53rd Ivor Novello Awards 2008

May 22, 2008

• PRS Outstanding Contribution to British Music – Glenn Tilbrook & Chris Difford

• International Achievement – Phil Collins



• Best Song Musically & Lyrically – Amy Winehouse, Love Is A Losing Game
  
• PRS Most Performed Work – Howard Donald & Jason Orange, ‘Shine’
  
• Best Selling British Song – Amanda Ghost & Tor Erik Hermansen, ‘Beautiful Liar’ 


London, May 21 2008 - EMI Music Publishing songwriters including Amy Winehouse, Take That and Phil Collins have picked up major honours at the 2008 Ivor Novello Awards.

The Ivor Novello Awards, one of the most prestigious songwriting awards in the world, took place earlier today at a ceremony in London. EMI Music Publishing writers Amy Winehouse, Amanda Ghost, Tor Erik Hermansen, Glenn Tillbrook, Chris Difford, Phil Collins and Take That’s Howard Donald and Jason Orange,  all won awards at the event, which celebrates the creative achievements of British and international songwriters and composers

EMI Music Publishing managing director Guy Moot commented: “It’s been another great year for the writers we represent, and that’s reflected in their success at the Ivor Novello awards. It’s a privilege to work on behalf of writers whose music resonates with people across the world.

“It’s particularly rewarding to see Amy Winehouse win yet another Ivor Novello. Above everything else, Amy is one of the most talented songwriters in Britain today, and having worked with her from the very start, everybody at EMI Music Publishing is delighted to see her talent recognised in this way.”

The Ivor Novello for Best Song Musically & Lyrically is the latest prize in an award-winning twelve months for Amy Winehouse. She won five awards at the Grammys earlier this year, more than any other artist, including the prestigious Song of the Year and Record of the Year titles. Back To Black won Best Album at both the Q Awards and the MTV Europe Music Awards, while Rehab picked up Song of the Year at the Mojo Awards. Back To Black was the best selling album in the UK in 2007, and is now a hit across the world.

Winehouse is no stranger to success at the Ivor Novello’s, after twice winning the Best Contemporary Song title, for Rehab (2008) and Stronger Than Me (2004, co-written with fellow EMI Music Publishing writer Salaam Remi).

Solo singer-songwriter and former Genesis frontman Phil Collins won the International Achievement award for his global success over more than thirty years in the music industry. Accepting his award from Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, Collins thanked the gorilla in the award-winning EMI Music Publishing-brokered advert for Cadbury’s chocolate, which featured Collins’ hit In The Air Tonight.

Squeeze members Chris Difford and Glenn Tillbrook won the PRS Outstanding Contribution to British Music prize for their incredible collection of songs over the course of 34 years including Cool For Cats, Tempted, Black Coffee In Bed, Pulling Mussels (From The Shell), Up The Junction and Hourglass. The band recently reunited, and will play a US tour later this year.

Take That, who won the PRS Most Performed Work award for Shine, are having an equally successful year. The band also won two BRIT awards earlier this year, picking up the Best British Single prize for the second consecutive year for Shine, as well as winning the Best British Live Act award.

Beautiful Liar, which was a worldwide hit for Beyoncé and Shakira, was co-written by a team of writers including EMI Music Publishing’s Amanda Ghost, Tor Erik Hermansen and Beyoncé herself. This was the third Ivor for Ghost, who had previously won two awards for co-writing James Blunt’s You’re Beautiful. The Ivor is also the latest in a long list of awards for Hermansen who, along with his StarGate writing partner Mikkel Eriksen, was named ASCAP/PRS Songwriter of the Year in London last year. Hermansen co-wrote Rihanna’s Take A Bow, which currently tops the UK singles chart, as well as recent global hits for Leona Lewis, Ne-Yo, Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson.

EMI Music Publishing’s 1.3 million copyrights include some of the best-known songs ever written, such as New York New York, You’ve Got A Friend, The James Bond Theme, Lady Marmalade, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Always On My Mind, Over The Rainbow, I Heard It Through The Grapevine and Singin’ In the Rain. Its current hit-making writers and producers include Arctic Monkeys, Beyoncé, James Blunt, Alan Jackson, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Pink, Usher, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Amy Winehouse.