since
2001 also have the opportunity to join in.
ticketsfor troops.org.uk
And there’s more…
The BRIT Trust continues to support a wide
range of other deserving projects. These include:
Access To Music, Arts & Kids/London Sinfonietta,
Avenues Youth Project, Bigga Fish, Black Arts Alliance,
Blackheath Halls, Blantyre Music Project, Glasgow,
British Performing Arts, Medicine Trust, Canford
Summer School, Charterhouse in Southwark, Chicken
Shed, Community Music, Commission for Racial
Equality, Community Music East, Dame Vera Lynn
Trust, Drugscope, Global Rock Challenge, Heart’n’Soul,
Heathfield Community College, Irene Taylor Trust
(Music in Prisons), Key 4 Life , Lenton Community
Association, LIPA, Making Music, Mencap, Midi Music
Company, Music & Sound Experience, Wales, Music and
the Deaf, Musicians’ Benevolent Fund, Musicians In
Focus, Musicians Union, National Foundation for Youth
Music, National Music Day, Pimlico School, Portishead
Youth, Princes’ Trust, Raphael Walters, Release, Rock
School, Roundhouse Trust, Royal Commonwealth
Society, Save The Children, St David’s Hall, Cardiff,
St Luke’s School, Terrence Higgins Trust, Tim Macbeth
Two Moors Festival, West Lothian College, Young
Persons Concert Foundation, Youth Music Theatre UK
115
STEVE ACKERMAN • STEPHEN ACKROYD • MARK ADAMS • SEAN ADAMS • DAN ADAMS • ANTHONY ADDIS • JOHN AIZLEWOOD •
YEMI ALADE-LAWAL • OLLY ALEXANDER • PHIL ALEXANDER • DEREK ALLEN • JAMIE ALLYN • MATTHEW AMOS • SIAN ANDERSON •
BOB ANGUS • MEHDI AOUSTIN-SELLAMI • APL-DE-AP • CHARLIE ARME • MELANIE ARMSTRONG • VICTOR AROLDOSS •
MANISH ARORA • NIHAL ARTHANAYAKE • JANE ARTHY • MANJIT AUJLA-STARR • VIBICA AULD • CHRIS AUSTIN •
SARAH BAILEY • ANDREW BAILEY • PAUL BAINES • CLARE BAKER • RALPH BAKER • GARY BALES • EMMA BANKS •
JOE BARBE • JAY BARBOUR • ADAM BARKER • EVE BARLOW • COLIN BARLOW • SIMON BARNABAS • TONY BARNES •
STEVE BARNES • ANTHONY BARNES • BOB BARNES • JAMES BARTON • ALI BARZILAY • ANGUS BATEY • AMUL BATRA •
DEXTER BATSON • MIKE BATT • LISA BATTISTA • CHRIS BAUGHEN • KATHERINE BAWDEN • JAMES BAY •
KIM BAYLEY • BEN BEARDSWORTH • DARCUS BEESE • LAURENCE BELL • SYBIL BELL • STUART BELL • JEZ BELL •
JESS BENDIEN • MARK BENNETT • EDGAR BERGER • EMMA BERKELEY • DANNY BETESH • SALLY BEVAN •
BEN BEWICK • NADINE BIBI • DAN BIDDLE • RICHARD BIGNELL • ALEX BILMES • JAMIE BINNS • VAL BIRD •
PETER BLACK • LUKE BLACKALL • MARK BLACKSTOCK • ALANNA BLAKE • MAX BLOOM • LOUIS BLOOM •
Everyone knows who the biggest names in the music biz are. After
LUCY BLYTH • LAURENCE BOAKES • ALEC BOATENG • AARON BOGUCKI • FRED BOLZA • MICHAEL BONNER •
FRANCIS BOOTH • SUMIT BOTHRA • ANNA BOWMAN • EDITH BOWMAN • MIKE BOX • CHARLES BRADBROOK •
all, we’re celebrating the brightest stars of our era on stage tonight.
