Ivors 2013: Winners in full

Earlier this week, I couldn't quite bring myself to type something that involved Emeli Sande, but fortified by strong coffee, I guess we should just have a look at what won this year's Ivors:

Best Contemporary Song

Pelican
Written by Sam Doyle, Rupert Jarvis, Orlando Weeks, Felix White and Hugo White
Published in the UK by BMG Chrysalis

PRS for Music Most Performed Work

Next to Me
Written by Hugo Chegwin, Harry Craze, Anup Paul and Emeli Sandé
Published in the UK by Naughty Words Ltd - Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Stellar Songs Ltd - EMI Music Publishing

Best Television Soundtrack

Lucian Freud: Painted Life
Composed by John Harle
Published in the UK by Chester Music

The Ivors Inspiration Award

Marc Almond

Album Award

An Awesome Wave
Written by Thomas Green, Joe Newman, Gwilym Sainsbury and
Augustus Unger-Hamilton
Published in the UK by Kobalt Music Publishing

The Ivors Classical Music Award

Errollyn Wallen MBE

PRS for Music Award for Outstanding Achievement

Justin Hayward

Best Original Film Score

Anna Karenina
Composed by Dario Marianelli
Published in the UK by Universal Music Publishing

Best Song Musically and Lyrically

Next to Me
Written by Hugo Chegwin, Harry Craze, Anup Paul and Emeli Sandé
Published in the UK by Naughty Words Ltd - Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Stellar Songs Ltd - EMI Music Publishing

International Achievement

Gavin Rossdale

Songwriter of the Year

Calvin Harris

Outstanding Song Collection

Noel Gallagher

PRS for Music Special International Award

Randy Newman

It does confirm what we'd been dimly aware of - that you couldn't switch on the TV without bloody Next To Me being on there; I would have hoped the awards had acknowledged that it takes about three hundred hearings before you actually realise you've heard it before.

Still, a prize for Randy Newman.



Yes. Yes. Yes.

Noel Gallagher: And while we're talking of One Direction

Noel Gallagher popped up at the Ivor Novello Awards this week to talk about real music:

Asked why the awards mean something to him, he said: ''There aren't any clowns like One Direction here.

''It's not about what clothes you wear or how nimble you are or who you are s****ing.

''It's about the songs. Songs last forever. You can have that lyric.''

Right Said Fred are amongst the previous winners of an Ivor.

Ivor Novello Awards 2012 agree with all the other awards

There's something charming about the Ivors, which come towards the end of the awards season and sometimes seem like a summary of all the other awards that have been given out thus far. Here are this year's totally unsurprising winners:

Album Award: PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

PRS for Most Performed Work: Adele – Rolling In The Deep

Best Song Musically and Lyrically: Ed Sheeran – The A Team

Outstanding Contribution to British Music Award: Take That

Best Contemporary Song: Lana Del Rey – Video Games

Original Film Score: Alex Heffes -The First Grader

Original Television Score: Martin Phipps – The Shadow Line

Songwriter Of The Year: Adele

Ivors Jazz Award: Stan Tracey

Ivors Inspiration Award: Siouxsie Sioux

Music Special International Award: Jimmy Webb

Outstanding Song Collection Award: Gary Kemp

Lifetime Achievement: Mark Knopfler

The prize for Gary Kemp does give me an excuse to mention the Guardian's piece on how the Spands wrote True, and the surprising detail that... well, it was written by Gary Kemp mainly to try and get off with Clare Grogan:

I met her on Top of the Pops and, at one point, travelled up to Scotland to have tea with her and her mum and dad. Although my feelings were unrequited and the relationship was platonic, it was enough to trigger a song, True, which became the name of our 1983 album, too.

True is about how difficult it is to be honest when you're trying to write a love song to someone. Hence: "Why do I find it hard to write the next line?" The lyrics are full of coded messages to Clare.

This kind of puts True on a par with my second year math exercise book. Although I didn't have a saxaphone solo in that.

