Posted by It’s now 25 years since Jarvis Cocker gatecrashed Michael Jackson’s BRIT Awards set.
The moment has gone down in British music fame – or infamy, if you’re a Michael Jackson fan.
The ‘Thriller’ icon’s label had been entrusted to run the BRIT Awards, and responded by concocting a one off trophy for the performer.
Turning his ‘Earth Song’ set into a display of Messianic proportions, one onlooker decided that enough, simply, was enough.
A drunken Jarvis Cocker gatecrashed the party, hopping onstage, waggling his bottom, and then swiftly departing.
All hell broke loose, with the Pulp frontman finding himself accused of pushing over some of Jackson’s child dancers.
Amid the media scrum, no one could be sure of the truth, with Jarvis Cocker afraid to leave his house.
Speaking to the New York Times last year, he recalled: “In the U.K., suddenly, I was crazily recognised and I couldn’t go out anymore. It tipped me into a level of celebrity I couldn’t ever have known existed, and wasn’t equipped for. It had a massive, generally detrimental effect on my mental health.”
Remarkably, he was “saved by David Bowie” – the UK legend had been performing at the event, and in keeping with his fastidious nature he’d been filming both his rehearsals and the event itself to make sure his set lived up to his exacting standards. “There was an accusation that I’d knocked some kids off the stage. I’d been arrested. The only footage that’d been released was like a CCTV camera, and you couldn’t see what was happening.
“That year, David Bowie was getting a lifetime achievement award, and he had his own camera crew there. After two or three days, they released their footage, and then the charges were dropped straight away. Among many other things I’m grateful to David Bowie for, that was amazing.”
Re-watch the moment below.
Related: Saturday Night Cabin Fever – Lockdown With Jarvis Cocker
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