Friday 22 April 2016

385 The British Rock And Pop Awards



First  viewed :   11  April  1979

This  cheap  and  cheerful  annual  awards  show  for  the  pop  industry  is  often  mistakenly  thought  of  as   the  forerunner  of  the  Brits. In  fact  the  show  was  nothing  to  do  with  the  British  Phonographic  Industry,  which  didn't  have  its  own   ceremony  for  the  first  three  years  this  was  on  ( perhaps  to  avoid  giving  any  gongs  to  those  awkward  punk  types )  and  then,  in  1983  and  1984,  held  their   shindig  at  a  different  venue  on  the  same  nights !

The  British  Rock  and  Pop  Awards   was  a  joint  venture  between  Radio  One, Nationwide  and  The  Daily  Mirror,  which  unlike  the  Brits   handed  out  the  gongs  for  Best  Single, Best  Album , Best  Group, Best  Male  Singer  , Best  Female  Singer  and  Best  Family  Entertainer  based  on  the  public  vote  ( so  you  didn't  get  Annie  Lennox  winning  in  years  when  she  didn't  have  a  record  out ). The  public  were  slightly  steered  by  preview  features  on  Nationwide  ( which  made  it  worth  watching  for  once )   in  the  weeks  leading  up  to  the  show. There  were  also  two  special  awards  for  All  Round  Pop  Personality  voted  by  just   the  Mirror  readers  and  an  award  given  by  the  Radio  One  disc  jockeys  for  an  outstanding  contribution  to  music.

Unlike  the  Brits,  the  artists   normally  behaved  themselves  and  there  were  no  real  Jarvis  Cocker  moments  in  the  six  years  it  was  on. Kate  Bush  had  a  near  monopoly  of  the  Best  Female  Singer  Award  in  the  early  years ,  Nick  Lowe and  Jerry  Dammers  were  worthy  winners  of  the  first  two  DJ  trophies   and  Hazel  O  Connor's  stupendously  naff  "D-Days" was  almost  certainly  a  hit  due  to  the  exposure  it  got  on  the  1981  show.

Sadly  in  1985  the  Beeb  took  the  decision  to  televise  the  BPI  Awards  instead  with  all  the  irritations  that  brought  in  its  wake  but  we'll  discuss   that  in  due  course.

 

  

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