Ivor winners in full

The curious Ivor awards - for songwriters and, this year, for Noel Gallagher's heores - have been dolled out, and here's who took them home:

BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG
Song: Daniel
Writer/s: Natasha Khan
Performed By: Bat for Lashes
UK Publisher/s: Chrysalis Music

BEST SONG MUSICALLY AND LYRICALLY
Song: The Fear
Writer/s: Lily Allen / Greg Kurstin
Performed By: Lily Allen
UK Publisher/s: Universal Music Publishing / EMI Music Publishing

BEST TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK
Broadcast: Desperate Romantics
Composer: Daniel Pemberton
UK Publisher/s: Moncur Street Music

ALBUM AWARD
Album: Sunny Side Up
Writer/s: Paolo Nutini
Performed By: Paolo Nutini
UK Publisher/s: Warner/Chappell Music

PRS FOR MUSIC MOST PERFORMED WORK
Song: The Fear
Writer/s: Lily Allen / Greg Kurstin
Performed By: Lily Allen
UK Publisher/s: Universal Music Publishing / EMI Music Publishing

BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE
Film: Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Composer: John Powell
UK Publisher/s: EMI Music Publishing

BEST ORIGINAL VIDEO GAME SCORE
Game: Killzone 2
Composer/s: Joris de Man
Developer: Guerrilla Games
UK Publisher/s: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe

INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT
Imogen Heap

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Paul Weller

PRS FOR MUSIC OUTSTANDING
CONTRIBUTION TO BRITISH MUSIC
Trevor Horn

SONGWRITERS OF THE YEAR
Lily Allen and Greg Kurstin

SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL AWARD
Neil Sedaka

THE ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP
Sir Tim Rice

THE IVORS CLASSICAL MUSIC AWARD
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies

THE IVORS INSPIRATION AWARD
Johnny Marr

It's still never convincingly been explained to me why the song that is best musically and lyrically isn't the best song. Obviously, Daniel is a better song than The Fear, but I'm not clear what criteria the Ivors have used to decide this. "The Fear has the best music, and the best lyrics, but it's totally the wrong length and has a terrible title"?

I'm also wondering if the organisation needs to rethink the 'most played' prize - I'm sure The Fear did get played more than anything else last year, but only because it was used as a bed by everyone editing together a package for any purpose at all. Maybe the prize should only go to the 'most played in full' song?

Ivors shortlist: Pull up a chair

The generally benevolent influence of Marc Riley's 6Music show on British music has been endorsed, tangentially, by the shortlist for the Ivors songwriting awards:

BEST SONG MUSICALLY & LYRICALLY

Song: My Mistakes Were Made For You
Writer/s: Miles Kane / Alex Turner
Performed By: The Last Shadow Puppets
UK Publisher/s: Deltasonic Music Ltd / EMI Music Publishing

Song: One Day Like This
Writer/s: Guy Garvey / Richard Jupp / Craig Potter / Mark Potter / Peter Turner
Performed By: Elbow
UK Publisher/s: Salvation Music / Warner/Chappell Music

Song: The Last Of The Melting Snow
Writer/s: Nicholas Hemming
Performed By: The Leisure Society
UK Publisher/s: Copyright Control

BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG

Song: Dance Wiv Me
Writer/s: Nicholas Detnon / Calvin Harris / Dylan Mills / Tyrone Paul
Performed By: Dizzee Rascal
UK Publisher/s: Notting Hill Music / EMI Music Publishing / Hero Music / Universal Music Publishing

Song: Grounds For Divorce
Writer/s: Guy Garvey / Richard Jupp / Craig Potter / Mark Potter / Peter Turner
Performed By: Elbow
UK Publisher/s: Salvation Music / Warner/Chappell Music

Song: That’s Not My Name
Writer/s: Julian De Martino / Katie White
Performed By: The Ting Tings
UK Publisher/s: Playwrite Music (administered by Warner/Chappell Music) / Sony/ATV Music Publishing

BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE

Film: Quantum of Solace
Composer: David Arnold
UK Publisher/s: Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Film: The Escapist
Composer: Benjamin Wallfisch
UK Publisher/s: Air-Edel Associates Ltd

