The Original BPI BRIT Award Trophy Design 1977
We are proud to have been the designers of the very first original British Phonographic Industry Award (now known as the BRIT Award) from 1977.
Roger Clinton-Smith was commissioned by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) to design the trophy for the event, that was a celebration of music and was timed to celebrate the 100 year anniversaries of both Thomas Edison’s invention of sound recording, and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. It was an event held on October 18th, 1977 at the Wembley Conference Centre and hosted by Michael Aspel.
The inspiration behind the design of the trophy was loosely based on a tuning fork and presented in monolithic form of intersecting shapes. All the trophies were formed of polished aluminium and etched with the BPI logo and the winners names.
Some of the winners of the first BPI (BRIT) Awards included:
Best British Album & Best British Group
The Beatles (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band)
Best British Male
Cliff Richard
Best British Female
Shirley Bassey
Best British Single
Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody) & Procul Harum (Whiter Shade of Pale) – Joint Winners
The BPI Awards did not return until 1982 (the trophy design had been changed), and continued each year until 1989. From 1990 it was renamed the BRIT Awards and the trophy design has been created by various notable designers over the years.
Further information on the BRIT Awards website.
We still welcome commissions for trophy designs, contact us today.
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