Awards

Blur to get outstanding BRIT

By | Published on Thursday 8 December 2011

Blur

Team BRITs are resurrecting the Outstanding Contribution To Music prize for next year’s bash a whole year after axing it from the proceedings. Apparently research showed that somebody somewhere had been more outstanding than 2010 winner Robbie Williams after all.

And who was that? Well, the boys from Blur of course, and only partly because Alex James hosted the very best farm-based bankrupt festival this year. Yes, Damon and Graham and Dave and Al will be presented with a very special BRIT Award in February next year for all their many and various contributions to music.

And look, here’s Damon Albarn himself delivering a lengthy response to the news that his band will become officially outstanding next year: “It’s great to have recognition for all the work and all the heartache and all the joy that’s gone into this band”.

Voting in those BRIT categories chosen by industry and media types opened up yesterday, so if you’re in the Academy get in there, those only slightly garish BRIT gongs designed by pop art icon Peter Blake can’t go anywhere without your votes. The awards are due to be dished out on 21 Feb.

Elsewhere in BRITs news, it was confirmed earlier this week that independent production company Somethin Else will again coordinate coverage of the big awards show for the commercial radio sector, providing BRITs-related interviews and other flim flam to radio stations around the country. This year Somethin Else will also oversee the awards’ website and social media activity, which will include a web redesign, video content and some quality tweets. Like, outstanding tweets. There really should be an award just for these tweets.

Somethin Else MD Steve Ackerman told Radio Today: “Music fans worldwide will be having online conversations around the show; our social media strategy and exclusive online content will feed into this buzz and create a richer experience for BRITs fans. Building on our recent successes using social media to compliment content on other platforms – whether it be around the season launch of a hit TV drama series, or reaching out to engage fans – we are really excited to apply our expertise to The BRITs 2012”.

Elsewhere in Blur news, Alex James has been talking to the NME, confirming Albarn’s recent remarks that the band are meeting up on a semi-regular basis and that new material could emerge from those meetings, with Al adding that the next such meeting will be over Christmas, and that any future output may be in EP rather than album form. He also said he finds Jeremy Clarkson very funny.

James on Blur stuff: “We’re getting together for a Christmas drink next week which is nice. We still see each other all the time, more since we were all living out of a suitcase. We’ll probably record again. May be an EP. Is there such a thing as an album [any more]? Does music have to come twelve tracks at a time?”

James on Clarkson: “I think he’s really funny and says what he’s thinking. I wish more bands would say the unsayable. He’s sort of the best rock star we’ve got”.



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