The 55th Ivor Novello Awards, presented by BASCA and sponsored by PRS for Music, honoured the very best in music writing for 2009. M congratulations go out to all Ivors winners and nominees
PRS for Music Most Performed Work: The Fear/Lily Allen (Lily Allen/Greg Kurstin)
The Fear was the first single from Lily Allen’s second album It’s Not Me It’s You. After collaborating with a number of co-writers on Alright, Still Lily chose this time to work solely with LA-based songwriter and producer Greg Kurstin. The Fear reached number one in its second week of release and was described by Q magazine as ‘the most perfect song I’ve heard in three years’. Lily and Greg were presented with their Ivors by the new PRS for Music chief executive, Robert Ashcroft.
The Fear was the first single from Lily Allen’s second album It’s Not Me It’s You. After collaborating with a number of co-writers on Alright, Still Lily chose this time to work solely with LA-based songwriter and producer Greg Kurstin. The Fear reached number one in its second week of release and was described by Q magazine as ‘the most perfect song I’ve heard in three years’. Lily and Greg were presented with their Ivors by the new PRS for Music chief executive, Robert Ashcroft.
Best Television Soundtrack: Desperate Romantics (Daniel Pemberton)
Desperate Romantics is a six part BBC drama series about the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. Far from being a sedate period score, Daniel’s music had a flavour of swashbuckling seventies cop shows, such as The Sweeney. As well as the score to the Billy Zane Film Big Kiss, dramas including The Yellow House and Napoleon, Daniel also wrote the music for the cult comedy Peep Show and the hugely successful video game, Little Big Planet.
Desperate Romantics is a six part BBC drama series about the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. Far from being a sedate period score, Daniel’s music had a flavour of swashbuckling seventies cop shows, such as The Sweeney. As well as the score to the Billy Zane Film Big Kiss, dramas including The Yellow House and Napoleon, Daniel also wrote the music for the cult comedy Peep Show and the hugely successful video game, Little Big Planet.
Best Contemporary Song: Daniel/Bat for Lashes (Natasha Khan)
Bat for Lashes is the stage name of 30 year-old Londoner Natasha Khan. In an interview with the Sun newspaper she said the song Daniel was about a fictional character she fell in love with as a teenager. On the cover of the single, Natasha has a picture of Daniel LaRusso from the 1984 film The Karate Kid painted on her back. NME compared the atmosphere of the record to Fleetwood Mac’s classic hit Rhiannon. Daniel was the first single from Bat for Lashes’ Mercury nominated second album Two Suns.
Bat for Lashes is the stage name of 30 year-old Londoner Natasha Khan. In an interview with the Sun newspaper she said the song Daniel was about a fictional character she fell in love with as a teenager. On the cover of the single, Natasha has a picture of Daniel LaRusso from the 1984 film The Karate Kid painted on her back. NME compared the atmosphere of the record to Fleetwood Mac’s classic hit Rhiannon. Daniel was the first single from Bat for Lashes’ Mercury nominated second album Two Suns.
Ivors Inspiration Award: Johnny Marr
Among the more flamboyant axe-wielders, Johnny Marr is always placed high on any list of guitar heroes. As Noel Gallagher says: ‘The man’s a fuckin’ wizard’. After helping to create the unique and influential sound of The Smiths, he went on to share his talents with artists including The Pretenders, Electronic, Pet Shop Boys, Billy Bragg, Bryan Ferry, The The, Modest Mouse, Talking Heads and Kirsty McColl. He’s currently a member of Yorkshire indie band The Cribs, with Marr’s distinctive guitar heard on songs such as We Share the Same Skies.
Among the more flamboyant axe-wielders, Johnny Marr is always placed high on any list of guitar heroes. As Noel Gallagher says: ‘The man’s a fuckin’ wizard’. After helping to create the unique and influential sound of The Smiths, he went on to share his talents with artists including The Pretenders, Electronic, Pet Shop Boys, Billy Bragg, Bryan Ferry, The The, Modest Mouse, Talking Heads and Kirsty McColl. He’s currently a member of Yorkshire indie band The Cribs, with Marr’s distinctive guitar heard on songs such as We Share the Same Skies.
Best Original Video Game Score: Killzone 2 (Joris de Man)
The Ivors have long had a tradition of introducing new categories to reflect new genres. The video game world has developed beyond recognition, with repetitive and, to many parents, annoying synthesizer music now firmly consigned to history. Bigger budgets and the demands of the ever more sophisticated gamer have resulted in impressive orchestral scores, with Joris de Man’s music for Killzone 2, recorded at Abbey Road, being a fine example. Joris was born in The Netherlands and studied at The Hague’s Royal Conservatory. He now lives and works in Brighton.
Read more about the Ivors winners.
The Ivors have long had a tradition of introducing new categories to reflect new genres. The video game world has developed beyond recognition, with repetitive and, to many parents, annoying synthesizer music now firmly consigned to history. Bigger budgets and the demands of the ever more sophisticated gamer have resulted in impressive orchestral scores, with Joris de Man’s music for Killzone 2, recorded at Abbey Road, being a fine example. Joris was born in The Netherlands and studied at The Hague’s Royal Conservatory. He now lives and works in Brighton.
Read more about the Ivors winners.
