Dame Shirley Bassey, Phil Collins, Blondie, Emeli Sande, Mumford & Sons, Anne-Marie, Nile Rodgers and Pete Tong honoured at Nordoff Robbins Silver Clef Awards

19 June 2017 - Press release

The O2 Silver Clef Awards
Friday 30th June, Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane

Today music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins has announced the winners of the prestigious O2 Silver Clef Awards 2017. Legends of the music industry, Dame Shirley Bassey, Phil Collins, , Blondie and Nile Rodgers are joined by Emeli Sande, Mumford & Sons, Pete Tong and newcomer Anne-Marie in being honoured for their outstanding contribution to British music at the 42nd O2 Silver Clef Awards.

Presenter Edith Bowman, will host the star-studded event on Friday 30th June at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The awards recognise and celebrate the powerful impact of music, bringing the crème of the music industry together with celebrity supporters and influencers to raise money for the Nordoff Robbins charity, which uses music therapy with vulnerable children and adults across the UK.

Welsh singing legend Dame Shirley Bassey will be presented with the Nordoff Robbins O2 Silver Clef Award. Multi-million selling album artists Phil Collins and Blondie will pick up the American Express Icon Award and Amazon Outstanding Achievement Award respectively.

Other acts receiving awards include international superstar and co-founder of legendary group CHIC Nile Rodgers who is honoured with the Raymond Weil International Award, Grammy-award winning British band Mumford & Sons will receive the Royal Albert Hall Best Group Award, Scottish singer/songwriter Emeli Sande will be presented with the Best Female Award, legendary electronic dance DJ and producer Pete Tong is recognised with the Innovation Award, the Jack Daniels Best Newcomer Award is given to rising star Anne-Marie, and Alexander Armstrong will collect the PPL Classical Award.

Dame Shirley Bassey said: "I'm honoured to be the recipient of this years Silver Clef Award. Music is my career. Music is my life. Music is my friend. Music has been there to celebrate the highs & sooth through the lows. I believe everybody has a song inside of them; some people can lose their way in life, some struggle to express themselves - but Nordoff Robbins works with these people to find their inner songbird and true happiness."

Quote: Mumford & Sons said: “We're honoured to be picking up the Best Group Award. We believe in the potency of music and are glad to be able to celebrate the amazing work of Nordoff Robbins at the Silver Clef Awards”

The 2017 O2 Silver Clef Award winner is one of the world’s most celebrated singers, Dame Shirley Bassey. She has amassed over 35 studio albums, 105 singles and global sales estimated at more than £135 million since her career began in the mid-1950’s. Bassey’s hits include the iconic theme songs to James Bond films Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever and Moonraker.

Grammy, Brit, Oscar and Golden Globe awards-winner, and recipient of the American Express Icon Award, Phil Collins is one of the most successful songwriters and performers of all time. Hits include In The Air Tonight, Against All Odds, One More Night, Sussudio and Another Day In Paradise in his catalogue.

American rock band Blondie, founded by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein, will be presented with the Amazon Outstanding Achievement Award. As pioneers in the early American new wave and punk era of the mid-late 1970’s, they achieved fame through singles including Call Me, Heart of Glass and Rapture.

Nile Rodgers, the sonic innovator and co-founder of influential disco outfit CHIC is set to receive the Raymond Weil International Award. Rodgers’ career spans over four decades, including working with an array of musicians from Madonna to Diana Ross and David Bowie.

Grammy-award winning British folk rock band Mumford & Sons, the recipients of the Royal Albert Hall Best Group Award, have changed the face of British rock music with their acoustic and harmonistic style. The band, whose fans include Barack Obama, have released three studio albums, Sigh No Moore, Babel and Wilder Mind, and are regular festival headliners.

Best Female Award winner Scottish recording artist and songwriter Emeli Sande first rose to fame in 2009 when she featured on the Chipmunk track Diamond Rings. Releasing her first solo single Heaven in 2011, she went on to have two UK No. 1 singles and her album Our Version of Events was one of the best-selling albums of 2012 with over 1 million sales.

DJ and music producer Pete Tong MBE will receive the Innovation Award for his contribution to dance music. As one of the most prolific DJ’s of the last twenty years and regular host on BBC Radio 1 dance.

Jack Daniels Best Newcomer Award is awarded to rising star singer/ songwriter Anne-Marie, whose chart success includes five singles, and collaborations with Clean Bandit and Rudimental, including the hit-single Rockabye which spent nine consecutive weeks at number one.

PPL Classical Award recipient Alexander Armstrong is perhaps better known as half of BAFTA-winning comedy duo Armstrong & Miller, and host of BBC hit quiz show Pointless. A former choir boy at Durham Cathedral, the actor, comedian and presenter has returned to his musical roots recording his debut album A Year of Songs.

Fans have been voting for their favourite artist in the Ticketmaster Best Live Act category, with Beyonce, Coldplay and Stormzy going head to head with Take That, Little Mix, Bruce Springsteen, Melanie Martinez, Shawn Mendes, Christine & The Queens and Iron Maiden. Voting is open until June 26 and the winner will be announced at the awards on June 30.

http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/best-live-act

Since 1976, the O2 Silver Clef Awards has raised nearly £9 million for Nordoff Robbins and has been proudly sponsored by O2 for the past ten years. Each year tenawards are given out to artists, and have honoured some of the greatest names in music including U2, the Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osborne, Sir Paul McCartney, Gladys Knight, Lionel Ritchie, The Who, Coldplay, Iron Maiden and Florence and the Machine.

2016’s O2 Silver Clef Awards was a huge success raising over £600,000, which goes towards funding work to change the lives of vulnerable children and adults through music. The 2017 Awards are supported by sponsors including main sponsor O2, Ticketmaster, Royal Albert Hall, Raymond Weil, American Express, Jack Daniels, Amazon and PPL.

Coverage from the red-carpet will be presented by Nordoff Robbins Ambassador Peter Andre.

 

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See how Nordoff Robbins music therapy has helped change lives

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofKkdx2ogfo

www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk