After the #BritsSoWhite storm in 2016 many people thought this year’s awards ceremony would step up its game and begin representing all aspects of British music.

But from the moment the late David Bowie was awarded the prize for Best British Male it became clear that nothing much has changed.

Bowie's award was collected by Michael C Hall of Six Feet Under who said, rather perfectly: “If David Bowie could be here tonight he wouldn’t be here tonight.”

Performance-wise things were a little improved on the past couple of years.

Little Mix and Bruno Mars made for tough acts to follow in the live performances; the girl group stormed onto the stage for their smash hit ‘Shout Out To My Ex’ for which they would later win the award for Best Single, while Bruno Mars added some much-needed funk to a so-far overly polite evening.

Katy Perry brought the ‘woke’ stage of her career to the ceremony and performed her new single ‘Chained to the Rhythm’ featuring giant puppets of US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Theresa May.

It was arguably the most political moment of an incredibly tame night - where the next-best thing was Matty from The 1975 encouraging pop artists to speak out over important issues. It was just unfortunate that Perry seemed to put even less effort into this performance than she did at the Grammys.

Rag ’n’ Bone Man made history with his win for Best British Breakthrough, becoming the only artist to win that award alongside the Brits Critics’ Choice pick; this came shortly after his album Human became the biggest-selling male debut of the decade.

David Bowie: A life in albums Show all 27 1 /27 David Bowie: A life in albums David Bowie: A life in albums David Bowie 1967 David Bowie: A life in albums Space Oddity 1969 David Bowie: A life in albums The Man Who Sold The World 1970 David Bowie: A life in albums Hunky Dory 1971 David Bowie: A life in albums The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars 1972 David Bowie: A life in albums Aladdin Sane 1973 David Bowie: A life in albums Pin Ups 1973 David Bowie: A life in albums Diamond Dogs 1974 David Bowie: A life in albums Young Americans 1975 David Bowie: A life in albums Station To Station 1976 David Bowie: A life in albums Low 1977 David Bowie: A life in albums Heroes 1977 David Bowie: A life in albums Lodger 1979 David Bowie: A life in albums Scary Monsters 1980 David Bowie: A life in albums Let's Dance 1983 David Bowie: A life in albums Tonight 1984 David Bowie: A life in albums Never Let Me Down 1987 David Bowie: A life in albums Tin Machine 1989 David Bowie: A life in albums Tin Machine II 1991 David Bowie: A life in albums Black Tie White Noise 1993 David Bowie: A life in albums Outside 1995 David Bowie: A life in albums Earthling 1997 David Bowie: A life in albums Hours 1999 David Bowie: A life in albums Heathen 2002 David Bowie: A life in albums Reality 2003 David Bowie: A life in albums The Next Day 2013 David Bowie: A life in albums Black Star 2016

Skepta arrived onstage without the crowd that accompanied Kanye West’s legendary takeover at the 2015 awards, railing against the establishment at one of the most ‘establishment’ events around, delivering a ferocious ‘Shutdown’ - with just some brief disappointment that he didn’t bring on any other stars of the London grime scene. But boundless energy, swift flow and that sheer, unadulterated energy was enough to thrill everyone present.

Again the international categories (rushed through by the presenters) were the most diverse and relevant winners: Drake, Beyonce and A Tribe Called Quest won Best International Male, Best International Female and Best International Group respectively... but Beyonce and ATCQ couldn’t even be bothered to send in a video ‘thank you’. It was worryingly indicative of how interest in the Brits has waned over the past five years.

Chris Martin performed a tribute to the late George Michael with the question of why this particular artist was chosen for such a momentous task - before it became clear that this was something of a Chris Martin Show; the Coldplay artist returned shortly after his tribute for a brand new track with The Chainsmokers.

Ed Sheeran, returning after his year’s hiatus from social media, delivered pitchy versions of ‘Castle on the Hill’ and ‘Shape of You’ with some help from an on-form Stormzy… but the beats were basic, Sheeran was breathless and the whole thing felt flat.