STEVEN BRAINES • JOSH BRANDON • ALEX BRANSON • RICHARD BRAY • FRED BRETT • PAUL BRIDGEWATER •
But let’s take a moment to acknowledge The BRITs’ quieter heroes – the
MARK BROAD • JANICE BROCK • FLEUR BROOKLIN SMITH • ROBIN BROWN • NATALIE BROWN •
LINDSAY BROWN • DOUGIE BRUCE • TOM BRYANT • BARBARA BRYSON • KEVIN BUCKLE • STEPHEN BUDD •
thousand-strong BRIT Awards Voting Academy. The creative industries’
LIEVEN BULCKENS • JUSTIN BULLEY • PAUL BURGER • NICK BURGESS • ALEXANDRA BURKE •
most
influential movers and shakers have taken over tastemaker duties,
GREG BURNELL • ERICA BURNS • PAUL BURROWS • JAMES BURSEY • CHRIS BUTLER • FIONA BYERS •
using their knowledge and expertise to work out which acts should take
DAMIEN BYRNE • NIAMH BYRNE • JAMES CABOOTER • MELANIE CAGER • STUART CAIN • PAUL CARDOW •
PAUL CAREY • CHARLIE CARNE • KIM CARR • PAT CARR • ADRIAN CARTER • GENNARO CASTALDO •
a coveted BRITs statuette home after the show tonight.
GREG CASTELL • CALLUM CAULFIELD • CLIVE CAWLEY • GABRIELLE CAWTHORNE • PHIL CHADWICK •
The BRITs Voting Academy comprises industry professionals, all much
DAN CHALMERS • LEAH CHALMERS • MATTHEW CHAMBERS • JIM CHANCELLOR • JO CHARRINGTON •
RAOUL CHATTERJEE • DAMIAN CHRISTIAN • ELIAS CHRISTIDIS • PHIL CHRISTIE • CRYSTINA CINTI •
respected in their respective fields. Musicians, their managers,
JAMES CLARK • STEPHEN CLARKE • STUART CLARKE • RICH CLARKE • STEVE CLEMENTS • JANE CLEMETSON •
promoters, publishers and producers serve alongside DJs and
PAUL CLIFFORD • PHIL CLIFTON • ELISE COBAIN • GREG COCHRANE • ROZ COCHRANE-GOUGH • TED COCKLE •
journalists, students, pluggers and retailers on the panel. And
SCOTT COHEN • EMILY COHEN • PAUL COLE • MARK COLLEN • TONY COLLINGE • ANETTE COLLINS •
HATTIE COLLINS • AUSTIN COLLINS • CLAIRE COLLINS • ALAN CONNELL • MEGAN CONNER • PAUL CONNOLLY •
together, they aim to showcase the tremendous talents
LEE CONNOLLY • BEN COOK • CLARE COOKE • TONY COOKE • CLARE COOKE • CHRIS COOKE • JOHN KAYE COOPER •
our nation has to offer. Thank you to The BRITs’
