LONDON and NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - October 13, 2010) - ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) held its 30th annual Awards tonight at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. Hosted by ASCAP Senior Vice President, International Roger Greenaway and Vice President, Membership Seán Devine, the gala dinner and awards presentation honored those songwriter, composer and publisher members of PRS for Music -- the UK's Performing Right Society -- whose repertory is licensed by ASCAP and was among its most performed works in the U.S. during 2009.
Among the honorees and special guests in attendance were ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams, ASCAP CEO John LoFrumento, Erran Baron Cohen, Imogen Heap, Scouting for Girls, Pete Burns and Steve Coy from Dead or Alive, Jo Callis from The Human League, Paul Englishby, Wayne Hector, Jessie J, Jules and Stone, Francis Maudsley from Flock of Seagulls, Al "Shux" Shuckburgh, Keith Strachan and Matthew Strachan, among others.
Coldplay's Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin were named Songwriters of the Year, and also received Song of the Year honors for "Viva La Vida." The group, who are in the studio working on their next album with producer Brian Eno, took time out from recording and accepted their awards via a special video message from inside the studio.
Universal Music Publishing was named Publisher of the Year for its most-performed winning songs: "Heartless," "Pour Some Sugar on Me," "Sweet Dreams," and "Viva La Vida." Paul Connolly, President of Europe and UK of Universal Music Publishing, was on hand to accept the award.
As part of ASCAP's ongoing commitment to support emerging music creators, R&B hit maker, songwriter, producer, and British native Taio Cruz was honored with ASCAP's Vanguard Award in recognition of his critically acclaimed debut album, Departure. Previous Vanguard Award honorees include Calvin Harris, Kate Nash, The Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, Beck, The Strokes, and Jack Johnson. Members of British pop band Scouting for Girls were on hand to collect ASCAP's College Award for their chart-topping second album, Everybody Wants to Be on TV. Previous College Award honorees include The Ting Tings, The Kooks, The View, Keane, Franz Ferdinand, Chemical Brothers, Belle & Sebastian, and Radiohead.
In keeping with the show's tradition of presenting noteworthy entertainment, the evening featured performances by two uniquely talented, award-winning songwriters. Hall of Fame songwriter Roger Greenaway, well known for his successful collaborations with Roger Cook, performed from his classic songbook of hits, which include "Lovers of the World Unite," "Softly Whispering I Love You," "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart," "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" and "You've Got Your Troubles," among many others. In addition to Greenaway, Grammy award-winning, multi-instrumentalist Imogen Heap gave a stunning performance. Previously one half of the successful musical duo Frou Frou, Heap has since created a flourishing solo career. Writing, producing, and mixing the albums herself, she has proven her unique musical talent with singles like "Hide and Seek," "First Train Home," and "Whatcha Say," for which she won an ASCAP Song Award.
A total of 20 Song Awards were presented throughout the evening. In addition to Coldplay ("Viva La Vida") and Imogen Heap ("Whatcha Say"), songwriter Jessie J collected her award for the Miley Cyrus hit "Party in the USA." Wayne Hector was recognized for writing "I Hate This Part," the chart-topping single from the Pussycat Dolls' second album, Doll Domination. Francis Maudsley of the British new wave band Flock of Seagulls picked up the award for their popular song "I Ran (So Far Away)." Al "Shux" Shuckburgh collected for co-writing the Jay-Z hit "Empire State of Mind," which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Peter Burns and Stephen Coy of Dead or Alive were on hand to accept their awards for "Right Round," which was a worldwide hit for American rapper Flo Rida. The song contains a sample of their 1984 single "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)." Jo Callis collected his Song Award for the Human League's "Don't You Want Me." Released in 1981, this song has gained recent success after it was used in several popular films and commercials.
Other honorees in the Song Awards category included AC/DC's Brian Johnson ("Back in Black"), Paul McCartney ("Come Together"), Mr Hudson ("Heartless"), Hugh Brankin ("Hotel Room Service"), Cathy Dennis ("I Kissed a Girl"), U2 ("I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"), Phil Collins ("In The Air Tonight"), Def Leppard and Mutt Lange ("Pour Some Sugar On Me"), Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart ("Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"), The Ting Tings ("That's Not My Name"), Rod Temperton ("Thriller"), and The Pet Shop Boys ("West End Girls").
Honorees in the Film and Television Theme categories were: Nicholas Hooper (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince), Erran Baron Cohen (Brüno), Alex Heffes (State of Play), Dario Marianelli (Everybody's Fine, The Soloist), Paul Englishby (An Education), Cathy Dennis, Julian Gingell, Barry Stone (American Idol Theme), Josh Phillips, Dan McGrath (Dancing With the Stars), Elizabeth Fraser ("Teardrop" from House), and Keith Strachan, Matthew Strachan (Who Wants to be a Millionaire).
For a complete list of winners, go to www.ascap.com.
About ASCAP
Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization (PRO) representing the world's largest repertory totaling over 8.5 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 390,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members. ASCAP has representation arrangements with similar foreign organizations so that the ASCAP repertory is represented in nearly every country around the world where copyright law exists. ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances. ASCAP is the only American PRO owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. www.ascap.com