Music awards take a low key

Jamiroquai and The Spice Girls were spearheading a strong British presence at this year's MTV Video Music Awards in New York last night. But the star-studded occasion was set to be overshadowed by the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Elton John, one of the ceremony's presenters, is flying straight back to London in time for the Princess's funeral on Saturday morning.

Jazz funk stars Jamiroquai are poised to clean up at the awards, which will be watched by millions on MTV's world network. The band have nominations in 10 categories for their "Virtual Reality" video, more than any other act. They will perform during the show, as will the Spice Girls, nominated in two categories, and U2. Beck is among the American performers and model Cindy Crawford (pictured) is one of the presenters.