| CMU Daily - on the inside Tuesday 25th April |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Coldplay get triple nomination at Ivors
- London Calling early-bird deadline looming
- More buzz talking with MusicTank tonight
- US judge orders EMI and Universal to release digital deal papers
- EMI and Warner share prices up
- Single review: Temposhark - Joy Joy Joy
- Rare Libertines and Babyshambles tracks leaked online
- Doors live downloads for 40th anniversary
- Robbie appears in Take That show
- Extra dates added to George Michael tour
- The Subways cancel US tour
- Fat Freddy Drop tour
- Shayne Ward tour
- Madness tour
- Fat Tuesday celebrates New Orleans
- Single review: The Like - What I Say And What I Mean
- GCap confirm Muller as new Capital PD
- Davina's chat show formally axed
- BCC and licence fee pretty popular
- EMI publishing enter global deal with Skype
- Polydor president extends remit
- Waterstone interested in buying back Waterstones
- Lennon seance producer defends show
- Ivors nominations in full
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TOP BIT>>
It's around about this time of year that I start to debate (normally with myself, no one seems to want to join in) when exactly the UK music festival season begins. Traditionally I always used to say it began with Homelands on the end-of-May bank holiday weekend, although that always meant ignoring All Tomorrows' Parties, which normally takes place in Spring, and you should never ignore ATP. But hey, there's no Homelands this year and ATP seems to be coming a little later in the year than I remember. So how about we say the UK music festival season kicks off this weekend with the city centre mini-festival that is Carling Live 24 which, as previously reported, takes over venues all over London this Friday/Saturday with a plethora of great gigs through evening, night, morning and afternoon, including a Barfly gig at seven o'clock in the morning - hurrah! Why am I telling you all this now - well because over their on the CMU Beats site you will find our preview of all things Carling Live 24, including a quick run through the whole thing band by band, and a special edition of the CMU radio show featuring music from some of the headline acts. So if you're going, or you're thinking about going (you better hurry, half of it's sold out!) or you're just curious, get on over to http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk and we'll give you the lowdown.
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JOBS & STUFF>>
Successful North London based entertainment PR agency seeks Senior Account Executive to work on music accounts. Applicant must have broad range of media contacts, be highly literate and like working under pressure and to deadlines. You should have a minimum of 2 years PR experience. Starting salary of £20k plus bonuses and health plan. Apply to [email protected] in writing only. Please check your application for grammatical errors or typographical mistakes before applying or you will be immediately rejected.
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PRESS ROOM>>
SOUND STATION FESTIVAL... A brand new music festival is launching in Birmingham in May. The Sound Station Festival will be the first UK festival to offer equal weighting to the live dance music genres. The format of Sound Station is a ground breaking collection of styles, with a clear focus on new, exciting indie/rock talent and credible, leftfield dance DJs and acts.
More info:
http://www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk/pressroom/soundstation
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ON AIR>>
TODAY ON TOTALROCK
Lisa will be talking to Sonata Arctica ('Metal Lunchbox', noon to 3pm). Listen live at http://www.totalrock.com
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RIGHT NOW IN THE CMU BEATS BAR>>
MySpace Of The Day: Blind Pew
Blind Pew are dirty and infectious, and have the sorts of songs that you can't help singing along to - you know, the ones other drivers catch you singing when stopped at traffic lights. The tunes on the Myspace are a taster for the rest of the 'You're Claimed EP' - it's really good and if Blind Pew spent more time conquering the internet through Myspace, they would undoubtedly become one of the biggest bands on the web. But then it's the band's live shows that have been doing most to win Blind Pew a UK wide following, and conveniently you can find their live dates on their MySpace page!
http://www.myspace.com/blindpew
Read more about our MySpace of the Day, plus check out CMU's preview of Carling Live 24 right now at http://www.thebeatsbar.co.uk
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COLDPLAY GET TRIPLE NOMINATION AT IVORS
The lovely Coldplay and all their super songs have scored three nominations for this year's Ivor Novello Awards, the UK's main awards event for songwriting. Their track 'Speed Of Sound' is up for International Hit Of The Year and Most Performed Work, while 'Fix You' is up for Best Song Musically And Lyrically. Well done them.
