THE fourth Brat Awards, held on Tuesday at the Camden Centre in London, were hosted by radio DJs Mark Radcliffe-and Marc Riley, broadcast live on BBC Radio 1 FM and posted on the Internet for worldwide perusal. If the Brit Awards are the Oscars of the British music scene, then the Brats are its Golden Globes, providing an indie-fuelled alternative to the more established music industry back-slapping fest.
The guest list read like a who's who of Britpop and among those who showed up to collect an award were Oasis, Pulp, Goldie, Manic Street Preachers, Suede and The Divine Comedy. Everybody was there, even the guy who sings You're Gorgeous.
Noel Gallagher was seen to be selective in his applause, only putting his hands together when Manic Street Preachers won three of their four nominations, and when Jarvis won a special award for cocking his whoop at Michael Jackson.
Mark Hamilton from Ash arrived, looking deeply jet-lagged from Toronto, where he was on holiday with his Canadian girlfriend. The bass player won't have much time to rest, however, because Northern Ireland's biggest teen sensations are back on tour in Europe very soon.
James Dean Bradfield from the Manic Street Preachers looked fit and healthy and, judging from his clothes, ready to win an international bowling tournament along with his three awards - best album for Everything Must Go, best single for A Design for Life and best live act. The Manics are also on the Brit list: "I'll probably win best Welsh band," James said.
Liam Hall, director of the Brat Awards, believes they influence the outcome of the Brits and have always backed new talent. Huddled in a corner of the club, -for instance, was Jyoti Mishra, whose band White Town was completely unknown until a couple of weeks ago when their single Your Woman went straight to the UK charts at No 1. Mishra recorded the song at home on his eight-track studio band as soon as Mark Radcliffe started playing it on his Radio 1 slot, the pop pebble snowballed into a chart-topping avalanche.
Father Ted's Ardal O'Hanlon. Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews were also there as were comedian Eddie Izzard, fresh from the first night of his improvisational show at the Albert Theatre, and Never Mind the Buzzcocks quizmaster, Marc Lamarr. Absolute brats, the lot of them.
