Clean Bandit, Sam Smith And Fka Twigs Nominated for the Ivor Novellos

21 April 2015

Clean Bandit lead the nominations for the 2015 Ivor Novello Awards.

Clean Bandit

The shortlist for the 60th Anniversary of the prestigious songwriting ceremony was announced this morning (21.04.15), and it was revealed the group's 'Rather Be' has been nominated for Best Contemporary Song, as well as PRS for Music Most Performed Work, for which they're going to be competing against Sam Smith's 'Stay With Me' and 'Budapest' by George Ezra.

Both 'Stay With Me' and 'Rather Be' were co-written by James Napier, or Jimmy Napes as he is more commonly known.

FKA Twigs has also been nominated for Best Contemporary Song with 'Two Weeks' as have alt-J for 'Every Other Freckle', while lesser-known band Bear's Den have been nominated for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for their work on 'Above The Clouds Of Pompeii'.

However, guitarist Andrew Davie doesn't fancy the band's chances of winning the award, as they've got stiff competition from Ben Howard's 'I Forgot Where We Were' and Hozier's 'Take Me To Church'.

Speaking to BANG Showbiz at the Ivor Novello nominations, Andrew said: "It's crazy. I'm just honoured and shocked. I just can't really get my head around it. Today was the first time I'd heard who the other nominees were, and to be even put in the same sentence as Ben Howard and Hozier is mental.

"No, I don't think we'll win. The other two are just two amazing songs, and I've listened to their albums a lot. They're two of my favourite albums. I'm going to be really starstruck on the night [of the awards]."

Presented by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA), the Ivors celebrate the best in British and Irish songwriting and composing, and are judged by the UK songwriting and composing community.

The 2015 Ivor Novello Awards will take place in London on 21 May.

2015 Ivor Novello Awards full list of nominations:

Best Song Musically and Lyrically:

'Above The Clouds of Pompeii'

Written by Andrew Davie

Performed by Bear's Den

Published in the UK by Communion Publishing

'I Forget Where We Were'

Written and Performed by Ben Howard

Published in the UK by Warner/Chappell Music Publishing Ltd

'Take Me to Church'

Written by Andrew Hozier-Byrne

Performed by Hozier

Published in the UK by Sony/ATV Music Publishing - The Evolving Music Company

Best Contemporary Song:

'Every Other Freckle'

Written by Thomas Green, Joe Newman and Gus Unger-Hamilton

Performed by alt-J

Published in the UK by Kobalt Music Publishing

'Rather Be'

Written by James Napier and Jack Patterson

Performed by Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne

Published in the UK by Universal Music Publishing - Salli Isaak Songs / Sony/ATV Music Publishing

'Two Weeks'

Written by Tahliah Debrett Barnett and Emile Haynie

Performed by FKA Twigs

Published in the UK by BMG Chrysalis / Universal Music Publishing

PRS for Music Most Performed Work:

'Budapest'

Written by George Ezra Barnett and Joel Pott

Performed by George Ezra

Published in the UK by BMG Chrysalis

'Rather Be'

Written by James Napier and Jack Patterson

Performed by Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne

Published in the UK by Universal Music Publishing - Salli Isaak Songs / Sony/ATV Music Publishing

'Stay With Me'

Written by James Napier, William Phillips and Sam Smith

Performed by Sam Smith

Published in the UK by Universal Music Publishing - Salli Isaak Songs - Method Paperwork / Naughty Words Ltd - Stellar Songs Ltd - Sony/ATV Music Publishing

Album Award:

'Present Tense'

Written by Thomas Fleming, Ben Little, Christopher Talbot and Hayden Thorpe

Performed by Wild Beasts

Published in the UK by Domino Publishing Company

'Royal Blood'

Written by Michael Kerr and Ben Thatcher

Performed by Royal Blood

Published in the UK Warner/Chappell Music Publishing Ltd

'So Long, See You Tomorrow'

Written by Jack Steadman

Performed by Bombay Bicycle Club