Bono wins longest speech award

Bono caused chaos at the Grammy awards in Los Angeles today when he defied all attempts to shut him up, rambling for minutes at a time to the consternation of TV producers and advertisers.

The U2 singer went on so long, over-running advertising slots worth nearly $500,000 a minute, that organisers tried to cut off one acceptance speech by playing music to drown him out.

Bono, clutching what looked like a beer bottle, collected the first of U2's four awards - record of the year, for Walk On - with the words: "Thank God. " He then rambled: "Being Irish, if you get eight nominations and no awards they wouldn't let you back in the country, So this is a public safety issue." He then thanked the band's manager, their record label and his mother.

But soon Bono was back as Britney Spears handed him the best pop performance Grammy for Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of. "I hope we don't win any more awards," he said. But he was just warming up: "It is still an extraordinary thing to behold the sound of a rock and roll band in full flight. Not just the sound of it when it gets airborne - but the deals that you make on the ground; the promises that your friendship will survive being broke [or] not being broke; the Eighties - and maybe 20 years later you will find yourselves at an award ceremony with people you started out with. Wow."

The audience didn't seem to know how to react. Eventually they applauded.

Bono returned to receive the award for best rock performance too, for Elevation. "It's an extraordinary thing," he began. "It's a gift much more than a craft in our case. This is a punk rock band, hearing mad tunes in their heads that are gospel and folk and psychedelic and hard rock.

"And we depend on what Quincy Jones said - we depend on God walking through the room, more than most. And God has walked through the room on our record and I want to give thanks. Amen." When they came back for a fourth award - rock album of the year, for All That You Can't

Leave Behind - U2 guitarist the Edge tried to get a word in. "Some very special things have also happened to me," he attempted to say. But Bono snatched the microphone, explaining: "He's a guitar player. I do the talking.''

The CBS network had waited until the last second before cutting away from Bono for each commercial break. The organisers had asked each winner to keep their remarks to a brief 30 seconds, but Bono was on stage for nearly five minutes in total while collecting U2's four awards. This time, producers began to play music over him.

The rest of the night was tame in comparison. The top male vocalist was won by James Taylor for Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, a song he first recorded 30 years ago.

The soundtrack to the film O Brother, Where Art Thou took five awards including best album, beating U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind with a collection of Depression-era bluegrass. The compilation includes a rendition of O Death by 75-year-old Ralph Stanley, winning his first Grammy for best country collaboration with vocals.

Nearly 55 years his junior, newcomer Alicia Keys matched the record for the number of awards won by a female artist, taking five. The New York soul singer was named best new artist for Fallin', which also took song of the year, while her debut album Songs in A Minor won best R&B album. Nelly Furtado taking the award for female pop vocal performance with I'm Like a Bird.

The pop collaboration with vocals was won by Lady Marmalade from the film Moulin Rouge. But a live performance by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink at the ceremony in Los Angeles was put in the shade by a larger-than-life appearance by Patti LaBelle, who first recorded the song in the 1970s and threatened to thrust aside the upstarts with her lowcut dress.

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