The Arctic Monkeys emerged victorious over heavy contender One Direction for the Best British Group award and snagged the highly coveted Best British Album at the 2014 BRIT Awards. Frontman Alex Turner drew applause from the crowd as he gave an intense speech declaring the inevitable return and dominance of rock ‘n’ roll.

Turner also joked about losing a £15 bet on One Direction to win the Best Group category. But as the band collected their second statue for Best Album, Turner quipped, “That rock ‘n’ roll, eh? That rock ‘n’ roll, it just won’t go away.” He ended the speech with a dramatic dropping of the microphone to the floor, after which he addressed organizers by telling them to send him an invoice of the damaged mic, if they want to.

The Sheffield-based indie band kicked off the show with a strong performance of their single “R U Mine”, which featured massive, pyrotechnic initials of the band, “AM” floating in mid-air. It was the first BRIT Awards performance of the Arctic Monkeys despite the numerous wins and nominations they have received over the past eight years.

The Arctic Monkeys may have won the two top honors of the night, but pop music certainly put its dominance on full display judging by the roster of winners that included boy band One Direction, New Zealand teen prodigy Lorde, French duo Daft Punk, and Billboard chart-topper Bruno Mars. David Bowie, who was unable to attend the ceremonies, had supermodel Kate Moss pick up his Best Male Solo Artist award on his behalf. The BRIT award for Best Female Solo went to Ellie Goulding while London-based band Bastille bagged the British Breakthrough award.

This year’s BRITs also made history by involving a global audience through its live worldwide stream via YouTube. The show was aired on Britain’s ITV channel.

Arctic Monkeys Perform At BRIT Award

http://youtu.be/Hc2H07KWmKg

Image via YouTube