Brits go Gaga for eccentric star
Lady Gaga cleaned up during a raucous 30th Brit Awards show after winning a hat-trick of statuettes.
The New Yorker won all three trophies she was nominated for – best international female solo artist, best international breakthrough act and best international album.
She arrived at the London ceremony last night wearing a three-tiered white dress and a tall white wig, was moved to tears by her awards and dedicated the night to fashion designer Alexander McQueen who died last week.
The expletive-laden event saw British singer Lily Allen court controversy by landing on stage astride a replica bomb to the sound of air raid sirens.
After being named Best British Female, she swore as a horn sounded from beyond the stage during her acceptance speech.
All eyes were also on Cheryl Cole, whose husband Ashley is at the centre of lurid newspaper allegations.
She gave a slightly chaotic performance of her hit song 'Fight For This Love', but received strong applause and said simply: “Thank you, thank you.”
Dizzee Rascal was named best British male, telling the audience: “It’s about time as well,” as he collected his award. Fellow rapper Jay-Z won the prize for best international male.
Rockers Kasabian were named Best British group, and Florence And The Machine picked up Best British album for 'Lungs'.
It was also a successful night for JLS who collected the award for British breakthrough act, then the statuette for best British single for 'Beat Again'.
The band, runners-up on The X Factor 2008, beat the show’s winner, Alexandra Burke, who was nominated for her single 'Bad Boys', and judge Cheryl Cole with 'Fight For This Love'.
The show, broadcast live on ITV, were punctuated throughout by silence as offensive language was muted.
It also suffered a shaky start when the sound disappeared and comedian host Peter Kay appeared confused, tapping his microphone to check it was working while the message “audio is muted” came on screens.
Two special categories were created to celebrate the best of the Brits over the past 30 years – the best Brits performance and the best album since the ceremony began.
The Spice Girls’ 1997 performance of their hits 'Wannabe' and 'Who Do You Think You Are' took the first award while Oasis’ '(What’s the Story) Morning Glory' was named best album.
Oasis front man Liam Gallagher accepted the award in typical abrasive style, promptly throwing it and his microphone into the crowd.
Kay remarked simply: “What a knobhead.”
Lady Gaga welled up after winning her third award, for international album for 'The Fame'.
Topping a barely-there lace outfit with a huge white wig and mask, she said: “I was really excited to win the first two awards.
“This award means even more to me because I worked so hard on this album for so long. My fans were the first people to believe in me. Thank you so much.”
Allen, who went home empty-handed at the 2007 Brits despite getting four nominations, wore a huge bright orange wig to accept her award from Dame Shirley Bassey.
The giggling singer said: “I only wore this orange wig because I thought it would make it harder for them to find me, the cameramen, and catch my disappointed face. This doesn’t happen very often for me.”
When a horn sounded from beyond the stage mid-speech, Allen said: “No, f*** you I’m not leaving,” and carried on with her thank yous.
As well as Cheryl Cole, there were also performances by JLS, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.
The night climaxed with a performance by Robbie Williams as he collected an award for outstanding contribution to music.
He sang to his statuette as he kicked off with a slow version of his recent single 'Bodies' before launching into hits including 'Let Me Entertain You', 'Feel' and 'Angels'.
The beaming singer said: “It feels really good up here, Brits. Thank you so much.”
