Always of interest to me; I hosted and wrote the show in 1987 and wrote and produced it in 1990,91 and 92.
I tried to make it different and entertaining. My first goal was to get great ratings as a TV show; second to sell loads of records especially around the world; third was to expose new acts and music and fourth to make it a great night for those attending.

I think I was successful. I'm not so sure it succeeds on any of those these days.

Your opinions?

I went to all three of the shows you wrote/produced at the Dominion (twice) and Hammersmith Odeon. I remember them being good shows, but all three were pre-recorded before going out on TV the following night, (except the Odeon show, which went out later the same evening, which meant the show was recorded in the afternoon!).

I still go to the shows, and will be there tonight. It’s better that it’s live again - both for the TV viewer and for those there. The show has to keep going. The biggest problem is the size of the venue. Even when you’re sitting on a good table, you’re a long way from the stage.

As to the acts performing. They are as good as ever. A mix of new and established. To be honest, I don’t think you did a better or worse job than is done now. But there was a period in the mid-90s, when it lost its way. But today, it’s an exciting event to be at, and makes a good TV show.

I take it, JK, that you had nothing to do with the horrendously disastrous Mick Fleetwood / Sam Fox event. I can't recall what year that was.

No Francis; I hosted in 1987 - was promised it forever if it went well - but it went SO well they took it away - Noel Edmonds 1988 and Sam and Mick fiasco 1989. After that they were so desperate to wash their hands of it they gave it back to me forever, with total control. However, it succeeded so well they took control back again in 1992, so I quit.

It's all in the book.

Dixie - I claim two great results - the best moment ever (Maggie Thatcher crooning How Much Is That Doggy In The Window) and the best development ever - the Great British Music Weekend concept, getting massive coverage on MTV and starting - I thought - a truly international Brits buzz (dropped after I quit).

Eight minutes in and I'm flinching already; it's rubbish... just like it was before I took over.

Geri Halliwell asks about Kula Shaker "where are you now?". Same place as Geri, dear, has been alley.

Wouldn't call it ALL rubbish... Peter Kay is spot on as a host. Not taking any nonsense from the loutish recipients.

Agreed Davem. Peter Kay is holding this together wonderfully. What fun.

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys - so far superior musically to the rest of the show it was embarrassing.

Awful show with Robbie making the usual silly mistake of brain dead artistes who think they are so well known that it's fab to get the crowd to sing along the choruses instead of the singer which both looks and sounds awful on TV.

Ghastly, unimaginative, dull show.

I have to agree, it was a pretty dull show, when Dizee Rascal wins best male for doing virtual cover versions then I just give up. Also there are far more deserving cases for outstanding acheivement than Robbie. Bands that have lasted much longer, like the Cure, Spandau Ballet, Depeche Mode. Bands that have been influential and whose songs will live on, rather than instantly forgettable pop from Robbie.

I actually quite liked Peter Kay who came up with some very witty lines and whose deadpan delivery made me giggle every now and then; my main grumble with all the awards shows is the total lack of creative imagination in format, design and presentation.

Quentin Letts' very funny (and accurate) take...

www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12...eding-hairlines.html

For much of the 80's the 'British Rock & Pop Awards' were, as much music tv was treated back then, pretty low-key and almost amateur. Almost like just an extension of Noel Edmonds' mutating cv. From 87 on the event became more of an 'event', and I recall JK's 90 & 91 shows as being (quite rightly) a studious celebration of the legacy of the UK pop industry (and I have the 90 & 91 shows on vhs & dvd). As the 90's blossomed the show became more of an 'event' but reliant for it's memorable moments on the more 'wild card' acts, with Brit Pop throwing some great characters into the mix. At that point (94-98) it really felt like the UK music industry was the epicentre of 'where it's at' and therefore was well worthy of the plaudits & celebration. For all the corporate backslapping and over-promotion (hello Ben Elton & The Spice Girls) there was a genuine feeling of something happening.
Of course, from thereafter music and "the industry" has been in terminal decline, everything (and I mean everything) has become more stylised and contrived (all those lickle 'alternative' girls with fey student fringes and childish eye make-up that come not from a 'normal' 6th form or uni but stage school) and the 'stars' have become as bovine as their lapdog audiences.
2 of only 4 memorable moments of last nights show did not come from 'Brits' but from Americans (I quite like Kasabian myself - and Lily Allen, do they not realise she is taking the piss out of everything the event represents?) and the ridiculous Big Brother-style muting everytime somebody started saying something beginning with 'f' (FFFfriday) including the event's host was immensely irritating.
As an advert for British Music, all I can do is hope the idea that the dire Dizzee Rascal (and all the other generic soundalike "urban pop" (tm) that overuse the computer generated jittery rhythms and vocoder/voice effects) is somehow 'cutting edge' is something that will pass soon. Why did Cheryl Cole bother sporting a microphone when she was clearly giving the worst example of miming I've seen (and let me say, I watch a load of old TOTP's regularly!), and what was the stupid award about 'best album of the last 30 years' all about (Keane shortlisted??? WTF???)

I quite like Peter Kay as a host, but I have a feeling the new 'abrasive' persona he's popped back with will become as hackneyed as 'garlic bread' era jokes in no time at all - either that or tv will just get tired of his staged disinterest.

I haven't watched The Brits for many years.

The simple fact is that the Brits reflect the music scene in Britain. Like it or not, we currently have very girlie based pop , watered down UK R'nB , US hip Hop and Lady Gaga. Very little rock, hardly a male singer that's new and noteworthy and not much real talent all round.
As long as TV rules, in the S Cowell mode, this will continue. The Majors cannot take risks, hence the Ellie Goulding award-safe, melodic,entirely predictable and potentially huge in a Duffy kind of way.

The Artic Monkeys boycotting the Brits didn't achieve much really except piss key people off.

Duffy best album of last 30 years? That nomination made me chuckle.

Jonathan Ross must be going through the longest mid-life crisis in history. So sad because he's a perfectly sensible, thoughtful person when he's not trying to be either a comedian or an ersatz Simon Dee. As for The Brits, IMHO it's become like all those other awards shows - horribly smug and self-indulgent. Whether it's comedians or actors or musicians or music industry execs, the sight of them drunkenly cheering each other on all evening makes me loathe them. Best to avoid such shows, I fear, unless one is an insider. I wish music mattered (to me) as much as it used to - it upsets me to be reminded how little I care about it these days.

Best album of the last 30 years, in my opinion none of those nominated should have been. How about Rio by Duran Duran, Dare by the Human League both sold shed loads both here and in the US, even the Libertines second album. Oasis were just a pub rock band, nothing original there at all.

I love music - but preferred to watch Holby City and Survivors on BBC 1 which were both really great.

If the "music" is crap ( as it is this last 12 months ) then the show is bound to be crap - even if they tart it up.

Lady Ga Ga.........

Yes - Lily Allen is a talent - but the rest of them.........no wonder record shops are dying in every town.
I hate to say this but the days of the Music Industry being fantastic are gone - long gone. It has been a long time since the UK has produced a fantastic act - how old are KASABIAN ? If our best band has to be an act that have been around for so long - where is the exciting new music ?

The Upper Middle Class Stage School poppets have moved from TV into the Music industry - which is a real shame. They lack any real reason to make music.

JK says GLEE lacks passion and orginality - sorry JK I would watch GLEE every time over the BRITS awards