Five days after Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher was arrested in London for alleged cocaine possession, Oasis managed to walk away with the Best Group and Best Song ("Wonderwall") awards at the MTV Europe Music Awards on Thursday. Walk away indeed. According to Johnny Hopkins, the band's spokesman at Creation Records, Oasis is "all about the music" and could not take the time out of the studio to attend the awards. The band is currently recording their third album at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.
Creation Records boss Alan McGee, who discovered the band, accepted the awards on their behalf and took the opportunity to engage in the type of hyperbole that has plagued the band, at least, in the eyes of the American media. "Oasis has the best singer, best band, best music in the world today," he said. "They have been responsible for the biggest export of British music since the Beatles." Stateside, the band wasn't nominated for any awards at the 1996 Video Music Awards in September.
The Smashing Pumpkins, who took the Best Rock Act award, paid their own special homage to Oasis and McGee's comments. "We're sorry because Oasis is the best band since the Beatles," D'Arcy, bassist for the Pumpkins, sarcastically apologized to the crowd. Oasis beat out fellow Brits, Pulp and Garbage, as well as Smashing Pumpkins and the Fugees, for the Best Group award.
Other notable winners included Prodigy for Best Dance Act and Garbage for Best Breakthrough Artist. The MTV Amour award, selected by viewers of MTV Europe's late night soul and swingbeat show, went to the Fugees; the Select MTV award, the European viewer's choice, went to the Backstreet Boys for their video "Get Down." Performances by the Fugees, George Michael, Boyzone, Eros Ramazzotti, Kula Shaker, Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage and Bryan Adams helped round out the hypefest.
As far as Liam's run in with the law, if convicted of possession of a Class A controlled substance, he could be banned from future performances in the U.S. and Japan. The same law kept British group Black Grape from obtaining work permits in the States last year. MTV will re-air the