Other Ivor nominees announced yesterday include James Blunt, who is up for International Hit Of The Year and Most Performed Work for everyone's favourite track of 2005, 'You're Beautiful'. Kaiser Chiefs are up for Best Contemporary Song for 'I Predict A Riot', Robbie Williams is also up for International Hit Of The Year for 'Tripping' while Arctic Monkeys compete with Coldplay for the Best Song Musically And Lyrically with their song 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor'.
Announcing the nominations, David Ferguson of the British Academy of Composers And Songwriters, who co-stage the awards with PRS, told reporters: "Music cannot exist without the endeavour and inspiration of songwriters. At a time when more music is getting stolen than ever before... it is critical to honour and reward the people who write and initiate the music we all enjoy".
The 51st Ivors take place at the Grosvenor House in London on 25 May. There's a full list of nominees at the bottom of today's Daily.
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LONDON CALLING EARLY-BIRD DEADLINE LOOMING
The deadline for the early-bird booking discount on the AAA ticket for this year's London Calling music industry conference is this Friday, 28 Apr, so if you're planning on going you should really get booking, because it's quite a discount. London Calling is an international event for artists, managers, labels, service providers and brands with an interest in music, and features a stack of seminars, networking sessions and music showcases. You will find more details at http://www.londoncalling2006.com. The AAA pass gets you access to everything, and if you book before Friday you can get one for £128, which is essentially half price. So don't got telling us we didn't let you know. We'll have more news on what is happening at London Calling in the coming weeks here in the Daily.
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MORE BUZZ TALKING WITH MUSICTANK TONIGHT
Talking of quality music business events, it's the second part of MusicTank's Buzz Building debate tonight, produced in association with the Music Producers' Guild. Billed as "the A-Z of online sales and distribution", on the panel will be 7 Digital founder Ben Drury, Uploader Music MD Pete Dodge, Sanctuary's Digital Operations Manager Caroline Hansen, TuneTribe COO Ronnie Traynor, Sparkle Street Management founder Gary McClarnan and emusu.com founder Chris Thompson. It all takes place tonight from 6.30pm at Bertorellis in Soho - note that is a change of venue. More info at http://www.musictank.co.uk/events_buzz_building.htm
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US JUDGE ORDERS EMI AND UNIVERSAL TO RELEASE DIGITAL DEAL PAPERS
Now this could prove to be interesting. It might not. But it could. A Ninth Circuit Court judge in the US has ordered Universal Music Group and EMI to disclose previously confidential documents relating to the two major record companies' early dealings in the digital music domain.
The court order has been made as part of a long running legal dispute between the major record companies and Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, one of the investors in the original Napster P2P platform. They were sued by the majors who claimed that by investing in the original Napster technology, which allowed the mass sharing of copyright content online, the Partners were guilty of contributory and vicarious copyright infringement.
The investment firm is counter-suing, claiming that the major record labels colluded to prevent the original Napster from successfully launching a legitimate business model, instead offering favourable licensing deals to Pressplay and MusicNet, the two digital music companies set up and initially owned by the major record companies. Hummer Winblad also claim that because the majors were collaborating on those early download ventures they shared information on their licensing deals, giving them an unfair competitive advantage.
It was as part of the ongoing legal wranglings in this case that judge Marilyn Patel last week ordered the release of documents belonging to the two major record companies that have previously been protected by attorney-client privilege. It remains to be seen whether the documents provide any new evidence for Hummer Winblad's claims. If they do, that evidence might be of interest to the US Department Of Justice who have previously investigated claims of collusion between the majors in the digital space, but who dropped their investigation in 2003 because of a lack of evidence.
PS: For fans of digital music history, a little background perhaps. MusicNet was originally owned by EMI, BMG, Warner Music and RealNetworks, but is now owned by Baker Capital, a New York-based private equity firm, and it provides a back-end download platform for the likes of Virgin Digital and HMV Digital. PressPlay was a JV between Universal and Sony, but was sold to tech firm Roxio, who then acquired the Napster brand, and in a round about kind of way used the PressPlay technology as the basis of the legit Napster download platform. So the majors are essentially accused of being unfair to the old Napster by favouring what would become the new Napster. If only they'd known that it would be Apple who would come to dominate all things digital music, they could have just not bothered.
