Awards PRS for Music Special International Award
This is the only Ivor Novello Award independently presented to an international songwriter or composer. It represents the British songwriting and composing communityâs recognition of the recipientâs immense talent and the enduring influence of their catalogue. It is title sponsored by PRS for Music.
PRS for Music Special International Award Bryan Adams has been such a huge part of the UK music scene for so many years that itâs easy to forget heâs actually Canadian. His parents were British and he spends enough time at his London home for him to be identified as one of Chelsea FCâs most prominent supporters. But the connection with the local music industry and the British music-loving public goes much deeper than that. Because, ever since his breakthrough international album, 1984âs Reckless, his songs have soundtracked UK rock fansâ lives. That album contained many songs that have endured across the decades â Summer of â69, Itâs Only Love, Run To You and Heaven â the latter two such versatile anthems that, years later, they were massive hits all over again for dance acts Rage and DJ Sammy respectively. Since then, Adamsâ career has gone from strength to strength, built on songwriting thatâs both respectful of the craftâs traditions and always in tune with modern audiences. Many of those songs have been written with his songwriting partner Jim Vallance, who he met by chance in a Vancouver music store. Recklessâ follow-up, 1987âs Into The Fire, was another gigantic worldwide hit, but it was 1991âs Waking Up The Neighbours that really set the bar. It contained his song (Everything I Do) I Do It For You, co-written with Michael Kamen and Mutt Lange, which featured on the soundtrack to Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. It went to No.1 in the UK and stayed there for an incredible 16 weeks â a UK record, and so long that magazines ran articles indicating how much life had changed during its marathon run at the summit. Adamsâ life changed too. He became one of the few stars who could play in stadiums anywhere in the world and was in huge demand for collaborations and movie soundtracks. But his dedication to his songwriting never wavered, whether coming up with huge hits for himself (The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You, When Youâre Gone with the Spice Girlsâ Mel C) or others (he wrote Chicaneâs Donât Give Up). Last year, he released his first album of original songs in several years, Get Up, which showed his partnership with Vallance was as fruitful as ever. Along the way, heâs somehow found time to become a world-renowned photographer and a great philanthropist, with his Bryan Adams Foundation helping thousands of children and young people with education and learning opportunities over the years. Today, however, we celebrate his songs and the special part theyâve played in British life.
The 2016 Ivor Novello Awards 59
