Michael Jackson’s performance of Earth Song at the 1996 BRIT Awards will be remembered for one thing — and it’s not for his stunning vocals or iconic dance moves.
Jarvis Cocker crashed the performance and mooned the whole world.
The Pulp singer ended up in court following the incident, accused of “harming” three children who were on stage at the time, but he wasn’t prosecuted and all charges were dropped.
Jackson’s performance had pulled out all the stops, and included wind machines and a light display.
There were also hoards of extras on stage with him, who were dressed in ragged clothes and pretended to worship him.
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(Image: Getty)
When he was about to climb up on to a platform that would raise him up in the air, Cocker invaded the stage.
He bent over and pretended to fart, before wafting it away with his hands.
Security got on stage within seconds, but Cocker made for the exit.
He stopped briefly to lift up his shirt at the camera.
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Jackson would later say he was “sickened, saddened, shocked, upset, cheated and angry, but immensely proud that the cast remained professional and the show went on”.
Speaking on TFI Friday, Cocker would later explain why he did it, saying: “I was just sat there watching it and feeling a bit ill because he’s there doing his Jesus act and I could kind of see that there were a lot of other people who found it quite distasteful as well.
“Stage is there, I’m here, and I thought I could actually do something about it and say this is rubbish for once.
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“I just got up and just bombed it because I knew I would have to move fast because if anybody cottoned on to what was happening I wouldn’t get on.
“I was there and once I was, I kind of didn’t really know what to do then, so I thought well I may as well bend over and show me bum.”
But last year he told the New York Times that the incident “had a massive, generally detrimental effect on my mental health” after all the attention it got.
And it was David Bowie who helped him escape prosecution.
(Image: Mirrorpix)
Cocker said: “The only footage that’d been released was like a CCTV camera, and you couldn’t see what was happening.
“That year David Bowie was getting a lifetime achievement award and he had his own camera crew there.
“After two or three days, they released their footage, and then the charges were dropped straight away.
“Among many other things I’m grateful to David Bowie for, that was amazing.”