GLENN COOPER • GINNY COOPER • KATE COOPER-OWEN • ADAM CORKE • LEWIS CORNER • JOHN CORNWELL •
Voting Academy for supporting The BRITs
RAYE COSBERT • SIMON COSYNS • FEARNE COTTON/WOOD • DAVE COULL • PETER COULSTON • LOUISE COURT •
SARA COX • JAY COX • JASON COYLE • MICHAEL CRAGG • CAMERON CRAIG • PAUL CRAIG • ALEX CRITCHLEY •
2015. Here’s to another great year!
PAUL CROCKFORD • ANNIE CROFTS • JOHN CRONIN • ADELE CROSS • MATTHEW CROSSWAITE • JEN CROTHERS •
MAGGIE CROWE • ROB CRUTCHLEY • JAMES CURRAN • JANE CURTIS • PHIL DA COSTA • AUSTIN DABOH • NADIA DAHABIYEH •
BRUCE DAISLEY • STEVE DALE • PETER ‘MISTAJAM’ DALTON • JO D’ANDREA • TOM DARK • ALEX DARLING • MIKE DAVIDSON •
JACKIE DAVIDSON • GUY DAVIE • OWAIN DAVIES • HARRI DAVIES • ANDREW DAVIES • SAM DAVIES • ELLIE DAVIS • RICHARD DAWES •
AMY DAWSON • ABI DAWSON • GIUSEPPE DE CRISTOFANO • JONATHAN DEAN • JULIAN DEANE • CEIRE DEERY • STEFAN DEMETRIOU • ANNA DERBYSHIRE • JAMES DEWAR • ACHAL DHILLON •
JERRY DICKENS • LIZZIE DICKSON • ERIN DINEEN • JOHN DINGWALL • SIMON DIX • DAVID DOLLIMORE • ALISON DONALD • PETE DONALDSON • DECLAN DONNELLY • TOBY DONNELLY •
MARY DORAN • BRIANA DOUGHERTY • KATHARINE DOUGLAS • DEBRA DOWNES • DICK DOYLE • SIMON DRAKE • BEN DREW • BEN DRURY • HANNAH DUDLEY • FERGUS DUDLEY • TOBY DUNDAS •
NICHOLAS DUNN • ANTHONY DUNNING • BEN DURLING • IAN DUTT • JOHN DUTTON • MIKE DUTTON • JOHN DYER • BEN EAGLE • JOHN EARLS • NEALE EASTERBY • REBECCA EBBS •
ALEX EDEN-SMITH • FIONA EDMONDSON • RACHEAL EDWARDS • AZI EFTEKHARI • NIGEL ELDERTON • JESS ELDRIDGE • SAM ELDRIDGE • KIPPER ELDRIDGE • ADAM ELFIN • CAROLINE ELLERAY •
JASON ELLIS • ANDY ELLIS • SUSIE EMBER • DAVID EMERY • PAUL EMMINES • DAVID ENTHOVEN • KATE ETTERIDGE • BARRY EVANS • NINA EVANS • RUSS EVANS • CRISPIN EVANS • MATT EVERITT •
JULIE EYRE • STEVE FARRIS • ANNA FENTON • DAVID FENTON • FERGIE • CHERYL FERNANDEZ-VERSINI • CHANTELLE FIDDY • GRAHAM FILMER • MARK FINDLAY • PAUL FIRTH • DEREK FISCHER •
CLIVE FISHER • JAMES FITZHERBERT-BROCKHOLES • LUKE FITZMAURICE • MARK FLETCHER • ELIZABETH FLOWERS • CLIFF FLUET • JAMES FOLEY • SIMON FORBES • DAN FORD • NICK FORD •
DEE FORD • RICHARD FORD • EAMONN FORDE • SHIRIN FOROUTAN • LUCY FORSTER • ALISTAIR FOSTER • DAVID FOSTER-SMITH • LIZZIE FRANCIS • DEREK FRASER • BRUCE FRENCH • JULIAN FRENCH •
LUCY FULFORD • RICK FULTON • IAIN FUNNELL • MARK FURMAN • AMY GAERTNER • STUART GALBRAITH • CHRIS GENTRY • MARK GEORGE • PAT GILBERT • ALEX GILBERT • ELLIE GILES •
WILL GILGRASS • JAMES GILLESPIE • CRAIG GLEDHILL • MICK GLOSSOP • NICK GLYNN • SIMON GOGERLY • MICHAEL GOLDSWORTHY • DENISE GOODWIN • LIZ GOODWIN • NICHOLAS GOREE •
