LONDON (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The Brit Awards, the UK equivalent of the Grammys, announced yesterday that it will replace the best British dance award with a new award for best live British act.
The dance category, won last year by Basement Jaxx, has been an award for the last ten years, but with the 25th anniversary of the Brit Awards looming in 2005 Peter Jamieson, chairman of the British Phonographic Industry, felt it was time for a change.
“The BRITs is more than just a music show,” he said. “It’s a national celebration of the best in popular music. We are taking the opportunity of our 25th show both to take stock of our history and to further develop the profile of the BRITs.”
Lucian Grainge, co-chairman of the BRIT Awards and Chairman & CEO of Universal Music, is excited for next year’s show. "The 2005 BRITs will be a fantastic celebration of a vintage year."
In order to be eligible for the best live British act award, a group must perform at a British venue during 2004. The list of performances will be narrowed down to five acts by a panel of judges consisting of venue owners, promoters and journalists. Once the final list is ready, the panel will vote on a winner and present the award during the show, scheduled for February 9th 2005.
Feargal Sharkey, Chairman of the Live Music Forum, explained the reason for the new award. “Tickets for live shows have been hot property this year – Glastonbury, Reading and T in the Park are among the hundreds of music events that sold out in record time, proving how important live music is to each and every one of us. I am very excited that The BRITs will, for the first time, be celebrating live performances.” — by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