Film: There Will Be Blood
Composer: Jonny Greenwood
UK Publisher/s: Faber Music / Warner/Chappell Artemis Music

BEST TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK

Broadcast: Fiona’s Story
Composer: Ben Bartlett
UK Publisher/s: Du Vinage Publishing

Broadcast: Trial and Retribution 2008
Composer: Anne Dudley
UK Publisher/s: EMI Music Publishing

Broadcast: Wallace and Gromit (A Matter of Loaf and Death)
Composer: Julian Nott
UK Publisher/s:Imagem Music

PRS FOR MUSIC MOST PERFORMED WORK

Song: Mercy
Writer/s: Steve Booker / Duffy
Performed By: Duffy
UK Publisher/s: Universal Music Publishing / EMI Music Publishing

Song: Sweet About Me
Writer/s: Gabriella Cilmi / Nicholas Coler / Miranda Cooper / Brian Higgins / Timothy Larcombe / Tim Powell
Performed By: Gabriella Cilmi
UK Publisher/s:EMI Music Publishing / Warner/Chappell Music / Copyright Control

Song: Viva La Vida
Writer/s: Guy Berryman / Jonny Buckland / Will Champion / Chris Martin
Performed By: Coldplay
UK Publisher/s: Universal Music Publishing

BEST SELLING BRITISH SONG

Song: Mercy
Writer/s: Steve Booker / Duffy
Performed By: Duffy
UK Publisher/s: Universal Music Publishing / EMI Music Publishing

Song: Paper Planes
Writer/s: Maya Arulpragasam / Topper Headon / Mick Jones / Thomas Wesley Pentz / Paul Simonon / Joe Strummer
Performed By: M.I.A
UK Publisher/s: Imagem Music / Universal Music Publishing / Domino Publishing

Song: Viva La Vida
Writer/s: Guy Berryman / Jonny Buckland / Will Champion / Chris Martin
Performed By: Coldplay
UK Publisher/s: Universal Music Publishing

ALBUM AWARD

Album: Rockferry
Writer/s: Bernard Butler / Duffy
Performed By: Duffy
UK Publisher/s: Stage Three Music / EMI Music Publishing

Album: Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends
Writer/s: Guy Berryman / Jonny Buckland / Will Champion / Chris Martin
Performed By: Coldplay
UK Publisher/s: Universal Music Publishing

Album: We Started Nothing
Writer/s: Julian De Martino / Katie White
Performed By: The Ting Tings
UK Publisher/s: Playwrite Music (administered by Warner/Chappell Music) / Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Yes, yes, there's the depressing obviousness of Coldplays and Duffy and the token nod to multiculturalism/political correctness gone mad Dizzee Rascal nomination, but The Ting Tings AND the Leisure Society both in with a shout? There must be something in the New Broadcasting House beer. (Guy Garvey, even, turned up in Riley a session last Christmas.)

Winehouse: I've an Ivor

The Ivors, described by BBC News as "considered among the most prestigious awards in British music" - right up there with the Little Rissington Battle of the Bands and the TV Hits Readers Poll - have given out their prizes.

The winners, as ever, in full, then:

BEST SONG MUSICALLY & LYRICALLY

Elusive

Writer: Scott Matthews

Performed By: Scott Matthews

UK Publisher: Universal Music Publishing


BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG


Rehab

Writer: Amy Winehouse

Performed By: Amy Winehouse

UK Publisher: EMI Music Publishing



BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE

Ice Age The Meltdown

Composer: John Powell

UK Publisher: EMI Music Publishing



BEST TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK

Broadcast: The Virgin Queen

Composer: Martin Phipps

UK Publisher: BDi Music Limited




PRS MOST PERFORMED WORK

I Don’t Feel Like Dancin'

Writers: Sir Elton John / Scott Hoffman / Jason Sellards

Performed By: Scissor Sisters

UK Publisher: HST Management Ltd / Universal Music Publishing / EMI Music Publishing