STEVE GOTKINE • CASSANDRA GRACEY • JESSICA GRAY • IAN GREAVES • STEWART GREEN • JONATHAN GREEN • THOMAS GREEN • CHRIS GREEN • MEG GREENHORN • MATTHEW GREER •
RICHARD GRIFFITHS • JAMIE GRIFFITHS • IAN GRIMBLE • BARRY GRINT • SIOBHAN GROGAN • EMMA GUIRAO • CHARLOTTE GUTIERREZ • CHRIS HACKETT • JOE HADDOW • MARK HAGEN •
THOMAS HAIMOVICI • DAN HALL • JOHN HALL • SARAH HALL • ASHER HALLE • PAULA HANLEY • MIKE HANSON • SUE HANTSCH • PHILL HARDING • NIGEL HARDING • EMMA HARDY •
ADAM HARMAN • PRU HARRIS • MARTIN HARRIS • JO HART • NICK HARTLEY • GREG HAVER • DAVID HAWKES • CHRIS HAWKINS • PAUL HAWKINS • NATHALIE HAYES • DARREN HAYNES •
ROBERTO HEART FM • MADELINE HENNESSY • JO HEUSTON • BRIAN HEYWOOD • SAM HILL • RICHARD HINKLEY • JOHN HODGE • DONAL HODGSON • ALEX HOFFMAN • KATE HOLDER • MAX HOLE •
JON HOLMES • JIM HOLMES • LIZ HOLMWOOD • PHIL HOPE • JOFF HOPKINS • ED HORROX • MATTHEW HORTON • PATRICK HOUGH • PAUL HOURICAN • ED HOWARD • BEN HOWARD •
DOMINIC HOWARD • LIAM HOWE • ALISON HOWE • CHLOE HOWL • KEVIN HUGHES • NEIL HUGHES • GREG HUGHES • GUS HULLY • BRAD HUNNER • ARWEN HUNT • ANDREW HUNT •
LUDOVIC HUNTER-TILNEY • PHIL HUTCHEON • PETER HUTCHINSON • TONY HUTTON • JACKIE HYDE • JASON ILEY • DOROTHEE IMHOFF • MICHAEL INFANTE • JAMES INGHAM • TIM INGHAM •
PAUL INGLEBY • TODD INTERLAND • JENNIFER IVORY • DEAN JACKSON • NINA JACKSON • SAM JACKSON • JAKE JACKSON • HEIDI JACOB • BETHAN JAMES • DELLESSA JAMES • DERMOT JAMES •
RENEE JAMIESON • NATALIE JENNINGS • PAUL JOHANNES • SAMMY JONES • PHIL JONES • SIMON JONES • BEN JONES • HENRY JONES • JEFFREY JONES • GILES JONES • LUCY JORDACHE •
DAVID JOSEPH • FRED JUDE • ANNA KARATZIVA • ED KARNEY • DAVID KASSNER • ALEX KASSNER • OLIVER KEENS • PADDY KELLY BUNCE • SIOBHAN KENNY • JOE KENTISH • NICK KEYNES •
MORAD KHOKAR • PHIL KIELTY • JIM KING • CEDRIC KITHIMA • PETER KNIGHT JR. • DAMIAN KNOWLES • JESSICA KORAVOS • HELENA KOSINSKI • LOUISE KOVACS • TALIA KRAINES • STEVAN KRAKOVIC •
PAUL KRAMER • KWAME KWATEN • NIKKI LAMBERT • CHARLIE LARBY • GUY LAWRENCE • GREG LAWTON • MARTYN LEE • ORLA LEE-FISHER • PETE LEGGATT • TOBY LEIGHTON-POPE •
MILES LEONARD • KATHY LEPPARD • YAEL LEVESON • STEVE LEVINE • ALICE LEVINE • DAVID LEVY • JOHN LEWIS • RYAN LEWIS • RICHARD LIGHTMAN • ROBERT LINNEY • HARRY LLOYD-JONES •
DAVE LOADER • ANTON LOCKWOOD • STEPHEN LONG • NICK LONG • KATE LONGMATE • JAVIER LOPEZ • PIXIE LOTT • MAX LOUSADA • TIM LOVEJOY • EMMY LOVELL • DANNY LOVETT • BEN LOWE •
THEO LUKE • NATASHA LYNCH • DORIAN LYNSKEY • PAUL MACK • TOBY MACKENZIE • MACKLEMORE • TOM MACKLIN • JON MAIS • DOT MAJOR • TIM MAJOR • GARETH MALONE • PAUL MALONE •
