Bastille have been named British breakthrough act at the Brit awards 2014. The London four-piece, who released their debut album Bad Blood in March 2013, fought off competition from Disclosure, Laura Mvula, London Grammar and Tom Odell to take the prize.
Along with Disclosure, Bastille received four nominations at this year's Brits,spearheading a wave of new artists up for awards including Rudimental, Naughty Boy, London Grammar and Laura Mvula.
The award wasn't the only recognition for Bastille's anthemic pop rock - the band were invited to perform alongside acts such as Arctic Monkeys and Katy Perry, a sure sign of the vertiginous rise they experienced in 2013. At last year's Brits the band were so unknown that they were only offered one seat at the ceremony. In a recent Guardian interview, lead singer Dan Smith noted: "There's something to be said about how they wouldn't pay for us to all go last year, and this year we're nominated four times."
Previous winners of the British breakthrough act have included Ben Howard, who took the prize in 2013, and Ed Sheeran, who was somewhat confusingly presented his award in 2012 by Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fàbregas.