Brit music awards hit the Net

Now you can despair online

By Kieren McCarthy • Get more from this author

Posted in Music and Media, 26th February 2001 15:58 GMT

Webcast: Building Applications for the 21st Century

The Brit music awards (tonight at 9.30pm GMT) will be streamed live and uncut on the Internet tonight. The highlights are to be broadcast on TV tomorrow night.

The company behind the Madonna Brixton gig has set up various Webcams which you'll be able to choose from and enjoy raw, unedited footage of this most exciting event. That's what they say, anyway, although we can only see one button.

You'll need MS' latest Windows Player of course.

Will it be any good? Well, if the live cameras thing works, it may be quite interesting, especially since a number of bands every year try to get in the papers by doing something "outrageous". Then again, it could be incredibly tedious and you could miss all the action. Whatever happens though, it is unlikely to match the pure cringing terror of the only ever time the Brits has been live.

That was the re-modelled Brit awards in 1989 which went out live with ex-page 3 model Samantha Fox and ole Mick Fleetwood as hosts. It was an unmitigated disaster that has gone down in TV folklore with Sam unable to read the autocue (apparently a 60-year-old partially deaf woman was left in charge of it), the wrong people being announced, a mix-up in the awards and general mayhem. It was great.

We doubt if it'll get that good and there is still a big question over the technology, but if you're doing nothing tonight, might be worth a peek.

There is some other good stuff on the official site including clips of All Saints, pissed as farts, making idiots of themselves, a collection of just plain odd acceptance speeches and various other gems from the appalling, egotistical people that call themselves pop stars.

Oh, and you can buy some exclusive merchandise! Anyway, the official site can be found at www.brits.co.uk. Enjoy. ®