COLLEEN MALONEY • ANDY MALT • FRAN MALYAN • DAVID MANDERS • ALEX MANN • NATASHA MANN • RICHARD MANNERS • CATHERINE MANNERS • JAMES MANNING • JAMES MANNION •
TOM MARCH • JASON MARCUS • MARC MAROT • TERRY MARSH • JEREMY MARSH • JOHN MARSHALL • WINSTON MARSHALL • KEN MARSHALL • HARRY MARTIN • ALEX MARTIN • CLAIRE MAS •
OMAR MASKATIYA • SHEENA MASON • GUY MASSEY • SUSAN MASTERS • PHIL MATCHAM • DAVID MATHER • DOMINIC MATHURA • AMY MATTHEWS • TINA MATTHEWS • SARAH MATTHEWS •
JIM MAWDSLEY • STEPHANIE MAY • MARION MAYGER • TRENT MAYNARD • IAN MCANDREW • GARY MCCLARNAN • MIKE MCCORMACK • NEIL MCCORMICK • ALLY MCCRAE • BLAIR MCDONALD •
LYNNE MCDOWELL • PAUL MCGHIE • DAVID MCGINNIS • KENNY MCGOFF • LUKE MCGRELLIS • FIONA MCGUGAN • PETE MCINTOSH • JOHN MCLAREN • CRAIG MCLEAN • ELLA MCMAHON •
HANNAH MCMICHEAL • RUSSELL MCNAMARA • TREVOR MCNAMEE • IAIN MCNAY • ANTHONY MCPARTLIN • MICK MEADOWS • ANNETTE MENCKE • JAMES MERRITT • CHRIS MEYNELL •
PHIL MIDDLETON • DAVE MILES • ANNETTE MILLAR • GLENN MILLER • HOWARD MILLS • JAMIE MILTON • MARK MITCHELL • LUKE MITZMAN • DAVID MOGENDORFF • RICHARD MOLLET •
NICK MOORE • TONY MOOREY • GUY MOOT • JASON MORAIS • DEIRDRE MORAN • BRUNO MORELLI • CLIVE MORGAN • FLORENCE MORRIS • GUY MORRIS • TONY MORRIS • JONATHAN MORRISH •
RUPERT MORRISON • ALAN MORRISON • LEE MORRISON • BEN MORTIMER • NIGEL MORTON • CHRISTOPHER MOSER • IAN MOSS • DAVID MOYNIHAN • GEORGE MPANGA • SALIM MUKADDAM •
PAUL MULLER • MICHAEL MULLIGAN • JOHN MULVEY • SAM MUMFORD • MATT MUNDAY • JOE MUNNS • SEAMUS MURPHY-MITCHELL • CONRAD MURRAY • MARIA MURTAGH • ANDREW MYERS •
NICK NEADS • MICHAEL NEIDUS • IAN NEIL • PHIL NELSON • ROBERTO NERI • FRAN NEVRKLA • JOSEPH NEWBLE • RYAN NEWMAN • MATT NEWMAN • TOM NICOLI • ERIK NIELSEN • ANNIE NIGHTINGALE
MBE • RAB NOAKES • ALEX O BRIEN • JAMIE OBORNE • DUMI OBUROTA • DAN O’CONNELL • STEVEN ODUFUYE • MIKE O’KEEFE • SHANE O’NEILL • SARAH ORDIDGE • NIAMH O’REILLY •
SARAH OSBORN • RUDY OSORIO • NIKKE OSTERBACK • ROB OWEN • ANDRE PAINE • ALUN PALMER • MARK PALMER • SAMUEL PALMER • JOHN PARK • RICHARD PARK • NADINE PARKER •
MIKE PARKER • JO PARKERSON • STEVE PARKINSON • DIPESH PARMAR • KATHERINE PARROTT • ANTON PARTRIDGE • ANDY PASK • COLIN PATERSON • BINDU PAUL • CAIUS PAWSON •
CHLOE PEARSON • DANIELLE PERRY • JASON PERRY • JACQUIE PERRYMAN • MATT PHILLIPS • EMILY PHILLIPS • CAMILLA PIA • DAVID PICHILINGI • ADRIAN PIKE • LAURENCE PINKUS • LIZ PIPPETWARNER • STEVE PITRON • SIMON PITT • MARK PLANT • TONY PLATT • MANDY PLUMB • SIMON PORTER • ED POTTON • SAM POTTS • ROHIT PRASAD • PETER PRICE • OLIVER PRIMUS • GARY PROSSER •
