Depending upon your point of view, the Brits is either a monumental waste of time or a (very) occasionally interesting event where you might see something surprising. That life affirming moment, for example, where Jarvis Cocker wiggled his skinny arse as Michael Jackson was making a pompous tit of himself in 1996 during Earth Song. In 2008, Editors were nominated for a Brit award and it felt as though we might be in for some sunshine during an otherwise dreary awards ceremony. Unfortunately, the band didn't win Best British Act, with the trophy instead going to those pesky Arctic Monkeys.
In spite of coming away empty handed, however, they did play at the launch party for the Brits that year, on the 14th January 2008 at the Roundhouse in London. Luckily for us, it was televised and in amongst the dross there was a sparkly performance of Smokers, and you can view it using the link below:-
stream it here
In spite of coming away empty handed, however, they did play at the launch party for the Brits that year, on the 14th January 2008 at the Roundhouse in London. Luckily for us, it was televised and in amongst the dross there was a sparkly performance of Smokers, and you can view it using the link below:-
stream it here
Your chance to hear an unusually hairy Ricky Wilson prior to his reinvention on The Voice, pretend that he's been hit in the groin on TV. In his own words:-
"Ohhhhh, right in the cock!"
All this in front of Kelly Osbourne and Reggie Yates who pretend they didn't hear. But you know they did. Keeping it classy, Ricky. Priceless.
"Ohhhhh, right in the cock!"
All this in front of Kelly Osbourne and Reggie Yates who pretend they didn't hear. But you know they did. Keeping it classy, Ricky. Priceless.
stream it here
If you're coming at Mr Smith with a request for his views on a charitable undertaking, you'd better come correct and have your facts straight because you will be questioned about them. This is the harsh lesson learned by the interviewer in this case. It gives you an idea of just how far outside of the mainstream machinery the band were in 2008, and how they really weren't interested in "playing the game", consciously or by accident. They're standing on a red carpet in front of a billboard with "Brit Awards 2008" on it, they've been nominated for an award at the Brit Awards, they're asked what they think about the Brits School and then they totally blow it.
"I don't trust it."
The change of topic on behalf of their interrogator is breathtaking in its swiftness. But then that's what makes these clips interesting; when you're given an answer that doesn't tow the party line and is in fact a totally honest opinion. The truth may hurt, and totally screw up your interview, but it's always the better option. Enjoy ;)
stream it here
During this repost I was going to just edit out all the bits that had Tom and Chris involved and share them, but looking at it as one complete collection, it's much more fun to have some serious reminiscing and leave all the other band comments in there as well. You get to play the "They split/They're still around" game as you watch, and it includes an Editors nemesis in the form of Hard Fi. Whenever the band entered the singles charts, Hard Fi always went in a couple of place above them. Oh the rivalry! Still, in terms of longevity there's only really one winner in that contest.
There were 3 video specials made available on the Brit Awards Website at the time, covering some of the nominations and giving other artists a chance to comment on them. I'm sharing them here in their entirety, and it includes a couple of performances from Just Jack and The Enemy along with all the chat. I could have removed them, but for all you completists this is quite literally everything just as it was when I ripped it from the Brits site. There was also a couple of smaller clips where bands were asked "What makes a good Brits?" and also about Brits collaborations, they're here to view too although the quality is a little sketchy. One thing I love about all of this stuff is that right in the middle of it, Dave Grohl tells us that's he's met Editors and drank with them too. Dave Grohl! Starstruck.
Watch out for some amateur songstress called Adele, who was up for the critics choice award at the time. I don't think she ever went on to do anything else after this, which is obviously a shame. Pop is such a fickle business...
You'll see that some of the videos here are only available as downloads, and that's of course due to the random nature of the copyright system over at YouTube. If it's a download, it was blocked worldwide when I uploaded it there. In spite of that, please enjoy ;)
You'll see that some of the videos here are only available as downloads, and that's of course due to the random nature of the copyright system over at YouTube. If it's a download, it was blocked worldwide when I uploaded it there. In spite of that, please enjoy ;)
Brits Uploaded - Best Group
stream it here
Brits Uploaded - Best Female
download here
Brits Uploaded - Best Live Act/Critics Choice
stream it here
What makes a good Brits?
stream it here
Editors on Kings of Leon
stream it here
Editors on The Eagles
download here
Brits collaborations
stream it here
Daily Star Article 19th January 2008
We won't go Brits-up
BRIT nominees the Editors have slapped a bad behaviour ban..on themselves.
The Editors
The Brummie rockers are up for the highest accolade of them all as Best British Group. But as their big tour starts the day after the renowned booze-fest, they know they can’t cane it too much. An early ferry to Ireland awaits them the morning after the February 20 bash at London’s Earls Court Arena and frontman Tom Smith told me:
“I think we’ll have a lot of fun, give ourselves a pat on the back and have a good night out. But we start the Irish and UK tour the day after and that’s going to be an early morning start. So we can’t get too drunk, which is a shame, but we’ll certainly enjoy ourselves.”
Tom, guitarist Chris Urbanowicz, drummer Edward Lay, all 26, and bassist Russell Leetch, 25, rightly earned their Brits tilt after ace No1 album An End Has A Start. But they are not convinced they can take home the title in a category that sees them pitted against Kaiser Chiefs, Girls Aloud, Take That and Arctic Monkeys. Tom explained:
“We don’t actually mind going up against pop acts like Girls Aloud and Take That, fair play to them, they’re good at what they do. I think Kaiser Chiefs will win it, though. They really are a great band. We’ve only been to a few award ceremonies so they’re still a bit weird for us. Some bands seem more comfortable at them and others just don’t. We find it quite hard to be part of that formal kind of environment but we do our best. We have a good time and don’t take it too seriously. After all we’re still novices, really, and the Brits will be the biggest thing we’ve ever been to.”
Tom also has his first baby with girlfriend and Radio 1 DJ Edith Bowman, 32, to look forward to later this year. He grinned:
“Obviously things will get complicated when I’m on tour – but I’m sure we’ll work it out. People in bands have babies all the time.”
brought to you with lots of lemming-love :) x