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EMI AND WARNER SHARE PRICES UP
Talking of major record companies, the share price of both EMI and Warner Music rose yesterday following those reports in yesterday's Daily regarding the possibility of merger talks between the two music businesses. Well, I say reports in yesterday's Daily, it was possibly the reports in the Sunday Times that actually boosted the share prices, though I'm sure us reporting on their report helped too. We're very popular in the city you know. We're their preferred supplier of Doherty news.
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SINGLE REVIEW: Temposhark - Joy Joy Joy (Propaganda)
I love it when bands have little sound effects behind the vocals that correspond with the lyrics, like the little synth sweep behind "And you remember, the jingles used to go..." in 'Video Killed The Radio Star'. It can be overdone, but in small quantities it sounds great. Temposhark do it on this, their third single release, with a man screaming behind the
lyric "a man just screamed". Unfortunately, that's the only bit of the song that really excites me. It would be lazy journalism for me to call them 'bandwagoners', but there are an awful lot of 80s-sounding synth-led bands around at the moment, and Temposhark don't especially stand out on this release. It's good, but I'd be far more excited if this had been released a year and a half ago. Since then, others have done the same thing, and done a better job. DG
Release Date: May 15
Press Contact: Spring [all]
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RARE LIBERTINES AND BABYSHAMBLES TRACKS LEAKED ONLINE
Oh, talking of Doherty, which we were just a minute ago, hundreds of tracks apparently stored on the former Libertine's computer in 2004 have leaked onto the internet via various Libertines/Babyshambles/Doherty fansites and message boards. The collection of tracks includes several of the artists Pete was listening to at that time, but more importantly there's a stack of rare and previously unheard Libertines and Babyshambles tracks too.
Among the tracks the NME say are now available are the pre 'Up The Braket' 'Nomis' demoes, a version of 'The Delaney' recorded for but not included on second album 'The Libertines', and the track 'Never Never', which sampled the 'Hancock's Half Hour' TV show. Among the Babyshambles tracks included is the so called 'Diamond Liner Sessions', which include Babyshambles playing 'Kilamangiro', 'Black Boy Lane' and 'Do You Know Me?'.
Quite how the tracks got from Pete's computer onto to the net isn't completely clear. If anyone has any insights, let us know.
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DOORS LIVE DOWNLOADS FOR 40TH ANNIVERSARY
From unofficial to official digital releases of rare material. As part of the band's 40th anniversary celebrations, The Doors are planning on making more than a dozen concert recordings from 1967-1970 available to download from the band's website. Fans will be able to buy whole shows, or pick and mix specific tracks. Among the gigs due to be featured are recordings made at New York's Felt Forum and a 1967 performance at the tiny San Francisco club the Matrix, just a few months after the release of the Doors' first album.
The promotion is being run by Basecamp Productions, who built a similar live music download store for Pearl Jam last year. Basecamp boss Joshua James told Billboard: "Basecamp's entire business model is that these huge bands have all these fans that spend hours online. Why send them off to iTunes to buy music when they want to hang out right there on the band's website?"
The band's 40th birthday will also be marked by the release of a twelve disk box set via Rhino, featuring the band's firsts six studio albums, six DVDs featuring 5.1 remixes, and a whole load of bonus tracks.
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ROBBIE APPEARS IN TAKE THAT SHOW
Don't you hate it when people use misleading headlines? Although, word has it, we might be using that headline for real at some point in the coming months.
As you may have seen, the new Take That live show, which opened to much acclaim in Newcastle on Sunday night, features a hologram of the absent Robbie Williams in the opening to 'Could It Be Magic'. But Gary Barlow is quoted as saying the real Robbie will appear at some of the group's upcoming tour dates.
The Sun quote Barlow as saying: "Robbie is doing more than one gig. I don't know which dates, but he has told Mark he is definitely coming back".
On the hologram Barlow added: "It was our idea to do the hologram and Robbie was well up for it. We worried people would be disappointed when Rob didn't appear from behind the hologram, but it went down well."
