Wednesday, 20 April 2016

PAUL GAMBACCINI HINTS AT GEORGE MARTIN TRIBUTE AT IVOR NOVELLO AWARDS

The 67-year-old presenter will be taking on hosting duties again for the 29th year in a row when the prize-giving ceremony for songwriters from the UK and around the world takes place on May 19 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Gambaccini has been staggered by the number of deaths in the music world this year with legends such as David Bowie, Motorhead's Lemmy, Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White and The Beatles' long-time producer Martin all passing away in 2016.
The pop expert admits it will be difficult to include a tribute to all the late icons at the ceremony but is sure Martin - who was dubbed the 'Fifth Beatle' - will get a special moment of recognition following his death at the age of 90 in March.

Speaking at the nominations announcement at the Arts Club in London on Tuesday (19.04.16), he told: "George was special. "There is the annual memorial reel, as it used to be called, but it will be difficult to choose who has to be left out because this has been an extraordinary year for loss. There was a (BBC) Radio 4 feature on it incidentally where they actually counted the number of obituaries that the BBC website had run in the first three months of the year in the past half dozen years and this year there have been twice as many as in other previous years. Everyone who has the impression that this has been a terrible year for death, they're right."
The Ivor Novellos are considered by many artists to be one of the most prestigious awards ceremonies in the world because the nominees are selected by a panel of other songwriters.
Gambaccini insists the awards show - which has honoured stars like Nile Rodgers, Sir Paul McCartney and John Lennon, Noel Gallagher and Boy George among others - deserves that status because unlike events such as the BRITs or the Grammys it has no external pressure from TV or record companies to recognise certain artists.

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