BRIT Award viewers were left fuming after the show’s In Memoriam segment – blasting it as “a pathetic attempt”.
On Saturday night’s show, The Charlatans musician Tim Burgess was brought on stage to lead the In Memoriam tributes, leading on the loss of his close friend, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield of The Stone Roses and Primal Scream, who died in November.
However, the artist struggled to say his speech, simply referring to “Mani” which some viewers thought to mean Manchester, or not recognising who he was referring to.
A videotape then played, showing the name of dozens of stars who have passed across the past year, flashing on screen briefly as a select number of artists were played in the background.
But fans were left less-than-pleased at how quickly the segment ran, before the show cut to an ad break.
Complaining to X (formerly Twitter), one fan wrote: “What a pathetic memoriam to artists who had passed away last year.
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“Surely you could have made more time to show Mike Peters (a Welsh Brit) and also Rick Buckler of The Jam (another Brit) and a great drummer of his generation.”
“That tribute to all artists that have passed over this year was laughable,” wrote another.
“Wow! One of the worst ‘In Memoriam’ I have ever seen,” noted a third.
“What on earth was that all about #Brits2026 ?” complained a fourth. “I’m talking about those who lost their lives in the last year – that was disrespectful to many of those who passed.”
While a fifth wrote :”Putting the In Memorial names up quicker than anyone can read them. Poor show Brits, poor show #Brits2026″
“Whose idea was that In Memorial section? Blink and you’ve missed it – must get the adverts in….” wrote a sixth.
While on stage, Sturgess told the crowd at Manchester’s Co-Op Arena: “Hi everyone, I’m here tonight to pay tribute to my good friend. Mani changed music and inspired generations ahead of him. These songs he recorded will be his legacy.
“He was truly one of the phenomenal ones. I’d like you to think about Mani for a moment and we can cherish the thought that we got to experience our time and his time together.
“Let’s take a few moments to remember Mani.”
While the In Memoriam segment may have been lacking, the awards show was filled with tributes to artists loved and lost.
Most notably, Ozzy Osbourne was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, with wife Sharon and daughter Kelly collecting the award on his behalf.
Robbie Williams then led a performance of Black Sabbath track No More Tears, joined by Ozzy’s Black Sabbath bandmates.
Mark Ronson also dedicated his award of Outstanding Contribution to Music to the late Amy Winehouse, without whom “noone would know who he is.”
His performance medley of his tracks also included recordings of the singer, who died in July 2011 at the age of 27.
He also commented that March marks the 20th anniversary of he and Amy working together on her iconic album, Back to Black.
The Brit Awards are available to watch now on ITVX.