Morning:
8°c
With a single dessert and just two glasses of wine our bill was kept in check - but the effort of doing so was not much fun
Latest: Gordon Brown apologises for his poor handwriting and for misspelling the name of a dead soldier in a letter to the young man’s mother
More...
Elbow scoop two Ivor Novello Awards
Last updated at 15:39pm on 21.05.09
The transformation of Elbow from gentle outsiders to rock mainstream was confirmed today at the most prestigious ceremony for songwriters.
Eight months on from triumphing at the Nationwide Mercury Music Prize, the quintet from Bury, Manchester, picked up two honours at the 54th Ivor Novello Awards.
Grounds for Divorce was named best contemporary song at the honours serious music-makers want to win.
And One Day Like This was named best song musically and lyrically in a victory that spelled disappointment for The Last Shadow Puppets and The Leisure Society - aka Nick Hemming, a warehouse worker who was the first nominee without a recording contract.
Duffy and Coldplay had both received three nominations apiece but each had to be satisfied with a single win.
The young Welsh star won the Performing Rights Society award for the most performed work of the year with Mercy which she co-wrote with Steve Booker.
Eg White, the former member of Yip Yip Coyote who is another of Duffy's writers, was named songwriter of the year for work that also included tracks for Adele and Will Young.
Coldplay had the best selling British song of the year in Viva La Vida, the title track from their latest album.
But in the best album category, Chris Martin's gang lost out to The Ting Tings, the duo from Greater Manchester, with their debut album, We Started Nothing, featuring their ubiquitous single That's Not My Name.
Jonny Greenwood extended his horizons beyond Radiohead to win best original film score for his music to There Will Be Blood, the Oscar-winning Daniel Day-Lewis drama. He had already won an Evening Standard Film Award.
Julian Nott was honoured for the best television soundtrack for A Matter of Loaf and Death, the most recent Wallace and Gromit film.
The inspiration award went to Edwyn Collins, 49, the Scottish founder of Orange Juice who now lives in London. He fell ill during a radio interview four years ago and later suffered a major brain haemorrhage.
He fought back to health and though left weak in his right side has since released a solo album mixed after his discharge from hospital.
Massive Attack won the outstanding contribution to British music award and Smokey Robinson received a special international prize.
THE WINNERS SO FAR
Best Contemporary Song: Elbow, Grounds For Divorce
Best Album: The Ting Tings, We Started Nothing
Best Selling British Song: Coldplay, Viva La Vida
Best Song Musically and Lyrically: Elbow, One Day Like This
Most Performed Work: Duffy, Mercy
Contribution To British Music: Massive Attack
Outstanding Song Collection: Vince Clarke from Erasure
Best Original Film Score: There Will Be Blood, composed by Jonny Greenwood
Best Television Soundtrack: Wallace and Gromit (A Matter of Loaf and Death) - Composed by Julian Nott
The Ivors inspiration award: Edwyn Collins
The Ivors Classical Music Award: Julian MacMillan
Academy Fellowship Award: David Ferguson, chairman of the academy
