Producer Pete Waterman – the man behind Steps – has accused the Brit Awards and Belle & Sebastian of being involved in a fix to gain the Glasgow band Best Newcomer Award at last Wednesday’s ceremony.
The Best Newcomer Award is voted for by listeners of Radio 1. B& S had already mobilised their fan base to vote in the awards, as had many other bands. The voting was controlled by Radio 1.
Speaking in The Sun on Saturday, Waterman claimed that Brits producers had assured him that Steps had won the award and accused B& S of running an internet campaign to put them in the lead. In a letter to the British Phonographic Institute (BPI) which is behind the annual awards, Waterman demanded an investigation, claiming that 12 per cent of the e-mail votes cast for the band came from just two addresses in Cambridge and Glasgow.
He also claimed that B& S should not even have been eligible for the award since they already had three albums released.
More on this story in NME, out tomorrow in London and across the UK on Wednesday and on nme.com throughout the week.
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