PETER PURNELL • SIMON PURSEHOUSE • JOHN PURSER • DAVID QUANTICK • PAUL QUIRK • MADDY RADCLIFF • MARK RADCLIFFE • JAMES RADICE • JENITA RAHMAN • IAN RAMAGE •
MARK RAMPTON • RICHARD RAMSEY • NICK RAPHAEL • DAVID J READING • PAUL REDDING • KIRSTY REDFEARN • STEVE REDMOND • RENE RENNER • EBONY RHINEY-JAMES • JACQUI RICE •
ZEON RICHARDS • NANETTE RIGG • SAMMY RIGLER • GRAHAM RILEY • DAVE ROBERTS • DAN ROBERTS • COLIN ROBERTS • PAUL ROBERTS • GEORGE ROBERTS-BASCOMBE • MARC ROBINSON •
RICH ROBINSON • PETER ROBINSON • SIMON ROBSON • SCOTT RODGER • MARK RONSON • BRIAN ROSE • MARK ROSE • DAN ROSIES • DAN ROTHMAN • DAVID ROWE • HENRIETTA ROWLATT •
PETER RUDGE • RUMER RUMER • WILLIAM SABATINI • SIMON SADLER • RIC SALMON • CHRIS SALMON • DARI SAMUELS • PAUL SAMUELS • NIKI SANDERSON • RAG SATGURU • MARK SAVAGE •
PHIL SAVILL • CHRIS SAWYER • NEIL SAXBY • ANTOINE SAZIO • PAUL SCAIFE • MICHAEL SCHAEBLE • OLIVER SCHUSSER • AJAX SCOTT • DUNCAN SCOTT • ADRIAN SEAR • PETER SELBY •
HENRY SEMMENCE • HANNAH SENIOR • DERREN SEQUEIRA • SAMANTHA SEWELL • TASH SHAH • PROFESSOR JONATHAN SHALIT OBE • DAVID SHARPE • ANTHONY SHAW • EDDIE SHAW •
PAUL SHEEHAN • SALEEM SHEIKH • LISA SHENTON • ADAM SHERWIN • HIROKI SHIRASUKA • JOHN SHORTELL • NICK SHYMANSKY • JOHN SILCOCK • CRAIG SILVEY • VIX SIMPSON • DAVE SIMPSON •
DAVID SINCLAIR • VICTORIA SINDEN • SAM SINGH • SUNIL SINGVI • JACK SINNOTT • TINA SKINNER • OLLIE SLANEY • DAN SLATTER • NEIL SLOAN • GORDON SMART • PAUL SMERNICKI • JEFF SMITH •
MATT SMITH • RORY SMITH • MICHAEL SMITH • MIKE SMITH • CHRISTIAN SMITH • GARY SMITH • CAROLE SMITH • DAVID SMYTH • RYAN SNOOK • STE SOFTLEY • CLAIRE SOUTHWICK •
DANNY SPERLING • ROBERT SPIERS • NICOLA SPOKES • SHAUN SPRINGER • PETER STACK • CJ STANLEY • LOUISE STANNERS POW • POPPY STANTON • OLI STANTON • DAVID STARK • DIANE STARLING •
JOANNA STENHOUSE • GWYNETH STENTON • MICHAEL STIRTON • LIZ STOKES • PAUL STOKES • DICK STONE • AL STONE • BILL STONEBRIDGE • KATIE STRACHAN • DEZ STRAUB • CHRIS STRAW •
ROY STRIDE • SARAH STUART • DAN STUBBS • CAROLINE SULLIVAN • JAZZ SUMMERS • JAMIE SUTCLIFFE • MARK SUTHERLAND • KATHRYN SWAIN • JOEY SWARBRICK • MICHAEL SWEENEY •
ADRIAN SYKES • TABOO • PHIL TAGGART • DEVLIN TAGOE • SONNY TAKHAR • MARTIN TALBOT • CHRIS TAMS • STACEY TANG • GILES TANNER • ANDREW TANSEY • FRANK TAUBERT •
STEPHEN TAVERNER • JOE TAYLOR • ELLIOT TAYLOR • GEOFF TAYLOR • PETER TAYLOR • PIPPA TAYLOR • SAM TAYLOR • MARK TERRY • RICH THANE • PETER THOMAS • JIM THOMAS • LEE THOMPSON •
EMMA THOMPSON • NATHAN THOMPSON • PETE THOMS • MARIANNE THOMSEN • TOM THOROGOOD • JAMES THORPE • ADRIAN THRILLS • IAN TITCHENER • BRENT TOBIN • BARRY TOMES •