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EXTRA DATES ADDED TO GEORGE MICHAEL TOUR
Talking of comeback tours in demand, several extra dates have been added to George Michael's upcoming UK tour, his first in fifteen years, after a huge demand for tickets.
Promoter Dan Marshall of Marshall Arts told reporters: "Ticket sales are fantastic. It's fair to say that the majority have been sold. In London, we've moved very quickly to put three additional shows to what we went on sale with. We did have additional shows at Earls Court ready to go, but the demand has been such that we've moved quickly to have these on sale."
The tour will be something of a greatest hits affair, with the set list due to include songs from throughout Michael's career, including some Wham classics.
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THE SUBWAYS CANCEL US TOUR
The Subways have been forced to cancel their upcoming US tour because doctors have told singer Billy Lunn to take time off from performing so they can treat nodules that have been found on his vocal chords. A rescheduled show due to take place last night in Bristol was also called off.
A statement posted on the band's website reads thus: "It is with much regret and disappointment that The Subways must cancel the rescheduled show at the Bristol Carling Academy (April 24) due to the continued loss of Billy Lunn's voice. After consulting with doctors and throat specialists, agreed diagnosis was made that Billy has developed nodules on his vocal chords. Billy has been advised to halt all current touring and treat the condition. It is hoped by the end of May we will be in a position to reschedule the cancelled UK dates but all tickets are refundable if requested. Billy, Charlotte and Josh are obviously hugely disappointed and frustrated by the current situation and look forward to playing again as soon as possible. They would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding and very much appreciate all the kind words of support that fans have expressed in wishing Billy a speedy recovery."
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FAT FREDDY DROP TOUR
Having won most of the big awards at last year's New Zealand Music Awards, as well as being awarded the title of 'Album of the Year 2005' by listeners to Gilles Peterson's Worldwide show on Radio 1, you possibly ought to take time to check out seven-piece Kiwi band Fat Freddy's Drop and, hurrah, here's your chance. The band play the following UK dates, press info from Trailer.
24 May: Edinburgh Liquid Rooms
26 May: Manchester The Academy 2
27 May: Bristol The Academy Live (support: Bugz In the Attic)
30 May: Leeds Met Uni (support: Stateless)
1 Jun: Birmingham The Academy (support: Trojan Sound System)
2 Jun: London Brixton Academy Live (support: Breaks Co-Op, DJs: Trojan Sound System, DJ Derek, Son Of Dave, Digital Mystikz)
4 Jun: The Garden Party Ballinlough Castle Athboy, County Meath, Ireland
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SHAYNE WARD TOUR
For all you Shayne Ward fans out there (you know who you are) here's details of his debut arena tour - though you're going to have to wait till next year to see him. Tickets go on sale on Friday.
21 Jan: Dublin Point Theatre
26 Jan: Cork Millstreet
29 Jan: Belfast Odyssey Arena
2 Feb: Glasgow SECC
5 Feb: Newcastle Arena
9 Feb: Manchester MEN Arena
12 Feb: Sheffield Arena
16 Feb: Wembley Arena
19 Feb: Nottingham Arena
23 Feb: Birmingham NEC
25 Feb: Cardiff CIA
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MADNESS TOUR
Talking of tours a way off, though not quite that way off, Madness will embark on their first UK tour in three years just ahead of Christmas. Dates as follows, tickets are already on sale:
12 Dec: Glasgow SECC Hall 4
13 Dec: Manchester MEN Arena
14 Dec: Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
16 Dec: Birmingham NEC
17 Dec: Bournemouth BIC
19 Dec: Brighton Centre
20 Dec: London, Wembley Arena
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FAT TUESDAY CELEBRATES NEW ORLEANS
OK, now here is a really interesting sounding event taking place in London next week. It is the latest 'Fat Tuesday' event being staged by Southern Comfort - an event built around the spirit and music of the drink brand's home town of New Orleans.
The Fat Tuesday programme is all about promoting New Orleans musical talent, normally by encouraging them to collaborate with UK artists. That work has perhaps become more important post Hurricane Katrina as New Orleans tries to rebuild itself, both as a working city and a legendary music centre.
