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ENTERTAINMENT
Tunstall single tops Ivor awards
KT Tunstall was also a winner at the Brit
Awards.
Singer-songwriter KT Tunstall has won the prestigious best song at the Ivor Novello Awards for her 2005 hit Suddenly I See. James Blunt picked up two awards for most performed song and international hit of the year for You're Beautiful. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett of Gorillaz were named Songwriters of the Year at the awards ceremony in London. Kaiser Chiefs' Employment won best album. The Ivors honour UK songwriters, composers and music publishers. KT Tunstall said her win was an inspiration. "I've been writing songs for 15 years and it's amazing to just sit in your room and do something that you like doing and it turns into this. It gives you a kick up the arse to carry on," said Tunstall. James Blunt joked to journalists about his song winning the most performed work award. "I'm going to be rude about this before anyone else has the chance - thank you so much for the award for most overplayed song." Kaiser Chiefs' Ricky Wilson attended the awards on crutches after being hit by a car earlier this week. Tunstall, Blunt, Gorillaz and the Kaiser Chiefs all won awards at the Brit Awards earlier this year. Coldplay missed out on an Ivor after being nominated for three awards - their single Fix You was up for best song, with Speed of Sound included in the international hit of the year category.
New Order won the award for outstanding song collection. Best contemporary song went to Athlete for Wires. Swedish film Evil beat off competition from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe to win best original film score - composed by Francis Shaw. Channel 4's Elizabeth I picked up best television soundtrack. The Bee Gees, Ray Davies, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull and Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff all picked up career achievement honors. New Order won the best outstanding song collection award, while That's My Goal, written by Jorgen Elofsson, Jeremy Godfrey and Bill Padley for X-Factor winner Shayne Ward, won best-selling UK single. The classical music award went to composer Sir Harrison Birtwistle, who took the opportunity to have a swipe at modern music. "Why is your music so loud? You must all be brain-dead. This isn't me against pop music, I didn't know so many cliches existed as I've heard in the last half-hour," he said at the ceremony. Birtwhistle's works include operas The Mask of Orpheus and The Last Supper. |
Reggae legend Desmond Dekker dies
Dekker's hits included Israelites, It Mek and 007 (Shanty Town). Chart-topper: Dekker was born on 16 July 1941 in Kingston, Jamaica, and began his working life as a welder before turning to singing full-time. His band Desmond Dekker and the Aces topped the UK charts with Israelites, which also made the US top 10. He moved to the UK in the '70s, later recording the hit You Can Get It If You Really Want, written by Jimmy Cliff. The musician's popularity waned in the late '70s and '80s, and Dekker was declared bankrupt in 1984. But a new version of Israelites was released in 1990 and used in television commercials, boosting the star's popularity.
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Reggae legend Desmond
Dekker has died suddenly from a heart attack, his manager has announced.
The 64-year-old Jamaican, best known for his 1969 hit Israelites,
collapsed at his Surrey home. Manager Delroy Williams said the performer
had seemed fine when they met a day earlier. "It is such a shock. I
don't think I will ever get over this," he said, adding that Dekker led
the way for reggae stars such as Bob Marley.
"Desmond was the first legend, believe it or not. When he
released Israelites nobody had heard of Bob Marley - he paved the way
for all of them." The star was divorced with a son and daughter. He had
been due to perform at the Respect Festival in Prague on 2 June, and
numerous dates across Europe during the summer. His last concert was at
Leeds Metropolitan University on 11 May. "He was at his peak fitness, he
had this big tour coming up for this summer and he was looking forward
to it - and then that was it," Mr. Williams said. "He died peacefully
but it still hurts. I was his manager and his best friend. I don't think
anyone knew how close we were - we go back so far." He added: "I didn't
even get the chance to say goodbye properly." 