DARREN TOMKINS • LIAM TOOTILL • ROB TOULSON • GEOFF TRAVIS • ANDY TRIBE • JOHN TRUELOVE • MATTHEW TUCK • ADAM TUDHOPE • NICOLA TUER • BEN TURNER • BRIONY TURNER •
JON TURNER • HUGO TURQUET • UCHE UCHENDU • CHRISTIAN ULF-HANSEN • TERRY UNDERHILL • FERDY UNGER-HAMILTON • GUS UNGER-HAMILTON • ADAM UYTMAN • JASMINE VAN DEN
BOGAERDE • ADAM VELASCO • TIM VERNON • LISA VERRICO • MATT VINES • ALEX VLASSOPULOS • ALEXIS VOKOS • TONY WADSWORTH • MARK WAGMAN • RICHARD WALD • ANDY WALKER •
CHRIS WALKER • BEN WALKER • HELEN WALKER • OLIVIA WALKER • CHRIS WALKER • DOMINIC WALKER • ALEX WALL • JOHN WALLER • MIKE WALSH • MATT WANSTALL • SIMON WARD • JESSIE WARE •
JOS WATKIN • GREGORY WATSON • ANGELA WATTS • SELINA WEBB • LANA WEBB • JON WEBSTER • JULIE WEIR • ANDY WELCH • ROB WELLS • SOPHIA WELSH • ZOE WHEELER • RICHARD WHEELER •
NIALL WHITE • RICHARD WHITE • KIARON WHITEHEAD • TOM WHITER • DAVE WIBBERLEY • ADAM WILES • DAVID WILKINSON • JOHNNY WILKS • WILL.I.AM • MILLER WILLIAMS • HAYDN WILLIAMS •
STEVEN A WILLIAMS • KAREN WILLIAMS • JOE WILLIAMS • CORAL WILLIAMSON • CLAIRE WILLIS • PETE WILSON • LAURA WILSON • SIMON WILSON • LUCY WINTER • NICOLA WISEMAN •
RUPERT WITHERS • CONRAD WITHEY • SAM WOLFSON • KELLY WOOD • CHRIS WOOD • LAURA WOOD • DAVID WOOD • SALLY WOOD • CHARLES WOOD • RORY WOODBRIDGE • LEIGHTON WOODS •
JONATHAN WOODS • TONY WOODS • SCOTT ‘WOOLFIE’ WOOLF • MATT WOOLLISCROFT • LOUISE WOOLSEY • DAN WOOTTON • BOB WORKMAN • STUART WORTHINGTON • BARNEY WRAGG •
SCOTT WRIGHT • NEIL WRIGHT • KATE WRIGHT • ANDREW YEATES • KIERAN YEATES • CHRIS YORK • TRACIE YOUNG • LISA YOUNG • TOM YOUNG • PHIL YOUNGMAN • IAN YOUNGS
RAISE YOUR
VOICES TO THANK
THE UNSUNG HEROES
OFTHE BRITS 2015
THE
BRIT
AWARDS
VOTING
ACADEMY
2015
117
Pharrell Williams - The BRIT Awards 2014
jmenternational.com
CHARITIES &
I N I T I AT I V E S W E
SUPPORT
O U R CO N T R A C TO R S & CO N T R I B U TO R S
M E D I A PA R T N E R S
G O O DY B A G S U P P L I E R S
cmyk 22c 87m 89y 2k
pantone 173
rgb r 202 g 79 b 56
cmyk 10c 10m 10y 90k
pantone 412
rgb r 55 g 53 b 54
‘ B R I Ts S PA’ PA R T N E R S
Pantone ref:
Reflex Blue
Process Yellow
BRITS COMMITTEE 2015
Committee Chairman: Max Lousada (Warner)
Sally Wood (BRITs TV), Craig Gledhill (BRITs TV),
Miles Leonard (Warner Bros), Nicola Tuer
(Sony), Ben Beardsworth (XL Recordings),
Ted Cockle (UniversaI), Maggie Crowe OBE
(BRITs), Mark Fletcher (BPI/BRITs), Geoff Taylor
(BPI & BRITs) Stuart Bell, Richard Dawes
(Dawbell PR).
FOR THE BPI, OCC & VOTING ACADEMY
Ged Doherty, Geoff Taylor, Kiaron Whitehead,
Mark Fletcher, Guiseppe de Cristofano,
Chris Austin, Omar Maskatiya, Martin Talbot,
Chris Walker.