INTERNATIONAL HIT OF THE YEAR

Sorry

Writers: Madonna / Stuart Price

Performed By: Madonna

UK Publisher: Warner Chappell Music


BEST SELLING UK SINGLE

A Moment Like This

Writer/s: John Reid / Jorgen Eloffson

Performed By: Leona Lewis

UK Publisher: BMG Music Publishing Ltd / Sony/ATV Music



ALBUM AWARD: Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

OUTSTANDING SONG COLLECTION: Yusuf Islam

THE IVORS CLASSICAL MUSIC AWARD: John Rutter

PRS OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO BRITISH MUSIC: Norman Cook

SONGWRITER(S) OF THE YEAR: The Feeling

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Peter Gabriel

THE SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL AWARD: Quincy Jones

THE ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP: George Fenton

Nice to see George Fenton - who combined his soundtrack work with a spell as Martin Gimbell in Emmerdale Farm - get an award; and it's slightly surprising to see Scott Matthews, who we'd assumed was there purely in a making-up-the-numbers capacity take "best song musically and lyrically". Winehouse cut short her not-actually-a-honeymoon to pick up her award for the "not actually any good musically or lyrically, presumably" contemporary song, while Jake Shears thanked Elton for his help:

"This is really special. I want to give a big shout out and thank you to Elton.

"About 18 months ago, I was so depressed and Elton was doing nothing short of tap dancing and pulling my eyeballs out to make me feel better. Elton came into the studio and we wrote the song.

"This is a great day to feel not just like a colleague of Elton's but to call him a friend too."

We're not entirely sure how having your eyeballs pulled would make you feel better - although if Elton John was tap-dancing in front of us it might seem a better option.

Meanwhile, Elton John seems to be lining up Alex Turner's eyeballs next:

"Alex, I'm off to Sheffield in the helicopter right after if you fancy a lift."

Dan Gillespie of The Feeling seemed relaxed picking up a prize amongst such august company:

"I normally get very embarrassed by awards ceremonies because you don't go into music to be in competition with people.

"The Ivors are a bit different because there is more of a sense of fellowship, like a weird club. And that's right up my street."

The tragedy of the evening? Poor Amy spent it dry:

"Thank you all very much, I didn't even have time to get drunk, I've only been here about 15 minutes."

Perhaps her handlers have finally got a technique.

Novello no va

The annual insult to the memory of Ivor Novello, The Ivors songwriting awards, has announced its shortlist. That the committee have a cloth ear or a desire to flatter has been hinted at in previous years, but with nominations for Madonna's sorry Sorry and Rudebox - yes, Robbie Williams' Rudebox - in international hit of the year surely undermines the very point of the prizes. Why not just have a category called "Best effort by a famous person we'd like to come to the ceremony" and have done with? The whole thing stinks more than a GM-TV phone-in. The only good bits of Rudebox are the twenty-year old samples from Boops, and their appearance in the farrago only cheapens them.

We've never quite understood why a prize is given to the best "contemporary" song - does that mean the other prizes are for the best old-fashioned song? Still, it's the only award which has a decent shortlist - wherever you stand on Winehouse's reading of it, Rehab is a hell of a song and Over and Over probably sounds more like 2006 than anything else on the list. So it'll probably wind up going to Yeah Yeah.

The nominations in full, with the usual link to leap if you'd rather:

BEST SONG MUSICALLY & LYRICALLY

Elusive
Writer: Scott Matthews
Performed By: Scott Matthews
UK Publisher: Universal Music Publishing

Sophia
Writer: Nerina Pallot
Performed By: Nerina Pallot
UK Publisher: Chrysalis Music Ltd

When The Sun Goes Down
Writer: Alex Turner
Performed By: Arctic Monkeys
UK Publisher: EMI Music Publishing


BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG

Over and Over
Writers: Joseph Goddard / Alexis Taylor / Felix Martin
Performed By: Hot Chip
UK Publisher: Warner Chappell Music

Rehab
Writer: Amy Winehouse
Performed By: Amy Winehouse
UK Publisher: EMI Music Publishing