With that in mind, the next Fat Tuesday event will feature New Orleans commentator and legendary music writer Nik Cohn, author of 'Awopbopalopa' and the recent critically acclaimed Triksta. He will provide a spoken word account of New Orleans culture and life post-Katrina in an interesting sounding collaborative piece that will also involve Rodney P and New Orleans based Triksta rappers Shorty Brown Hustle, Snoop and DJ Chicken from New Orleans.
Commenting on the issue he'll be tackling, Cohn told CMU: "I've been obsessed by New Orleans and its music since childhood and have lived there, off and on, more than 30 years. In the last few years I spent much of my time there working with rappers like Shorty Brown Hustle and Snoop. When Katrina struck, I was in New York, revving up for another round of recording. When we talked on the phone, they told me their world - black New Orleans - was gone. Music used to be everywhere - gospel in the wooden churches, old soul records playing on front porches, rap blasting out of the gangstas' cars. Today, the silence is so profound I can hear a scrap of rag flapping in a thorn bush."
As if that in itself doesn't sound like a must-see event, Fat Tuesday also features a brilliant line up of artists and DJs - so much so, I can't help thinking whoever programmed this started off with a list of CMU favourites and just went through and booked them all. Performing live will be Crazy P (no longer Crazy Penis don't forget), the wonderful Son Of Dave and the even more wonderful Barefoot. Meanwhile on the decks will be Rob da Bank, David Holmes, DJ Cam, Mr Lip and Grand Son. Wow.
Not only that, but this whole thing takes place in a great sounding venue next to Tower Bridge. I really really want to go to this. It all takes place on Friday 5 May at St Olaves Manor, and tickets can be won for free via http://www.fattuesday.co.uk. If any of you media types want to cover this event, and you really should, get in touch with Emma or Nick at Slice - [email protected] or [email protected]
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SINGLE REVIEW: The Like - What I Say And What I Mean (Universal/Geffen)
Perhaps it would be unfair to put The Like's success down to genes. Vocalist/guitarist Z Berg and bassist Charlotte Froom are both daughters of producers, and drummer Tenessee Thomas' dad is Elvis Costello's drummer. Signed straight out of high school to Geffen Records (who Berg's father happens to work for) The Like's whirlwind rise could be put down to connections, but their songs work for themselves. 'What I Say And What I Mean', the second single from debut album 'Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking' is a radio friendly pop rock summer song peppered with charming harmonies. In fact 'What I Say And What I Mean' is terribly inoffensive and terribly catchy, though also terribly safe. So much so, actually it is hard not to wonder just how much influence The Like's daddies had in furthering their daughters' careers. RM
Release Date: 15 May
Press Contact: Gilotti [all]
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GCAP CONFIRM MULLER AS NEW CAPITAL PD
As expected, GCap Media have confirmed that Scott Muller will take over as Programme Director of Capital Radio following the somewhat sudden departure of former MD Keith Pringle and PD Nik Goodman last week. As reported yesterday, Muller comes from Sydney radio station Nova, but previously reworked for GWR, helping them set up their digital radio division.
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DAVINA'S CHAT SHOW FORMALLY AXED
The Beeb has confirmed they are axing Davina McCall's chat show because it was shit. Well, actually, what they said was that they "don't have plans to bring Davina back" into what was, after all, "a very challenging slot". But we all know what they mean. BBC 1 controller Peter Fincham added: "We remain committed to working with Davina McCall on a long term basis".
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BBC AND LICENCE FEE PRETTY POPULAR
Davina's chat show aside, we all love the BBC and are not only willing to keep paying a licence fee for it, but are willing to pay an even bigger licence fee. Well, that's according to a new bit of research by London Business School's Professor Patrick Barwise, who has just completed a review of public opinion on the licence fee and how the Beeb spend it. Admittedly the research was commissioned by the BBC themselves, though a number of independent research firms were involved so I don't think there was too much bias - but you can decide for yourself.
As part of the review, research firm Human Capital showed that, in 2004, 80% of those surveyed said they would be willing to pay up to a £120 licence fee, while 70% said they would pay up to £150. That rose to 75% when it was explained the £150 fee would be used to finance new and extra services, though Barwise points out that while new digital add ons are important, actually most people really rate the Beeb on the quality of programming on the flagship channels.
