Brit Awards 2009

U2 kicked off proceedings at the BRIT Awards 2009, which took place last night (February 18) at London’s Earls Court. They played ‘Get On Your Boots’, the lead single from their new album ‘No Line On The Horizon’. At the end Bono told the crowd, "It’s good to be back."

The Ting Tings and Estelle joined forces for a medley of hits, including two Ting Tings tracks (‘That’s Not My Name’, ‘Shut Up And Let Me Go’), plus ‘American Boy’, which was a hit for Estelle and Kanye West in 2008. West won Best International Male, which he accepted via video message.
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Elbow saw off an eclectic cast of contenders for Best British Band at the Brits last night, including Take That, Girls Aloud, Coldplay and Radiohead. The band – who have covered U2 on the recent War Child album – won last year’s Mercury Music Prize too.
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"You wouldn’t believe how long it’s taken us to get this close to The Hoff," Elbow’s Guy Garvey quipped after he presented them an award for Best British Group. There was an uncomfortable moment backstage in front of Fearne Cotton later, when Elbow asked The Hoff if he was coming out for a drink with them.
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Duffy was the big winner at The BRIT Awards 2009 last night, picking up three statues for Best Female, Best British Breakthrough Act and Best Album. She cried when receiving her third award from Tom Jones, saying "I travelled this whole country for five years, playing my songs to old ladies and everybody…I can’t tell you what this means. Just thank you so much!"
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Coldplay performed 2008 single ‘Viva La Vida’ at the BRIT Awards last night, but failed to pick up any silverware themselves. They branded it a "shit day", but it was one that improved later on when they played a War Child gig at London’s O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, and were joined onstage by Take That’s Gary Barlow for a rendition of ‘Back For Good’.
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Brandon Flowers presented Pet Shop Boys with the Outstanding Contribution To Music award at last night’s BRIT Awards 2009. He gave a speech telling how, when as a boy, his mother would only allow him to buy one album – by The Smiths or The Pet Shop Boys. He chose the latter and "was introduced to a new world of beats and sophistication".
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Pet Shop Boys, who were honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award, closed the show with a medley of hits including ‘It’s A Sin’ (featuring Brandon Flowers on vocals) and ‘What Have I Done To Deserve This?’ (with Lady GaGa singing the duet part that was originally recorded by Dusty Springfield in 1987).
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Florence And The Machine was presented the Critics’ Choice Award at last night’s Brits, and thanked NME Editor Conor McNicholas among others including Zane Lowe, her friends and family and, of course, the critics. Kylie handed her the statue.
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Duffy performed ‘Warwick Avenue’ at last night’s Brit Awards before walking away with three awards. When she collected her first award, for Best British Female, she said "Thank you so much â

Lady GaGa was one of a multitude of guests that joined the stage for the Pet Shop Boys’ closing medley of hits. After they played snippets of ‘Suburbia’, ‘Love Etc’, ‘Always On My Mind’ and ‘Go West’, she appeared for ‘What Have I Done To Deserve This?’. Brandon Flowers then surfaced for ‘It’s A Sin’, before both Flowers and GaGa joined in for ‘West End Girls’.
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Take That offered the most ambitious live performance of the night, descending from the ceiling on a platform strafed by green lasers to perform their 2008 single ‘Greatest Day’. Advance rumours had suggested Robbie Williams might join the band for a surprise reunion performance, but the former band member was not in attendance.
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Lady GaGa and Brandon Flowers were on hand to help Pet Shop Boys celebrate being honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award. The award was presented by Flowers, who then joined the band for their 1987 hit ‘It’s A Sin’.
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Kylie Minogue hosted last night’s BRIT Awards alongside ‘Gavin And Stacey’ stars Mat Horne (pictured) and James Corden. The latter helmed last year’s Shockwaves NME Awards, and opened BRITS proceedings with a tongue-in-cheek performance of Kylie’s ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’.
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Little Boots was in attendance at the BRIT Awards last night (February 18) at London’s Earls Court. New talent was thin on the ground on a night that saw big-hitters such as U2, Coldplay and Kings Of Leon perform – although Florence And The Machine was honoured with the Critics’ Choice award.Pic: PA Photos

Kings Of Leon won Best International Group at last night’s BRIT Awards 2009, seeing off competition from AC/DC, Fleet Foxes, The Killers and MGMT. After accepting their award from Natalie Imbruglia, Caleb said "Thank you God, thank you mum, thank you to the UKâ

Girls Aloud perform their BRIT Award-winning single ‘The Promise’ last night, flanked by an army of pink feather-bearing dancers. They saw off Leona Lewis, Duffy and ‘The X Factor’ finalists to win Best British Single. It was their first BRIT award.
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Girls Aloud won Best British Single for their Xenomania-penned hit ‘The Promise’. They collected their award from Alan Carr, who joked that Diana Vickers had won. Sarah Harding screamed into the microphone "Can I just say, it’s about time! I think I’ve just wet myself there."
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Katy Perry threw up backstage shortly after collecting her award for Best International Female. Her UK tour kicks off next week with a show in Manchester on February 25. Check NME.COM/GIGS for more details.
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Kings Of Leon were the big non-British winners last night, winning both Best International Band and Best International Album. Frontman Caleb Followill took the opportunity to thank British fans, saying: "Without the UK we wouldn’t even be a band."
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