Yeah Yeah
Writers: Nick Bridges / Jon Pearn / Nathan Thomas / Luciana Caporaso / Nick Clow
Performed By: Bodyrox Ft Luciana
UK Publisher: Notting Hill Music / Universal Music Publishing / EMI Music Publishing

BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE

Casino Royale
Composer: David Arnold
UK Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Ice Age The Meltdown
Composer: John Powell
UK Publisher: EMI Music Publishing

Severance
Composer: Christian Henson
UK Publisher: Air-Edel Associates Ltd


BEST TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK

Broadcast: Hotel Babylon
Composer: John Lunn / Jim Williams
UK Publisher: Bucks Music Group

Broadcast: Shiny Shiny Bright New Hole In My Heart
Composer: Alex Heffes
UK Publisher: EMI Music Publishing

Broadcast: The Virgin Queen
Composer: Martin Phipps
UK Publisher: BDi Music Limited


PRS MOST PERFORMED WORK

I Don’t Feel Like Dancin'
Writers: Sir Elton John / Scott Hoffman / Jason Sellards
Performed By: Scissor Sisters
UK Publisher: HST Management Ltd / Universal Music Publishing / EMI Music Publishing

Put Your Records On
Writers: Corinne Bailey Rae / John Beck / Steve Chrisanthou
Performed By: Corinne Bailey Rae
UK Publisher: Global Talent Publishing / Good Groove Songs

Sorry
Writers: Madonna / Stuart Price
Performed By: Madonna
UK Publisher: Warner Chappell Music


INTERNATIONAL HIT OF THE YEAR

I Don’t Feel Like Dancin'
Writer/s: Sir Elton John / Scott Hoffman / Jason Sellards
Performed By: Scissor Sisters
UK Publisher: HST Management Ltd / Universal Music Publishing / EMI Music Publishing

Rudebox
Writers: Robbie Williams / Danny Spencer / Kelvin Andrews / Sly Dunbar / Robbie Shakespeare / William “Earl” Collins / Bill Laswell / Edmund “Carl Jr” Aiken
Performed By: Robbie Williams
UK Publisher: BMG Music Publishing / Chrysalis Music Ltd / Universal Music Publishing / Warner Chappell Music

Sorry
Writers: Madonna / Stuart Price
Performed By: Madonna
UK Publisher: Warner Chappell Music

HE CAN SAY "SHAGGER" BUT HE'S STILL CURIOUSLY ASEXUAL

While hanging out with journalists and The Sun's Victoria Newton backstage at the Ivors yesterday, James Blunt made the whole nation nauseous:

“It would be an honour to win Bizarre’s Shagger Of The Year. I would be proud to beat JENSON BUTTON and JOHN PRESCOTT.

Well, everyone's got to have something to shoot for. And what a wonderful way to attract women - "can i fuck you to add to a total so I can win a title from a newspaper?" That one can't fail, can it?

music james blunt

KAISERS HAVE AN IVOR

The slightly bemusing Ivor Novello Awards - Britains' premier (i.e. only) songwriting prizes - have been presented. Two for James Blunt, one for KT Tunstall.

KT was delighted:

"I've been writing songs for 15 years and it's amazing to just sit in your room and do something that you like doing and it turns into this. It gives you a kick up the arse to carry on."

We're saddened to hear that KT felt she was in a need of a kick up the arse - we would have been happy to provide one of those.

The winners in full, then:

BEST SONG MUSICALLY & LYRICALLY

Song: Suddenly I See
Writer/s: KT Tunstall
UK Publisher: Sony / ATV Music Publishing
Performed By: KT Tunstall

PRS MOST PERFORMED WORK

Song: You’re Beautiful
Writer/s: James Blunt // Amanda Ghost // Sacha Skarbek
UK Publisher: Bucks Music Group // EMI Music Publishing
Performed By: James Blunt

BEST TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK

Broadcast: Elizabeth I
Composer: Rob Lane
UK Publisher: Bucks Music Group

OUTSTANDING SONG COLLECTION

Philip Cunningham // Gillian Gilbert // Peter Hook // Stephen Morris // Bernard Sumner (New Order)

