This Is What The BRIT Awards Looked Like In 1998

Where were you in 1998? It was the year that Google was founded, Dawson’s Creek entered our lives and those creepy little Furbies became A Thing. But in the month of February 1998 specifically, if you were to wonder down to the London Arena (which doesn’t exist anymore), you might’ve found Ben Elton hosting a load of poorly suited and extravagantly booted celebrities for the 18th annual BRIT Awards and boy, was it a sight to behold.

I like to think that none of the attendees at the time had any idea that they were witnessing a part of history that would affectionately be looked back upon as the glory days. They probably had no idea that reflecting on the BRITs of 1998 and seeing Cheri Blair, Lord Levy and Chris Smith singing along to Fleetwood Mac would prompt such conflicting sentiments of nostalgia. They had no idea that twenty years on, Texas and Method Man sharing the stage for a song might not make quite as much sense as it once did.

A lot happened in that now demolished Greenwich arena all that time ago. Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams went head to head for best British Male Solo Artist but, alongside Elton John, lost out to Finley Quaye. Stereophonics were the British Newcomers of choice and Shola Ama off of You Might Need Somebody took best British Female.

Besides deputy PM John Prescott having a bucket of ice water thrown over him by the drummer from Chumbawamba, All Saints were very much at large and opened the show with a performance of *Never Ever *before scooping up a couple of awards. Spice Girls sang Stop and The Verve closed with Lucky Man.

Feeling old yet? Us too. These brilliant pictures of what the BRITs 1998 actually looked like will probably only drive that nostalgia home even further but we're embracing it. Because what's this year's Ed Sheeran set got on Robbie Williams in an unbuttoned leather shirt and a line shaved into his head?

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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.