Rockers the Kaiser Chiefs — named after South Africa’s champion soccer side — had a riot at the annual Brit Awards on Wednesday night, picking up a hat-trick of prizes at the biggest and most prestigious night of the country’s music calendar.
The Chiefs, who kicked off the event at the cavernous Earls Court exhibition centre in west London with one of their best-known songs, I Predict a Riot, won best British group, best British rock act and best British live act.
Front man Ricky Wilson was taciturn in his acceptance speech, saying: ”This means the world.”
Of the other main awards, former army captain James Blunt beat off competition from Robbie Williams to bag best British male solo artist as well as best pop act ahead of the ”Queen of Pop” Madonna and Irish boy band Westlife.
The unlikely pop star (28) joked: ”Now I’m going to retire and become a mercenary in South America.”
Best British female solo artist went to 30-year-old Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall.
Blunt had been widely tipped to win best British single for his number-one hit You’re Beautiful, but it went instead to Coldplay’s Speed of Sound, who also won best British album for their multimillion-seller X&Y.
The Arctic Monkeys, whose meteoric rise came through word of mouth and savvy use of the internet, won best British breakthrough act, but were not present to collect it, deciding not to break a scheduled gig on England’s south coast.
Madonna — who was treated for a hernia last week after her show-stopping performance at the Grammy awards in the United States — was given a get-well present by carrying off the best international female award.
Rapper Kanye West was named best international male. He was later joined on stage for his song Gold Digger by 77 scantily clad models wearing gold body paint and very little else.
Jack Johnson won best international breakthrough act, while Green Day were awarded best international group and best international album for American Idiot.
The so-called ”Modfather”, Paul Weller, was honoured with the Outstanding Contribution to Music award.
Weller closed a show that included a performance from Prince for the first time since 1997, with a string of solo hits and Jam classics. — AFP