BEST SELLING UK SINGLE

Song: That’s My Goal
Writer/s: Jorgen Elofsson // Jeremy Godfrey // Bill Padley
UK Publisher: BMG Music Publishing // Universal Music Publishing
Performed By: Shayne Ward

ALBUM AWARD

Title: Employment
Writer/s: Nick Baines // Nick Hodgson // Simon Rix // Andrew White // Ricky Wilson
Performed By: Kaiser Chiefs

THE IVORS CLASSICAL MUSIC AWARD

Sir Harrison Birtwistle CH

INTERNATIONAL HIT OF THE YEAR

Song: You’re Beautiful
Writer/s: James Blunt // Amanda Ghost // Sacha Skarbek
UK Publisher: Bucks Music Group // EMI Music Publishing
Performed By: James Blunt

BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE

Film: Evil
Composer: Francis Shaw
UK Publisher: Copyright Control

BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG

Song: Wires
Writer/s: Joel Pott // Steven Roberts // Timothy Wanstall // Carey Willetts
UK Publisher: Chrysalis Music Publishing
Performed By: Athlete

INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull)

SONGWRITERS OF THE YEAR

Damon Albarn // Jamie Hewlett

PRS OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO BRITISH MUSIC

Ray Davies

THE SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL AWARD

Kenny Gamble // Leon Huff

THE ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP

Barry Gibb // Maurice Gibb (Posthumous) // Robin Gibb


Yes. They gave a prize to Athlete, which just goes to prove they've at least got a sense of humour, those Ivor guys.

music kt tunstall ivors james blunt athlete

THE YEAR JUST GONE...

As we reach Christmas weekend, it's like No Rock's year review supplement:

2005, in review:

Review of the year
Other people's 2005 picks
Music of the year
The year in death

2005 Posts, week-by-week:

02 January 2005
09 January 2005
16 January 2005
23 January 2005
30 January 2005
06 February 2005
13 February 2005
20 February 2005
27 February 2005
06 March 2005
13 March 2005
20 March 2005
27 March 2005
03 April 2005
10 April 2005
17 April 2005
24 April 2005
01 May 2005
08 May 2005
15 May 2005
22 May 2005
29 May 2005
05 June 2005
12 June 2005
19 June 2005
26 June 2005
03 July 2005
10 July 2005
17 July 2005
24 July 2005
31 July 2005
07 August 2005
14 August 2005
21 August 2005
28 August 2005
04 September 2005
11 September 2005
18 September 2005
25 September 2005
02 October 2005
09 October 2005
16 October 2005
23 October 2005
30 October 2005
06 November 2005
13 November 2005
20 November 2005
27 November 2005
04 December 2005
11 December 2005
18 December 2005
25 December 2005

2005's big events:
The Musical response to Hurricane Katrina
The UK General Election
Top 100 of all time
John Peel Day
Eurovision 50th Anniversary
Michael Jackson's trial
Britpop night
Reading Festival
Glastonbury
T in the Park
Live 8 - all the way through
V2005

2005's award ceremonies:
Rough Trade 100
UK Bloggers 40
CAMAs
AMAs
UMAs
Latin Grammys
MTV EMAs
Q
Mobos
Mercury
Kerrang
MTV
Ivors
Grammys
Brits
NME awards

music 2005

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, THERE'S NO-VELLOS

So, apparently, these are the awards at the Ivors, or the Novellos, or whatever they like to be known as (That's the Mister Novellos to you):

PRS MOST PERFORMED WORK
Toxic - Cathy Dennis/ Bloodshy/ Henrik Jonback/ Avant

So, Britney sort of wins something, although she'll be too busy having sex with Kevin Federline four times an hour much to care - oddly, that's how often some radio stations played Toxic, too.

BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG
Take Me Out - Robert Hardy/Alex Kapranos/Nick Mccarthy/Paul Thomson (Franz Ferdinand)

They've won so many awards this year, we're already starting to think that their acceptance speeches aren't as good as they used to be.

BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE
Enduring Love - Jeremy Sams

THE IVORS CLASSICAL MUSIC AWARD
Sir John Tavener

BEST SELLING UK SINGLE
Do They Know Its Christmas? - Bob Geldof KBE/ Midge Ure

Does Bob really insist on having his KBE included in his official credit? That's a little needy... anyway, you can't really argue with this, as the prize is based in counting rather than opinion. Crazy Frog next year, then...

BEST SONG MUSICALLY & LYRICALLY
Dry Your Eyes - Mike Skinner (The Streets)

I wonder if Mike and Alex carve the territory up between themselves - "You take the best album, I'll have the single from them, and we'll swap for the next awards, yeah?"

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC FOR TELEVISION
Blackpool -Rob Lane

INTERNATIONAL HIT OF THE YEAR
Vertigo - Bono/ The Edge/ Larry Mullen Jr/ Adam Clayton (U2)

Wonder if this is one that Bono would have considered taking the 12.5 mill payoff for?

INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT
Robert Smith (The Cure)

The citation reads in part "for rising above his hairstyle and managing to string a teenage pouting fit into a thirty year career"

SONGWRITERS OF THE YEAR
Tim Rice-Oxley, Tom Chaplin, Richard Hughes (Keane)

Giving hope to Starsailor, of course.

ALBUM AWARD
Mark Mcclelland, Jonny Quinn, Iain Archer, Nathan Connolly, Gary Lightbody
(Final Straw By Snow Patrol)

Now, of course, they're just being silly. Perhaps, in the same way that EMI expected there to have been a Coldplay album by now, the Novellos had a nasty hole they had to fill in a hurry...

PRS OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO BRITISH MUSIC
Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, Andy Taylor, John Taylor, Roger Taylor (Duran Duran)

Nobody said anything about "recent contribution", did they?

OUTSTANDING SONG COLLECTION
Brian May, Freddie Mercury, John Deacon, Roger Taylor (Queen)

It's odd that selling that collection for a handfull of west end coins doesn't disqualify you from this, isn't it?

THE SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL AWARD
Lou Reed

Yes, Special, but he's loved, and how many of us can truly say that?

THE IVORS SPECIAL AWARD FOR SONGWRITING
Sir Mick Jagger & Keith Richards

It really buggers belief they haven't given this award to them years ago, surely?

music awards ivors novellos

DRY YOUR IVORS...

This years nominations for the Ivors have been published, and it's a mix between the truly good (The Streets), the truly awful (Limp Bizkit covering The Who) and Natasha Bedingfield. This is what's up for what:

Best song musically and lyrically:
Dry Your Eyes Performed by The Streets. Written by Mike Skinner.
These Words Performed by Natasha Bedingfield. Written by Stephen Kipner/Andrew Frampton/Natasha Bedingfield/Wayne Wilkins.
Everybody's Changing Performed by Keane. Written by Tim Rice-Oxley/Tom Chaplin/Richard Hughes

Now, we have a soft spot for Keane, and we know that's more or less akin to saying you enjoy weeing on babies or actually masturbating while watching one of Richard Desmond's porn channels, but there you are. But natasha bedingfield? Under whose ordinance? Still, this really should be a sweet victory for the Streets, don't you think?

Best contemporary song:
For Lovers Performed by Wolfman Featuring Pete Doherty. Written by Peter Wolfe/Peter Doherty/Julian Taylor/Edmund Scott/Matt White/David Banks/Matt Scott.
Blinded By The Lights Performed by The Streets. Written by Mike Skinner.
Take Me Out Performed by Franz Ferdinand. Written by Robert Hardy/Alex Kapranos/Nick McCarthy.

Ah, and here are Franz Ferdinand - once again, they and the Streets dominate all another awards ceremony with a dose of Doherty and/or Libertines; these things have been converging for some years now, but has there been a year before where the same bands lead the Mercurys, the Brits, the NME awards, the sales charts and the Ivors? We are all indie kids now, it seems.