One topic covered by the review was whether licence fee money should be used to subsidies the switchover to digital TV among so called 'vulnerable groups'. Basically, as the government gears up to switch off analogue TV signals it seems likely that someone is going to help less well-off parts of the community invest in the kit they need to receive digital TV (a set top box and, in certain parts of the country, a boosted aerial or maybe even a satellite dish). One proposal is that a levy on the licence fee could provide that subsidy. Barwise's report says that that proposal is not popular, although given that it would only add a few pounds to a year's licence fee, such a move is unlikely to stop people agreeing to pay a licence fee at all.
All in all, the report showed general approval for the BBC, and the way it is funded. Barwise concludes: "A particular case in point was the March 2006 OLR citizens' forum. At the start of the day, the level of approval for the BBC was an impressive 86%. Remarkably, in the course of the day, the approval level increased to 93% as the participants learned more about the range of BBC services, their role in people's lives, and the challenge of managing them in a complex, competitive, and fast-changing market. The research demonstrates a high level of support for the BBC, its role in driving digital Britain, and most of its proposed new services, and a willingness to pay a licence fee of £150 (in 2005 prices) by 2013/14 in order to fund it."
Of course, all of that research was done before it was revealed how much the BBC are paying Johnathan Ross, Chris Evans and Chris Moyles. The same respondents might now be asking for some of their TV licence back now that they know how much lines the pockets of certain presenters and DJs.
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EMI PUBLISHING ENTER GLOBAL DEAL WITH SKYPE
EMI Music Publishing has entered into a new deal with Skype, the internet telephony company which I'm pretty sure is owned by eBay. The deal, which EMI say is the first of its kind, will make songs in the publishing company's catalogue available for use in Skype's soon to be launched online retail store, which may include downloading, subscription or mastertone services.
The innovative bit of the deal is that Skype will be able to utilise EMI's catalogue on a global basis. Previously publishing deals have been restricted to one or another territory, meaning global internet players must reach agreements with a plethora of local publishing firms. The new deal will allow Skype to utilise the music of the songwriters EMI represents on a worldwide basis.
Confirming the deal, Roger Faxon Co-CEO of EMI Music Publishing told reporters: "It has been a great pleasure for us at EMI MP to be working with Skype to bring a range of innovative services to consumers across the globe. I would like to single out Mike McGinley of Skype and Clark Miller of EMI MP whose ability to look beyond the restrictions of current deal models made this groundbreaking initiative possible. I would be remiss if I did not also thank the MCPS/PRS Alliance in the UK for the cooperative spirit that they have brought to the development of this new approach to the licensing of music. We could not have better partners than Skype and MCPS/PRS in our ongoing effort to break down the barriers of online licensing of music. EMI MP is committed to bringing the best music in the world to all the consumers of the world and this deal is a major step in fulfilling that goal".
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POLYDOR PRESIDENT EXTENDS REMIT
David Joseph, co-President of Universal Music division Polydor, has had his remit extended to take in Universal Classics & Jazz, Universal Music TV and, erm, Universal Music TV - that is to say the UMTV compilations unit and Universal Music UK's new TV production set up. In his new role Joseph will be know as President of Universal Music Operations, which is a bit dull sounding, surely President of UCJUMTVUMTV would be more interesting.
Anyway, confirming all this, Universal Music International boss Lucian Grainge told reporters: "Since David joined me at Polydor in 1998, he has continued to grow into an exceptional record man. He will make a great impact and contribution to the businesses within the UK group that he now has additional responsibility for managing. He thoroughly deserves this promotion."
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WATERSTONE INTERESTED IN BUYING BACK WATERSTONES
Retail news anyone? Tim Waterstone, the original founder of, well you can guess surely, has reportedly made a £280 million informal offer to buy the book chain back of its current owner HMV. The deal is seemingly dependent on the previously reported HMV acquisition of rival book chain Ottakers not going ahead. Make of that what you will.
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LENNON SEANCE PRODUCER DEFENDS SHOW
The producer behind the previously reported televised John Lennon seance that aired last night has defended his cheap publicity scam, I mean innovative TV exploration of the spiritual world. The show aired on a US cable channel last night, and saw the show's producer Paul Sharratt team up with Liverpudlian psychic Joe Power and others in a bid to persuade the late Beatle's spirit to come forward by visiting key sites in his home town - like the Cavern Club and Strawberry Fields.