AWARDS EVENT & SHOW
BAL Event Director Maggie Crowe OBE
Event Manager Adrian Carter
Finance Mark Fletcher & Sarah Stuart
BRITs Digital Committee Chairman
Jack Melhuish (Universal)
Head Of Digital Giuseppe De Cristofano
Technical Support Alan Brindley
Digital and Ticketing Jamie Allyn
Legal Sophia Welsh, Tony Woods, Loredana
Cacciotti & David Sherman
Ticket Sales Steve Clements
Special Projects Coordinator Clare Cooke
Accreditation & Transport Coordinator
Dina Van der Elst
Television Show Produced by BRITs TV
ITV Elaine Bedell, Peter Davey, Kate Maddigan
118
Media Relations DawBell PR
National TV & Radio Promotion
Scream Promotions
International & UK Radio
Syndication Somethin’ Else
International TV Sales BBC Worldwide
Compilation Album Rhino/Warner
Andy Tribe, Hannah Dudley
BRITs Digital Somethin’ Else - Tom Young
Michelle Feurlicht, Kate Cooper-Owen
Catering Payne & Gunter/Levys Restaurants
Bethan James, Lucy Fulford
Design & Photography JM Enternational
Trophy styled by Tracey Emin
Trophy Design liaison Niamh Byrne
Venue Steve Gotkine, James Clarke
MASTERCARD
Shaun Springer
BRITs TV
Creative Director: Willo Perron
Executive Producer Sally Wood
Producer Craig Gledhill
Director Phil Heyes
Production Manager Annie Crofts
Band Production Maggie Mouzakitis
Music Producer Ceire Deery
Talent Producer Charlotte Oates
Production Co-ordinator Holly Enness
ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMES
Producer Mark George
Launch Director Chris Howe
ITV2 Shows Director Tony Grech
Production Manager Elizabeth Flowers
Associate Producer Claire Hickey
Stage Production BRIT Awards Productions
Kate Wright, Tony Wheeler, Lisa Shenton,
Malcolm Birkett, Julie Chennells, Sarah Willis,
Yvonne Ryan, Amanda Crane, Chris Caddy,
Nancy Fearne, Aisling O’Connor, Mark Skates
Stage Management Mike Grove
Production Design Es Devlin
Art Director Chiara Stephenson
Lighting Designer Al Gurdon
Lighting Crew Boss Richard Gorrod
Lighting Company PRG Europe
Rigging Outback Rigging
Sound Designer Colin Pink
PA Supplier Britannia Row Productions
Crew Catering The Bleeding Hearts
Catering Company
Staging StageCo
Set Steel Monkey
Screens Ogle Hog
Local Crew Showstars
Stage Crew Stage Miracles
Dressing Room/Press Monitors
Soundbite Productions
Furniture & Backstage Lovely Things
Panelling Dalesgate Exhibitions
Draping Blackout Limited
Health & Safety MRL Limited
Backstage Security Show & Event Security
Power Templine
BRITS VIP CLUB
Production BRIT Awards Productions
Production Manager Chuck Crampton
Event Production Keeley Wills, Kaz Hill,
Paul Bissoni
Designer Bruce French
Art Director Mick Pirie
Lighting Designer Ben Cracknell
THE BRIT AWARDS 2015 SHOW PROGRAMME
Editorial Helen Lamont (Editor),
Tracie Storey (contributor),
John Marshall (Art Editor),
Will Amery (Design & Production)
Advertising Leppard Associates
Kathy Leppard assisted by Judith Rivers
Advertising Marshall Harrison
Stephen Laffey, James Rolph
Publisher JM Enternational
Printer Fingerprint
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Tracey Emin Studio, Eimear O’Raw
Please be reminded that you are not
permitted to record or film any part of The
BRIT Awards 2015 event without a specific
licence from BRIT Awards Limited.
An
intimate
gig
:
priceless
®
Kaiser Chiefs are
getting ready for their
intimate gig with MasterCard.
Will you be there?
Find out more at
PricelessSurprises.co.uk

wednesday 25 february at the o2 live on

Transcription

Similar documents

[HOMEL

Albums | Videos | Colabs | Social Media | Contact

Entertainment

neil cowley trio - Christopher Holland`s Cosmic Harmony

MusicConnex Live – Full Media Pack

How to share your pictures

Biography Kulayd - hotspotentertainmentstudios

BETWEEN THE COVERS RARE BOOKS

Meshell Ndegeocello bio

The Judges of Vive tu Música with 5™ Grand Finale