THE BRITs are back, baby, and with acts like Charli XCX, Dua Lipa and Sam Fender up for awards, you can guarantee there’ll be plenty of stumbling out of clubs once celebrations wrap up.
But the music industry isn’t always a happy song and dance.
And when things get so publicly feisty, you’re left with an awards show with a lot more losers than winners.
Band-breakups and long-running rivalries can be managed when the warring parties are kept far apart from each other.
Make them watch each other win awards in front of all of their peers, however, and it’s a whole different story.
With a bunch of boozed-up musicians in the same room, competing for much-coveted trophies, it’s little wonder the awards show has seen so many chaotic moments throughout the years.
Tonight's ceremony, hosted by Jack Whitehall at the O2 Arena, promises to be a belting show with Charli, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan lined up to perform.
But anything could happen - as previous ceremonies have proved.
So join us as we look back at the BRIT Award’s most ridiculous feuds.
Westlife vs So Solid Crew
Back when boybands and girlbands were dominating the charts, Irish stars Westlife were backstage when they bumped into rivals So Solid Crew at the 2002 edition of the awards.
Brian McFadden had apparently been making the most of the booze on offer, drinking two bottles of vodka and eight cans of Red Bull.
He then threw a water bottle over all 24 members of the hip-hop collective when they were gathered behind the scenes.
But that evening So Solid Crew also reportedly threw champagne bottles at the Westlife singer after he goaded them onstage.
It’s unclear exactly who got who first, but So Solid Crew were gracious enough to say they wouldn’t be holding a grudge after the incident.
“At the Brits everyone's had a lot to drink and says a lot of things that they don't mean,” said member Asher D.
“We don't hold nothing against Westlife - we just want to keep everything clean cut on the industry scene.”
Sam Smith vs backstage crew
It’s not all that surprising Sam Smith got a bit heated given the giant latex outfit they rocked up in for 2023’s awards.
Things apparently got tense ahead of the singer’s live performance of Unholy when technical difficulties with the £500,000 set almost led to the whole thing being scrapped.
Sam is said to have kicked up quite the fuss as backstage crew scrambled to sort technical difficulties, which led to a video montage of Adele briefly being broadcast.
Though the performance ended up going ahead, Sam soon made a swift exit.
"Sam’s performance might have appeared seamless but behind-the-scenes it was a nightmare,” a witness said at the time.
"Stormzy was moved forward and Sam was told there was a possibility their performance might be pulled altogether.
"Sam was understandably furious and it was pretty tense backstage."
Kings of Leon vs themselves
Tennessee rockers Kings of Leon had just picked up two awards at 2009’s ceremony, but this didn’t stop a full-scale drunken 20-man brawl from breaking out in front of stars including U2 and David Hasselhoff.
Security guards were immediately called to break up the fight between the band, who are all related, and send them back to their dressing room.
Tensions apparently flared when Jared Followill’s girlfriend spotted him chatting to a girl in Alesha Dixon’s band and flung a glass of water over her.
This triggered a massive argument, despite efforts from ex-All Saints singer Nicole Appleton to calm things down.
“It was about 10pm and everyone was hanging around backstage and at the bar. U2 were still there along with the Ting Tings when it just came out of nowhere,” an onlooker commented.
“It went from one person to a huge crowd in seconds. Security piled in and had to drag them apart. There was a lot of shouting and fists being thrown but I'm not sure if anything landed.
“It looked like a comedy Western brawl. It was over in about three minutes.”
Sharon Osbourne vs Vic Reeves
Poor old Vic Reeves was already struggling to read the autocue while presenting the best British album award when host Sharon Osbourne completely took it out on him on stage.
The famously sharp-tongued X Factor judge branded the comedian a “drunk b*stard” and “p***head”, drawing gasps from stars in the audience.
Vic later insisted he wasn’t drunk at all and was in fact trying to avoid a potential mix-up over what award he was supposed to hand out.
He said: “They said, 'You're not doing the other award now, you're going to do best album. What you've got to say will be on an autocue there'.
“So I got out there and there was no autocue. I didn't know what I was doing.
"I thought [Sharon] was a terrible cow but that's what I thought before I met her anyway,” he added.
Chumbawumba vs John Prescott
Labour heavyweight John Prescott was knocked down but had no trouble getting up again - despite being left with a hefty dry-cleaning bill when Chumbawamba’s Danbert Nobacon poured a bucket of cold water all over him.
Prezza had only just sat down with a bunch of high-flying music execs when the drummer strode over and left him drenched, before being grabbed by security and handed over to police.
Apparently a move to support striking dock workers, in the end Prescott chose not to register a formal complaint and dismissed it as a publicity stunt.
“If John Prescott has the nerve to turn up at events like the BRIT Awards in a vain attempt to make Labour seem cool and trendy, then he deserves all we can throw at him,” Danbert later said.
“Plus, we were drunk and we weren’t careerists, so we didn’t give a sh** when the BRITs backlash happened.”
Prescott got his own back when the band split in 2012, tweeting “Chumbawho?”, before adding “I might mark Chumbawama’s split by going out and buying their greatest hit album. #boom.”
Peter Kay vs Liam Gallagher
The year was 2010, and rowdy Liam Gallagher had just picked up the award for Best British Album of the Past 30 Years - thanking everyone except his brother, of course.
The Oasis frontman then lobbed the award into the crowd and chucked the mic on the floor in a lame rage at the fact his best days were behind him.
Thankfully, hosting that evening was Peter Kay.
Shaking his head as he returned to the stage, he quickly summed up the mood in the room when he said live on-air: “What a kn*bhead”.
The comedian later commented that he “wasn’t trying to be controversial or stir trouble.”
“I just said what was on my mind. That might be the reason why I’ve never been invited back to present the BRITs again,” he added.
CMAT vs ITV
Why is cleavage okay for the cameras but not your bare bum crack?
This is the question the Irish singer-songwriter CMAT tried to answer when she rocked up to last year’s red carpet in an outfit that did little to exclude the draft.
The unique creation definitely won the artist - real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson - plenty of new fans, but unfortunately ITV wasn’t one of them.
Her bum ended up being completely censored during reruns of 2024’s show, prompting CMAT to start a “feud” with the broadcaster.
She posted: “I had the most fun ever thank you so much @brits i am so so grateful…and now, for a beef. @itv you will PAY for editing my bum crack out of the broadcast reruns.
“Give the people what they deserve (my arse) or I will set the CMAT babies on you!
“Tis a #feud officially.”
Ronnie Wood vs DJ Brandon Block
In the middle of trying to present the award for Best Soundtrack Album during 2000’s BRIT ceremony, Stones legend Ronnie Wood found himself having to square up to a very rowdy member of the audience.
After (almost) drinking the venue dry, DJ Brandon Block was told by friends he’d entered a contest and had won “Best Musician of the Year” - which of course was total fiction.
But that didn’t stop the wobbly DJ from heading to the stage to collect his award, still holding his chopsticks.
The pair squared up and chucked insults at each other before Ronnie threw his drink over him and the invader was unceremoniously ejected by bouncers.
Ronnie later said: “I just reacted like anybody would normally do. If an invader comes on stage, you don’t know if he’s gonna jab you with the chopsticks and go for the eyes or whatever, I didn’t know what the hell was going on.
“So my immediate thing was a defensive tactic which was just to waste my vodka on him and to call him out.”
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