and I want to thank you , for giving me the best days of my life

On the 7th of December 2010 I received an email from Vic White - the Editor of COMPANY Magazine telling me that the Babyshambles gig review I had wrote , had won me the position of Reporter at the BRIT Awards 2011.

"A reputation to uphold or one to labour, critics squinting at his every move, every bead of sweat running down his furrowed brow, casually brushed away with the peak of his old Britannia navy hat. Babyshambles made their concert feel so exclusive it could have been in your front room. Naturally with beautiful acoustics, poetic lyrics, an iconic front man and the shroud of controversy that circulated everything he is. Starting with ‘La Belle Et La Bete’ and ‘Albion’ you could hear the jaws drop as Babyshambles shot critics ‘Word’ drafts to pieces with perfect delivery all evening. "

Now, 3 months later, ( 2 months after the launch party I wrote about here ) my article is in shiny print in this months (April) issue of COMPANY magazine & i am left feeling nostalgic, desperate for that rush of excitement once again. It feels strange knowing I'm no longer needed back in the office, nor required to brush up on my musical knowledge (I can tell you things about Paul Weller than would rock your socks). Forget enjoying the calm after the storm and propel me into the next wave, I say .

I've received lots of lovely tweets, emails and messages about my article from those of you who have picked up a copy and it's amazing the support I have been given from you all . I didn't want to talk about the night until it had been published, but instead of writing a post about it all & given my tendency to waffle off ( and believe me, going to the Brit Awards is a 'waffle-enducing' topic ), I've decided just to add a few of my thoughts - if you want to read what happened & who I met you'll have to buy COMPANY *mwa-hahaha*

• Whilst at the launch party, i could bob backstage to see the celebs and then stand out in the crowd. Having the fortuity to be able to go between the buzz of the arena and the hub backstage was like dipping your head in and out of water. It was two pieces of the same puzzle; one was bright and glittery, the other raw and full of hard-work.
• On the night of the Brits, my body was constantly rocking from nauseous to excited.
• The backstage area's and the O2 were decorated luxuriously in Red & Gold.
• It is more intimate than it looks on TV.
• I arrived at the O2 at 2pm and held onto my massive feathered jacket shivering until I saw the first celeb, which catapulted my body into a temperature to rival the sun.
• I was joined by 3 other COMPANY girls backstage, all of whom had their own jobs to do. I quickly grasped that there was no room for error - I was here for a purpose, to do a job and I needed to fulfil that.
• The acts would come past our section after winning an award, but would be surrounded by PR and entourage. I had to grab them as they were passing, even interview them whilst walking along side them. Nerves suddenly disappear when you see an act coming towards you, there was no time to have zero self-confidence. If you missed that second, you had potentially missed an important quote or piece of gossip.
• The PR's are the people to befriend for celeb access but I learned quickly not to be fooled by appearance, it's a lottery which one's will feed you and which one's will bite your head off. ( Big bouncer men are not always meaner than petite ladies )
• The excitement comes in waves with the artists as they pass through the corridors, you didn't know who was coming next or how receptive they would be to you, but the adrenaline of this overshadows any nerves.
• Jessie J hugged me ( and she is not as 'fierce' as she comes across on TV, she's actually very sweet ).
• You spend so much of your time and energy being polite and networking, but that goes out of the window and is replaced with bolchiness and a stiff upper lip when an artists comes past - I caught on to the fact that I needed to start showing the artists we wern't like the other press - that's when I made a promise with Tinie Tempah - I'll only ask you questions I promise you wont already have been asked tonight ....
• Tinie Tempah's 'people' kept trying to move him along until i started interviewing him, then they said "we get a sense of when he's uncomfortable in an interview & we need to pull him away - but he looks pre-t-t-y happy there... " . Any man who pulls of a white tux & still looks like he just 'threw this on' is ok by me.
  
• Every so often when interviewing i would get a sudden realisation of the magnitude of what I was doing, and I'd flush red. Smooth.
• P.R and entourage seemed to create a moat between me (press) and the celebs, but I guess they have a job to do also , and in fairness, it takes a lot of determination to keep some celebs on course I can imagine.
• Once I was there, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
  

Unfortunately I didn't get any good outfit snaps, as my camera went walkies half way though the night ( who ever now has it, I hope your enjoying the photos of my shoes, my breakfast & other equally as interesting imagery ). However, the beauts at COMPANY were a little more protective of their belongings, and snapped these of my Jasmine De Milo finery .

[ glued to twitter & facebook all night updating the readers ]

Oh, and I HAD to post this editorial also in April's issue - Disco / Sequins/ Flares/ Fringing ? Done.

** Will interview/ report / hang backstage again with Tinie Tempah & Take That for a small fee of a Cup of Tea **

** Howeve, all offers will be considered **