Mobo Awards 2016, Hydro, Glasgow, review: A clanging error saw the wrong winner announced

Unfortunately for all involved, this year’s Music of Black Origin Awards – the 21st anniversary edition of the awards, and the fourth to be held in Glasgow since the decision was made to take them out of London and travel the country in 2009 – will be remembered as the edition where a clanging error saw the wrong winner announced in the Best Song category.

Initially the prize was given to West London trio WSTRN, also recipients of Best Newcomer; until an hour later, when hosts Rickie Haywood Williams and Melvin Odoom were forced to sheepishly admit that an apparent envelope mix-up had denied Abra Cadabra featuring Krept & Konan, the real winners, for “Robbery”. The latter contingent’s acceptance was hurried and clearly as baffled as the audience, many of whom didn’t even seem to realise what was happening.

This, and the eleventh-hour withdrawal of British urban superstar Tinie Tempah, could have been used as prosecution evidence that the Mobos 2016 was an awards ceremony in crisis, but in every other respect it was as proficient as any other large-scale gong-giving bonanza. Held in the largest indoor venue in the UK outside of London, the show was packed with tables of invited guests on the hall floor (the table lamps which formed part of the lightshow were a nice touch) and paying fans in the tiered balconies.

The downsides of such a show are self-evident, of course, and the tension between seeming vital and forward-looking while also embracing the comfortably popular is nothing that, for example, the Brits don’t also have to contend with. Kudos to the Mobos, the racial demographic it serves is also a potentially prickly issue – vulnerable to black and white commentators who have their own criticisms alike – which it walks with confidence. The presence of Katy B on a nomination list or Clean Bandit performing their track “Rockabye” was more an indication of how much facets of grime and R&B have been incorporated into mainstream pop than anything else.

In fact the greatest tension, keeping an eye on Twitter as events unfolded, was that between this populist urge and the need to acknowledge more authentic grime and urban sounds. No one might ever accuse Craig David of being cutting-edge, but his acceptance of Best Male marked him out as a survivor whose career is warmly admired, a situation which appeared undented by his unlikely declaration that “2016, it feels good ... what a time to be alive!” A career-spanning medley performed inside a neon cube, from “Fill Me In” to “When the Bassline Drops” was bassy and well-received.

Amid a forceful dance sequence, Lady Leshurr’s attention-grabbing medley of “Queen’s Speech” and “Where Are You Now” signalled imminent crossover success, while Laura Mvula offered a prowling fresh take on Fugees’ “Ready or Not” and Best Reggae winner Popcaan’s “Only Man She Wants” and “Too Cool Fekky” was a boisterous redefinition of an activist genre for an entertainment market.

Further performances by Chase & Status and Professor Green enhanced a bill which was at least varied in style, with the most incongruous element being the setting itself. Kilts were donned by the hosts, minor Scots celebrities were booked to present awards (Fresh Meat’s excellent Greg McHugh, in his best put-on American brogue, welcomed us to “bonnie, bonnie Scotland, the natural home of reggae”), and the local crowd were lively. Yet it’s interesting to note that one of the most exciting bands “of black origin” in the UK – Edinburgh’s Young Fathers – felt conspicuous by their absence. Or perhaps just not right for a show which proudly and correctly breaks cultural barriers, while musical ones remain less forcefully tested. Like the Brits, it’s just a pop show after all.