“Hey Jude” wins an Ivor Novello award

HEY JUDE WINS A NOVELLO AWARD

Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney today picked up another statuette to put on their already overcrowded sideboard when the Ivor Novello Awards for 1968-69 were handed out in London.

They got it for writing Hey Jude — “the A side of the single which achieved the highest certified British sales in 1968.” (It sold 695,000 copies although it wasn’t released until August.)

Writers Bill Martin and Phil Coulter won the award for The Most Performed Work of the Year — Congratulations, the song which took Cliff Richard to No. 2 in the 1968 Eurovision song contest.

The awards are organised by the Songwriters’ Guild of Great Britain. This year’s were sponsored by the BBC. Other awards:

• Britain’s international song: Delilah, written by Les Reed and Barry Mason.
• The most romantic song: I Close My Eyes and Count To Ten (Clive Westlake).
• Outstanding dance-beat song of the year: Build Me Up Buttercup (Tony Macaulay and Michael D’Abo).
• Novelty song: I’m The Urban Spaceman (Neil Innes).
• Light music composition: Ring of Kerry (Peter Hope).

From Evening Standard – May 22, 1969

‘Delilah’ scoops 3 awards

“DELILAH,” the Tom Jones hit, appears three times in the list of the 1968-9 Ivor Novello Awards—Britain’s popular and light music “Oscars.”

Its writers, Les Reed and Barry Mason, today received certificates under the “Most performed work of the year” category, certificates in the “Highest British record sales for the year” group and statuettes for “Britain’s international song of the year.”

Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney received statuettes for the highest British record sales of their hit “Hey Jude” and honour certificates for “The Fool on the Hill.”

Presentations — sponsored by the BBC — were made by Douglas Muggeridge, controller of Radio 1 and 2 at a lunch in London of the Music Publishers’ Association.

From Evening Post – May 22, 1969

The Songs Sound Alike

LONDON: Veteran bandleader Mantovani, the ‘Mr. Sweet Music’ of lush strings and sentimental melodies, hit out at the musical standards of the hit parade. Music publishers in London: “Beat stars drive me round the bend. But I owe my continual success to the Beatles and the other groups. They all sound alike. They are so loud that anything I play is like a breath of fresh air.”

He was speaking at the recent presentation of the Ivor Novello awards — “The Pop ‘Oscars'” — for the best hit tunes of the year. The two tunes that shared most awards were last year’s British Eurovision song contest entry, “Congratulations,” written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter, and the Tom Jones hit “Delilah,” written by Les Reed and Barry Mason, which was named international song of the year.

Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney were winners of two awards — a statuette for the highest record sales with “Hey Jude,” and a special mention for “The Fool on The Hill.”

From The Cincinnati Post – May 27, 1969