Reunited Brit Pop tracksuit band
Blur closed out the Brit Awards last night in London, with a special five song set, reports the
NME. After accepting the award for Outstanding Contribution To Music, the band performed a five-song set of classics — 'Girls & Boys', 'Song 2', 'Parklife', 'Tender' and 'This Is A Low' — despite
debuting a new tune just a few days ago at the War Child benefit in London. It had also been announced earlier in the day that the band will headline an Olympic closing ceremony gig in Hyde Park on August 12.
"The last time we were here was 17 years ago and what happened on that night had a very profound effect on our lives," frontman Damon Albarn told the crowd after collecting their award. "Right that's it. Thanks very much for putting up with this."
Blur's performance wasn't without controversy however. The band's extended set left little room for Best Album Winner
Adele, who was forced to cut short her emotional, patriotic acceptance speech. Having recently returned to the spotlight after surgery on her vocal cords, the brash singer—who had won Best British Female Solo Artist earlier in the night—responded to the news that she was being given the wind-up with a middle-finger.
Other performances on the night came from
Rihanna (International Female Solo Artist),
Bruno Mars (International Male Solo Artist),
Coldplay (Best British Group),
Ed Sheeran (British Male Solo Artist & British Breakthrough Act)
Noel Gallagher and
Florence and the Machine. The International Breakthrough Act was won by
Lana Del Rey, with the NME reporting that the singer made an "emotional" acceptance speech, saying "This award means much more to me than you know, without the support of everyone in this room and everyone in the UK I'd be lost, so thank you."
Watch
Rihanna and
Florence and the Machine performing below:
(And if you REALLY want to see
Coldplay open the show, you won't mind that the audio for this clip is completely out of sync with the vision. We'll replace when we find a better one.)