1996 MTV Europe Music Awards
| 1996 MTV Europe Music Awards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | November 14, 1996 |
| Location | Alexandra Palace, London, England |
| Hosted by | Robbie Williams |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | MTV Networks International (Europe) |
The 1996 MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony was hosted by former Take That member Robbie Williams and held at Alexandra Palace in London, United Kingdom on 14 November 1996.
One special note was that MTV executives notified the band Metallica that expletives were prohibited during their live TV performance and they were not allowed to use pyro. The band was upset by this so the band disregarded performing their scheduled single "King Nothing" and played the non-TV friendly songs "Last Caress" and "So What?". Songs that contain numerous expletives, and reference rape, murder and bestiality respectively. The result was the performance and any references to Metallica during the ceremony have been removed from future broadcasts of the ceremony however the performance can be seen on YouTube.
Nominations
Winners are in bold text.
Best Song
- Fugees — "Killing Me Softly"
- Garbage — "Stupid Girl"
- Alanis Morissette — "Ironic"
- Oasis — "Wonderwall"
- Pulp — "Disco 2000"
Best Female
Best Male
Best Group
Best New Act
Best Dance
Best Rock
MTV Amour
- D'Angelo — "Lady"
- Fugees — "Killing Me Softly"
- Madonna with Massive Attack — "I Want You"
- George Michael — "Fastlove"
- TLC — "Diggin' on You"
MTV Select
Free Your Mind
- The Buddies and Carers of Europe
Performances
- The Fugees — "Ready or Not"
- George Michael — "Star People"
- Boyzone (featuring Peter André) — "Motown Medley" ("Dancing in the Street" / "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" / "Never Can Say Goodbye" / "Celebration")
- Eros Ramazzotti — "Più Bella Cosa"
- The Smashing Pumpkins — "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
- Simply Red (featuring Refugee Camp) — "Angel"
- Kula Shaker — "Tattva"
- Metallica — "Last Caress / So What?" (originally meant to be King Nothing)
- Garbage — "Milk"
- Bryan Adams — "The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You"
Appearances
- John Major – proclaimed that Alexandra Palace would be renamed "MTV Palace" for the night before introducing host Robbie Williams
- Julian Clary — hosted a backstage party where he interviewed various celebrities
- Neneh Cherry and Jay Kay — presented Best Group
- Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. — presented the Breakthrough award
- Jacques Villeneuve and Helena Christensen — presented Best Rock
- Richard E. Grant and Björk — presented Best Male
- Gina G and 3T — presented MTV Amour
- Joaquín Cortés and Jerry Hall — presented Best Female
- Jarvis Cocker — presented the Free Your Mind award
- Goldie and MC Solaar — presented Best Dance
- Robert Miles and Westernhagen — presented MTV Select
- Jean Paul Gaultier and Skin — presented Best Song