The music artist Skepta emerged as one of the top winners at the 62nd Ivor Novello awards held at London’s Grosvenor House last Thursday.
The artist, whose real name is Joseph Junior Adenuga, walked away with two of the top prizes: Songwriter of the Year and Best Contemporary Song for ‘Man’. Other winners included Sheffield-based Pulp, with the award for Outstanding Song Collection, and a Special International Award for soul legend Bill Withers.
In recent years, former winners have included Elton John, Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams, Adele, Emeli Sande, Ed Sheeran and James Bay. The engraved awards are presented annually in recognition for excellence in composing and song writing, and are sponsored by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA).
In June 2013, a bronze Ivor Novello statuette was found by police in a raid on a scrapyard in South London. According to the report, the statuette had been missing for around 16 years. The executive director of BASCA, Vick Bain, said at the time, that she was pleased the statuette had not been melted down.
The statuette, a depiction of the Greek muse of music Euterpe, was a demonstration model and did not belong to any particular artist. They have been made to the same design, by artist Mike Wilson, for over 40 years. Around 48 statuettes are made each year, with the materials and finish often changing. It is believed the demonstration model disappeared when BASCA moved headquarters in 1997.
Speaking at the time, Bain said:
“We will definitely keep a greater amount of security on it. It will be great to have it back.”