The show, like a similar Princess Diana TV seance Sharratt staged, has come in for some criticism, in particular from Yoko Ono whose spokesman said "the proposed show strikes me as being tasteless, tacky and exploitative".
But Sharratt told reporters this week: "I personally can't see [why] these sort of people, who believed in the spirit world, they believed in the afterlife... shouldn't they speak again if they can?"
On Ono's refusal to be involved in the show, and her subsequent criticism of the project, Sharratt continued: "She hasn't spoken herself but through a representative she denied that John Lennon was interested in the spirit world, but that's certainly not the case as we've researched it. I'm sorry that she's not happy, but that's life."
Of course there's a chance that research involved asking the late singer directly, which I'm not sure counts.
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IVORS NOMINATIONS IN FULL
BEST SONG MUSICALLY & LYRICALLY
Song: Fix You
Writers: Guy Berryman, Jonathan Buckland, William Champion, Chris Martin
Performed by: Coldplay
UK Publisher: BMG Music Publishing
Song: I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
Writers: Alex Turner
Performed by: Arctic Monkeys
UK Publisher: EMI Music Publishing
Song: Suddenly I See
Writers: KT Tunstall
Performed by: KT Tunstall
UK Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing
BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG
Song: DARE
Writers: Damon Albarn, Brian Burton, Jamie Hewlett
Performed by: Gorillaz
UK Publisher: Chrysalis Music // EMI Music Publishing
Song: I Predict A Riot
Writers: Nick Baines, Nick Hodgson, Simon Rix, Andrew White, Ricky Wilson
Performed by: Kaiser Chiefs
UK Publisher: Universal/Rondor Music
Song: Wires
Writers: Joel Pott, Steven Roberts, Timothy Wanstall, Carey Willetts
Performed by: Athlete
UK Publisher: Chrysalis Music
PRS MOST PERFORMED WORK
Song: Speed of Sound
Writers: Guy Berryman, Jonathan Buckland, William Champion, Chris Martin
Performed by: Coldplay
UK Publisher: BMG Music Publishing
Song: You're Beautiful
Writers: James Blunt, Amanda Ghost, Sacha Skarbek
Performed By: James Blunt
UK Publisher: Bucks Music Group / EMI Music Publishing
Song: Shiver
Writers: Natalie Imbruglia, Sheppard Solomon, Francis White
Performed by: Natalie Imbruglia
UK Publisher: BMG Music Publishing / Universal Music Publishing / V2 Music Publishing
INTERNATIONAL HIT OF THE YEAR
Song: Speed Of Sound
Writers: Guy Berryman, Jonathan Buckland, William Champion, Chris Martin
Performed by: Coldplay
UK Publisher: BMG Music Publishing
Song: Tripping
Writers: Stephen Duffy, Robbie Williams
Performed by: Robbie Williams
UK Publisher: BMG Music Publishing
Song: You're Beautiful
Writers: James Blunt, Amanda Ghost, Sacha Skarbek
Performed by: James Blunt
UK Publisher: Bucks Music Group / EMI Music Publishing
BEST TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK
Broadcast: A Waste Of Shame: The Mystery of Shakespeare and His Sonnets
Composer: Kevin Sargent
UK Publisher: Copyright Control
Broadcast: Colditz
Composer: Richard Harvey
UK Publisher: EMI Granada / Fireworks
Broadcast: Elizabeth I
Composer: Rob Lane
UK Publisher: Bucks Music Group
BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE
Film: Evil
Composer: Francis Shaw
UK Publisher: Copyright Control
Film: Pride and Prejudice
Composer: Dario Marianelli
UK Publisher: Universal Music Publishing
Film: Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe
Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams
UK Publisher: Warner/Chappell Artemis Music Ltd
Other awards to be presented on 25 May include: Best Selling UK Single, Album Award, Outstanding Song Collection, International Achievement, The Ivors Classical Music Award, PRS Outstanding Contribution To British Music, Songwriters Of The Year, The Special International Award and The Academy Fellowship.d Media, Fl3 Grampian House, Meridian Gate, London, E14 9YT