Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music

The Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music is the Lifetime Achievement award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music. The honourees are determined by the Brit Awards voting academy with over one-thousand members, which comprise record labels, publishers, managers, agents, media, and previous winners and nominees.

Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music
Awarded forAchievement in excellence in music
CountryUnited Kingdom (UK)
Presented byBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI)
First award1977
Currently held byKylie Minogue (2024)
Most awardsPaul McCartney, John Lennon and Elton John (3)
Websitewww.brits.co.uk

History

The award was first presented in 1977 and was subsequently awarded annually from 1982 to 2010. The award has since been presented intermittently as the BRIT's Icon Award, with the original name being re-instated at the 2019 Brit Awards ceremony. Since 2000, the Classic BRIT Awards have also annually presented their own Outstanding Contribution to Music Award. The award was last presented under its original name at 2019 Brit Awards. However, the Global Icon Award, which was described as the BRIT's "highest accolade", and an international version of the BRIT's Icon Award, was presented in 2021 to Taylor Swift.

Elton John, Paul McCartney and John Lennon are the artists with the most wins with three awards. U2 were the first international band to receive the BRIT award while Pink and Bob Geldof were the first female solo artist and the first international artist to receive it respectively. Cecilia Bartoli and Andrea Bocelli were the first female soloist and international artist respectively to receive the Classic BRIT Award. Freddie Mercury's last public appearance before his death from HIV/AIDS would be when he accepted the award in 1990 as a member of Queen.

Contemporary winners

  Indicates a non-British artist
Year Recipient(s)
1977 LG Wood and The Beatles
1982 John Lennon (posthumously)
1983 The Beatles
1984 George Martin
1985 The Police
1986 Elton John and Wham!
1987 Eric Clapton
1988 The Who
1989 Cliff Richard (Lifetime Achievement Award)
1990 Queen
1991 Status Quo
1992 Freddie Mercury (posthumously)
1993 Rod Stewart
1994 Van Morrison
1995 Elton John
1996 David Bowie
1997 Bee Gees
1998 Fleetwood Mac
1999 Eurythmics
2000 Spice Girls
2001 U2
2002 Sting
2003 Tom Jones
2004 Duran Duran
2005 Bob Geldof
2006 Paul Weller
2007 Oasis
2008 Paul McCartney
2009 Pet Shop Boys
2010 Robbie Williams
2012 Blur
2014 Elton John (Icon Award)
2016 David Bowie (Icon Award)
2017 Robbie Williams (Icon Award)
2019 Pink
2021 Taylor Swift (Global Icon Award)
2024 Kylie Minogue (Global Icon Award)

Classic winners

Year Recipient
2000 Nigel Kennedy
2001 Simon Rattle
2002 Andrea Bocelli
2003 Cecilia Bartoli
2004 Renée Fleming
2005 James Galway
2006 Placido Domingo
2007 Vernon Handley
2008 Andrew Lloyd Webber
2009 José Carreras
2010 Kiri Te Kanawa
2011 John Barry (posthumously)
2012 John Williams
2013 Hans Zimmer
2014 Luciano Pavarotti (posthumously)
2018 Vera Lynn

Artists with multiple wins

  • John Lennon has received the award three times (1977 and 1983 as a member of The Beatles and 1982 as a solo artist)
  • Paul McCartney has received the award three times (1977 and 1983 as a member of The Beatles and 2008 as a solo artist)
  • Elton John has received the award three times (1986 and 1995 for Outstanding Contribution and 2014 as a BRIT's Icon)
  • The Beatles have received the award twice (1977 and 1983)
  • Sting has received the award twice (1985 as a member of The Police and 2002 as a solo artist)
  • Freddie Mercury has received the award twice (1990 as a member of Queen and 1992 as a solo artist)
  • David Bowie has received the award twice (1996 for Outstanding Contribution and 2016 as a BRIT's Icon)
  • Robbie Williams has received the award twice (2010 for Outstanding Contribution and 2017 as a BRIT's Icon)

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