BRIT Awards: Wolf Alice win Group of the Year

Wolf Alice won the BRIT Award for Group of the Year for the second time at Saturday’s (28.02.26) ceremony in Manchester.

Wolf Alice dedicated their BRIT Award for Group of the Year to those who supported them during their early years.

The Moaning Lisa Smile band took home the award for the second time – after triumphing in the category in 2022 – and singer Ellie Rowsell hailed those who helped out the band before they achieved success.

She said at Saturday’s (28.02.26) ceremony in Manchester after the group received their award from Happy Mondays legends Shaun Ryder and Bez : “We want to dedicate this award to all the people that helped us out in the early years of Wolf Alice.

“Starting the band can be the hardest part and we couldn’t have done this without all the people who lent us money, drove us around the country, let us sleep on their floors, bought tickets to our early shows and even bought a piece of our atrocious merch – although I don’t think anyone actually did that.”

Ellie also discussed the importance of keeping pubs and grassroots music venues in the UK open, pointing out that 30 closed last year despite the vast sums the music industry contributes to the British economy.

She said: “We’d like to also thank all of the pubs and clubs and grassroots venues across the country where we quite literally learned to play our instruments and write our songs. Thank you for opening your doors to us and thank you to those who continue the fight to keep them open.

“It’s worth mentioning that despite the billions of pounds the live sector contributes to our economy, last year 30 independent venues closed down, 6,000 jobs were lost and over half the small venues reported making no profit at all.”

The 33-year-old singer added: “It shouldn’t be a battle to survive for bands and artists, we shouldn’t be reliant on favours or anyone funding schemes in order to do things at a level we feel proud of. It shouldn’t feel like a golden ticket, but a viable career decision for anyone from any background.

“Because you only have to look around us today and see how proud we are of Britain’s musical contribution and how important it is to nurture and protect the UK’s amazing music scene.”