1997 BRIT Awards
| 17th Brit Awards | |
|---|---|
| Date | 24 February 1997 |
| Venue | Earls Court |
| Hosted by | Ben Elton |
| Most awards | Manic Street Preachers and Spice Girls |
The 1997 Brit Awards were the 17th edition of the biggest annual pop music awards in the United Kingdom. They are run by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 24 February 1997 at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.
Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell, wore the iconic Union Jack dress whilst performing onstage with the group. Spicemania was at its height in the UK and the Spice Girls had just cracked the US as well, reaching number 1 with their debut single and album. Geri Halliwell captured the zeitgeist and became pin-up girl for Cool Britannia.
Halliwell was originally going to wear an all-black dress, but she thought it was too boring so her sister sewed on a Union Jack tea-towel, with a 'peace' sign on the back, so as to not offend anyone. It was worn during the Spice Girls' performance of their number one song "Who Do You Think You Are". Later on she sold her dress in a charity auction to Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas for a record £41,320, giving Halliwell the Guinness World Record for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold. The performance won Most Memorable Performance Of 30 Years at the 2010 Brit Awards.
As well her famous Union Jack dress; Geri Halliwell wore a lengthy cut top red dress during the show. When walking up to the stage to collect their award; Geri Halliwell's right breast slipped out from her dress in front of cameras and host Ben Elton.
Prior to the ceremony in 1997, Oasis member Liam Gallagher stated in the British media that he wasn't going to the Brit Awards because if he bumped into the Spice Girls, he would smack them. In response to this, as the Spice Girls received the award for Best British Video, during their acceptance speech, Sporty Spice challenged Gallagher by saying "Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough".
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