If the rumours are true, next month’s Brit awards will feature a David Bowie tribute from a supergroup consisting of Damon Albarn, Bono, Noel Gallagher, Adele and Coldplay. Never mind that most of those artists have no obvious connection with Bowie’s legacy, and that he declined to get involved with Coldplay when he was alive. Assembling awkward one-off supergroups is what award ceremonies do best. Here are some of the strangest …
David Guetta, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Foo Fighters and Deadmau5 – 2012 Grammys
This was the year America belatedly discovered dance music and, suddenly, everyone wanted a piece. This fluorescent tag-team nightmare, helmed by a gurning middle-aged DJ, was a demonstration of the bizarre things some stars will do to appear on-trend. Note Dave Grohl headbanging earnestly to dubstep with a couple of girls in glowing bunny ears, proof that the former Nirvana man will form a supergroup with absolutely anyone.
The Beach Boys, Maroon 5 and Foster the People – 2012 Grammys
One of the weirdest things about looking back at awards shows from years gone by is the way they throw together genuine legends with the fleetingly famous. When Al Jardine hugs the Foster the People guy at the end of Good Vibrations, does he really have any idea who he is? Does anyone? Of course, the Beach Boys have done a pretty good job of trampling on their own legacy down the years, but it’s still upsetting to see Adam Levine joining in. And, finally, what did the 2012 Grammy organisers hate about music so much that they gave us two terrible supergroups in one show?
Florence + the Machine and Dizzee Rascal – 2010 Brit awards
Florence’s You Got the Love was already a cover of a remix of a mash-up, so what was the harm in bastardising it further? No matter that Dizzee’s cautionary rap about the evils of materialism had nothing whatsoever to do with the sentiment of the chorus. Florence and Dizzee are both such exuberant performers that what could have been a car crash turned out to be a crowdpleaser; a specially released version of You Got the Dirtee Love rocketed to No 2 the week after the ceremony. But would you listen to it again now? No.
Chuck D, Darryl “DMC”McDaniels, Tom Morello, Foo Fighters, John Fogerty, Heart, Rush, Gary Clark Jr and Chris Cornell – 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony
The Hall of Fame has become notorious for trying to cram as many stars as possible on to the same stage, and it reached capacity here. This crowded blues jam could have been a lot worse, and it was a nice touch to have the rappers kicking it off, although hearing DMC and Chuck D shouting-out Eric “Enoch was right” Clapton is a little jarring. Inevitably, Dave Grohl is here too, having driven overnight through several time zones at the merest whisper of the word “supergroup”.
Black Eyes Peas, Gwen Stefani, Los Lonely Boys, Maroon 5 and Franz Ferdinand – 2005 Grammys
Franz Ferdinand’s recent mind-meld with Sparks isn’t the first time they’ve been part of a supergroup. Back in 2005 they were guinea pigs in a terrifying experiment to see how many Grammys performances Black Eyed Peas could ruin in one go. This may also be the first and last time anyone has attempted to breakdance to Take Me Out.
Billie, B*Witched, Steps, Cleopatra and Tina Cousins – 1999 Brit awards
Kitsch beyond kitsch, this horrific Abba medley was an attempt to cash in on Mamma Mia! mania. You expected this kind of thing from Steps, whose career was predicated on ripping off Abba, without any of the underlying heartbreak, tension or quality songwriting. But it was sad to watch them drag Cleopatra down with them. The whole thing looks like one of those crap X Factor group performances – even more so now, given that most of the participants have since been reduced to trying to relaunch their careers via reality TV.
Bono, Stevie Wonder, Norah Jones, Brian Wilson, Alicia Keys, Billie Joe Armstrong, Tim McGraw, Alison Krauss and Velvet Revolver – 2005 Grammys
One tries not to be too cynical about charidee ensembles, so if watching a rogues’ gallery of shifty-looking superstars ritually murder Across the Universe was what it took to persuade viewers to donate to the 2005 tsunami appeal, then the end justifies the means. But why does Bono always get to sing first? Bonus points to Steven Tyler here for some appropriately sombre maraca shaking.
The KLF and Extreme Noise Terror – 1992 Brit awards
Arguably the greatest awards ceremony performance of all-time. Stadium house pranksters the KLF – somewhat improbably, they were one of the biggest groups in Britain at the time, after a run of seven top 10 singles, including two No 1s – somehow managed to circumvent the Brits’ stringent blandness tests, recruiting Ipswich grindcore stalwarts Extreme Noise Terror for a unrecognisable thrash through 3AM Eternal (a No 1 in its original form). Amazingly, it was the first thing viewers saw when tuning into to 1992’s broadcast, after a quick shot of Right Said Fred’s grinning faces. Not everybody was still grinning when the guitars kicked in – the conductor Georg Solti fled the auditorium, hands over his ears. As a Brits spectacle, it’s unlikely to be bettered until James Bay brings out Throbbing Gristle for a medley of hi-NRG hits.
