Arctic Monkeys were once again the biggest winners at the 2014 BRIT Awards, which honored the best in British music on Wednesday night (Feb. 19) at London’s O2 Arena. For the third album in eight years, the rock group — which opened the show with a performance of “R U Mine?” — was named Best British Group and concurrently took home the British Album of the Year prize, this time for “AM.”
“That rock and roll, it seems like it’s fading away sometimes,” frontman Alex Turner told the audience while accepting the Album of the Year trophy. “But it will never die, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” He then tipped his microphone over, quipped, “Invoice me for the microphone if you need to,” and dropped it onto the stage.
BRIT Performances: Beyonce | Lorde x Disclosure | Katy Perry
One Direction also earned two awards during the ceremony, the Global Success Award and the fan-voted Best British Video, the latter for the “Best Song Ever” clip. The group’s Harry Styles rushed onstage during the group’s acceptance speech, and breathlessly explained into the microphone, “I’m really sorry, I was having a wee.”
David Bowie was named the Best British Male Solo Artist, and presenter Noel Gallagher explained the legend’s absence from the BRITs by saying that Bowie was “too cool” for the ceremony. Kate Moss accepted the award on Bowie’s behalf, and read a speech from Bowie that included a message urging Scotland to not become independent. Ellie Goulding earned the Best British Female Solo Artist trophy, and searched for words after accepting the award from the evening’s first presenter, Prince.
Beyonce performed “XO” live on television for the first time at the ceremony, while Lorde, Disclosure and AlunaGeorge combined for a mash-up of “Royals” and “White Noise” at the show. Bastille and Rudimental also teamed up for a collaborative performance, forming a collective that host James Corden called “Bastimental.”
Other performances included Ellie Goulding, who performed her nominated tracks “Burn” and “I Need Your Love”; Bruno Mars, who followed his Super Bowl halftime spectacle with a low-key take on “Treasure”; and Katy Perry, who walked like an Egyptian for her latest performance of her No. 1 smash “Dark Horse.” Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers capped off the evening with a medley of their Daft Punk collaboration “Get Lucky” and Williams’ No. 2 solo hit “Happy.”
Check out the full BRIT Awards Winners List below:
Global Success Award: One Direction
British Album of the Year: Arctic Monkeys, “AM”
Best British Group: Arctic Monkeys
Best British Breakthrough Act: Bastille
Best British Female Solo Artist: Ellie Goulding
Best British Male Solo Artist: David Bowie
Best International Female: Lorde
Best International Male: Bruno Mars
Best International Group: Daft Punk
Best British Single: Rudimental, “Waiting All Night”
Best British Video: One Direction, “Best Song Ever”