BRITs abroad let music do the talking

Can you recall the good old, mad old days when the BRIT Awards ranged from the unpredictable to the unbelievable? Remember these…?

• Ginger Spice’s Union Flag dress

• Robbie Williams challenging Liam Gallagher to a fight

• Liam (again) chucking his award into the crowd

• Jarvis Cocker baring his backside as Michael Jackson was performing

• Adele’s middle finger, as the show ran late and her acceptance speech was cut short

• A soaking for John Prescott at the hands of Chumbawamba

Ah, those were the days – when everything was a lot more fun at the BRITs.

But I have an alternative view. Could it be that all these shenanigans were an antidote to the fact that the music wasn’t so good back then? In the last couple of years, the BRITs have been a lot more about the music. But hang on. Shouldn’t that be the case anyway?

UK music industry in good shape

• Last year, for the first time ever, the top 10 albums in the UK were all by British artists - from Take That at 10, through Pink Floyd, Olly Murs, One Direction, Paloma Faith, Coldplay, Paolo Nutini, George Ezra and Sam Smith, all topped off by Ed Sheeran at number 1 with ‘X’.

• This year’s BRIT Award nominations are led by:

• Sam Smith – up for five awards, inc. Best British Male, breakthrough artist, album

• Ed Sheeran – four nods inc. Best British Male and Best Single

• George Ezra – four nominations inc. Best British Breakthrough Act

The Brits are coming…

• It’s not just at home where British acts are flourishing, but overseas too.

• Sam Smith, the winner last year’s BRIT Awards Critics’ Choice, sold a million copies of his debut album, In the Lonely Hour, both here and in the US. He’s the only artist to achieve such a feat.

• Oh, and he won four Grammy Awards. Not too shabby.

• One Direction went to number one in the US with all four of their albums – no other British band has ever achieved this, not even The Beatles.

• All this helped 1D to become Britain's most successful musical export of 2013, Ed Sheeran followed up by taking this accolade in 2014.

UK artists’ global chart dominance

• Artists from the UK have accounted for the top-selling album worldwide in six of the last nine years. They are:

• Adele in 2011 and 2012

• Susan Boyle in ‘09

• Coldplay in ‘08

• Amy Winehouse in ‘07

• James Blunt in ‘06.

• Bruno Mars and the soundtrack to Frozen have blotted our copybook in the last two years, but I guess we’ll have to let it go (see what I did there?).

• Here’s why it’s important:

• The music industry is worth around £3.8bn to the UK economy, adding in all the revenue from publishing, music sales and live performances.

• The industry also provides over 100,000 people with a job – whether they’re working for a record label or setting up the live shows.

• Only the US is more successful than the UK when it comes to exporting music to the rest of the world, with British music exports worth around £2.2bn

• Around one in eight albums sold comes from a British artist. Brings a tear to your eye doesn’t it?

Top 5 bestselling British music artists worldwide

1.The Beatles Estimated sales of 600million

2.Elton John Estimated sales of 350m

3= Led Zeppelin / Queen Estimated sales of 300m

5.Cliff Richard Estimated sales of 260m

Most successful British acts on America’s Billboard Hot 100

The Beatles 20 #1 singles

Bee Gees / Elton John / Paul McCartney 9 #1 singles

George Michael / Rolling Stones 8 #1 singles