2012 BRIT Awards: Best British Group Odds and Betting Preview - Coldplay set to win seventh award

LONDON, UK - Coldplay go in search of their seventh BRIT Award tomorrow night in London and have been nominated in two categories: Best British Group and Best British Album. However with stiff competition from Adele in the album category, it looks as if their best chance will be in the Best British Group category, for which they top the betting with the bookmakers.

Coldplay took the Best British Band award in both 2001 and 2003, although they were surprisingly beaten by Kaiser Chiefs in 2006, the year that Coldplay scooped Best Single and Best Album. Having opened up at odds of 8/11 with Paddy Power in December, Coldplay are now best-priced at 1/6 (bet £6 to win £1 profit) with Bodog, although they are at 1/10 with Ladbrokes. Chris Martin’s band have had another vintage year with the release of the album Mylo Xyloto, featuring smash hits such as ‘Paradise’, ‘Charlie Brown’ and even a song with Rihanna.

At 1/6, Coldplay do not make a lot of appeal as a wager, but the early birds who took the 8/11 with Paddy Power have every reason to be excited. As for those punters who have not yet had a wager on Best Group, there are four other nominees.

Second in the betting are Kasabian at 12/1 with totesport, who have received eight BRIT Awards nominations in the past but have only won one award. That was in this category two years ago where they beat the likes of JLS, Friendly Fires and Muse on the back of their third studio album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. This year they are sailing on the back of the successful Velociraptor! album, from which they released ‘Goodbye Kiss’ today. Kasabian are as short as 8/1 with 188bet to win Best Group, but have been weak in the betting in opposition to the red hot favourites.

Elbow have been put in at 16/1 with high-street bookmaker Ladbrokes to win Best Group, and their fifth album Build a Rocket Boys! made it to second place in the UK charts. The album was well-received by the critics, generally getting an 8/10 rating, so they may not be the worst 16/1 shots. The Bury band are touring Australia next month, so a BRIT Award would be a fantastic send-off gift, but if the betting is anything to go by it is going to be a tall order.

At 16/1 with Betfred and Ladbrokes are Chase & Status, who are a surprise nomination in this category and are the only nominees this year who have never won Best Band. Saul Milton and Will Kennard have had an incredible year, and have really made a name for themselves with the album No More Idols. Songs such as ‘Blind Faith’ and ‘End Credits’ made it into the UK singles chart, which is almost unheard of for a drum and bass act.

Arctic Monkeys are at 16/1 with Sporting Bet and Ladbrokes, but the Sheffield band have been unpopular in the betting. They have amassed five awards at the BRITS from just seven nominations, but bookies still believe that this is a one-horse race. Alex Turner’s band released their fourth album last summer, Suck It and See, which topped the album charts in the UK and was generally considered to be a return to form. They released ‘Black Treacle’ from the album last month, but it only made it to 173rd in the charts, and it is fair to say they are carrying less momentum behind than than Coldplay going to the O2 tomorrow night.

The 2012 BRIT Awards are on Tuesday 21 February at the O2 Arena in London. The ceremony is live on ITV1 from 8.00pm.

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