Most performed work:
Amazing Performed by George Michael. Written by George Michael/ Jonathan Douglas.
Toxic Performed by Britney Spears. Written by Cathy Dennis/ Christian Karlsson/Henrik Jonback.
Thank You Performed by Jamelia. Written by Jamelia Davies/Carsten Schack/Peter Biker.

Did the George Michael song really get played that often? Thank You we did hear being drummed to death, and Toxic seems to have been on in every shop and every planet-bursting we've been to this year.

International hit of the year:
Behind Blue Eyes Performed by Limp Bizkit. Written by Pete Townshend.
Do They Know It's Christmas? Performed by Band Aid 20. Written by Bob Geldof/Midge Ure.
Vertigo Performed by U2. Written by Bono/The Edge/Adam Clayton/Larry Mullen Jr.

Good god, what a shambles of a category - and why is Band Aid 20 "international"? Sure, Geldof is Irish, but Ure isn't - and very few of the stellar cast (you bet your arse we're being catty) weren't from the UK. But then, any judging system which chooses Limp Bizkit as one of the three best songs not from the UK last year obviously has a serious flaw in it.

Best selling UK single:
All This Time Performed by Michelle McManus. Written by Wayne Hector/Steve Mac/Lorne A Tennant.
Do They Know It's Christmas? Performed by Band Aid 20. Written by Bob Geldof/Midge Ure.
Call On Me Performed by Eric Prydz. Written by Steve Winwood/Eric Prydz/Will Jennings.

Hang about... all of a sudden Band Aid is UK again? What's going on here?

Best original film score:
Deep Blue Composed by George Fenton.
Man On Fire Composed by Harry Gregson-Williams.
Enduring Love Composed by Jeremy Sams.

Best original music for television:
Fallen Composed by Paul Leonard-Morgan.
North And South Composed by Martin Phipps.
Blackpool Composed by Rob Lane.

We'd go with North and South, ourselves. Out on DVD now, too, you know:

music awards ivors

THE OH, NO VELLOS: The Ivors - not so much an award as an attempt to make Mr. Novello spin in his grave - have been announced and, once again, the name of the great man has been insulted by the awarding of prizes to the workmanlike instead of the craftsmanlike. Really, they should rename the bloody things the Ringos. If we must they've chosen Coldplay as songwriters of the year. David Gray's The Other Side - a track so bland it routinely triggers the emergency tapes in radio stations up and down the land as the monitors register it as not being there at all - was the song of the year. That's right, they believe it to be the best song written in 2002.
A break from the outrage came when Weak Become Heroes won best "contemporary" song for The Streets, although choosing a song which lambasts people why buy same-old, same-old songs in the middle of this blizzard of pre-cast mediocrity could just have been a cruel joke.
Then, back to completely-unsurprising: Avril Lavigne won best international hit for Complicated (this is on a par with me winning writer of the year for something that I've copied off another website); Liberty X's Just A Little Bit was most-(over)played song of the year.
Roxy Music, Brian Wilson and U2 were all given awards in return for showing up ("marking their achievements and longevity").

MAMMA MIA: Nice to hear Benny and Bjorn from Abba on this morning's Today (presumably because they're picking up their lifetime achievement award at the Ivors in about an hour?) I hope someone taped this and played it to the BeeGees as an example of How Not To Behave Like Cunts. Cheerfully admitting their music was populist, taking the piss out of their jump suits, they just came across as genuinely likeable people. And they wrote Dancing Queen, too. Cheers, the Swedes.
Listen to it here - if only there was a webcam...

MOGWAI AND STRAP - TOGETHER AT LAST: Atomic Kitten - XRRF's next-door neighbours - at last receive the respect they - um - deserve, with The Aidan Moffat- Stuart Braithwaite cover of Whole Again. Let's hope they invite them to the Ivors, where this song may yet land Andy McCluskey a songwriting award - it'd be kind of fitting. It might even stay the hand of Pop Manufacturers five years hence, when children who are currently struggling with long division will be forced into boob tubes and cock-shout-pants and made to resweeten the track.
By the way, that Miss Dynamite single is bloody great. Yes indeed.