Brits 2012: Adele Cut Short for Blur Comeback

Last night saw the most viewed, and probably the least boring Brit awards since 2005. These viewing figures were probably down to the amount of exciting new talent floating about the British pop scene in comparison to previous years, but whether that talent includes 90’s Britpop icons, Blur, is debatable.

The biggest winners of the night were Adele and Ed Sheeran, who both walked away with two awards including Best British Male and Female Artists. Sheeran was awarded Best British Breakthrough Act, whilst Adele won biggest award of the night, Best Album.

But then came the drama! And what would an awards show be without a good dosage of that? Uproar prevailed as host James Cordon interrupted Adele’s big acceptance speech to make time for Blur’s much-anticipated comeback, which came in the form of a 5-song medley of their classics, including Parklife and Boys and Girls.

This rude cut-off prompted numerous complaints from viewers and a “rude hand gesture” from Adele, which she later explained was aimed at the “suits” behind the show’s production. Many sides have been taken, many arguments have been made, but the essential decider was the performance that followed.

Adele should have made her speech, but then she does have 6 Grammys to go home and polish so I’m sure it didn’t matter too much (I’m not even going to start on the response to her swearing – who cares?). But then Blur began and honestly, I’m not Adele fan, but I’d happily have listened to her drone on for hours over the wreckage that ensued.

Let’s just say that they failed to show anything but an “Outstanding Contribution to Music.” The hype leading up to this moment perhaps made it all the more disappointing as a 43-year-old Damon Albarn bounced about the stage like the drunken monkey that he probably is these days, wailing out of tune in an attempt to recreate the undeniable brilliance of Blur’s 90’s heyday.

The only redeeming feature was that it did remind us of a few almost-forgotten Britpop classics, sending us scrambling back into the dusty record collection, to block out the racket and reminisce, back to the good old days of the Blur we knew and loved.

by Ella White

@ellaflo_xo