The PRS for Music Icon Award went to Tim Booth, Saul Davies, Jim Glennie, Larry Gott and Mark Hunter for James.
James have become an enduring gem of British music, selling over 25 million albums over their 39-year career.
The Ivor Novello 2023 winners:
Academy Fellowship
Sting
Best Album
11
written by Dean “Inflo” Josiah Cover, Jamar McNaughton, Cleopatra Nikolic and Jack Peñate
performed by SAULT
published in the UK by Copyright Control and Sentric Music
Best Contemporary Song
'Escapism'
written by 070 Shake, Raye and Mike Sabath
performed by Raye and 070 Shake
published in the UK by Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music
Best Original Film Score
Don’t Worry Darling
Composed by John Powell
published in the UK by Universal Music Publishing
Best Original Video Game Score
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Composed by Gareth Coker, Grant Kirkhope and Yoko Shimomura
Best Song Musically and Lyrically
'King'
written by Jack Antonoff and Florence Welch
performed by Florence + The Machine
published in the UK by Ducky Donath Music-Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing
Best Television Soundtrack
The Midwich Cuckoos
Composed by Hannah Peel
published in the UK by SATV Publishing
Outstanding Song Collection
Kamille
PRS for Music Icon Award
Tim Booth, Saul Davies, Jim Glennie, Larry Gott and Mark Hunter for James
PRS for Music Most Performed Work
'As It Was'
written by Kid Harpoon,Tyler Johnson and Harry Styles
performed by Harry Styles
published in the UK by Universal Music Publishing and Pulse Songs-Concord Music Publishing
Rising Star Award with Amazon Music
Victoria Canal
Songwriter of the Year with Amazon Music
Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers
Special International Award
Debbie Harry and Chris Stein
Visionary Award with Amazon Music
Charli XCX
ON THE RISE
Blossoms caught up with NME to discuss competing with The Beatles and Johnny Marr for this week’s Number One album. With ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ in the running, the band also explained why making things themselves remains such an important part of their work as AI becomes more common.
The Stockport group put out their sixth album last Friday, October 2. By the midweek update, it was sitting at Number Two, between The Beatles’ expanded edition of ‘Rubber Soul’ and Johnny Marr’s latest solo album, ‘The Age Of Everything’.
“It’s mad, to be honest,” singer Tom Ogden said to NME about the chart race. “Liverpool on one side, Manchester on the other and Stockport in the middle. If you’d told us this 10 years ago, when we were releasing our debut, I wouldn’t have believed you. But I mean, we’re in good company aren’t we?”
Discussing the stories behind the album, Ogden described ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ as “about being married and all the everyday stuff that comes with it”. He married Katie Donovan, the sister of Blossoms drummer Joe, in 2021. Married life has since given him a new appreciation for what he describes as “the extraordinary ordinary”.
“Saying the wrong thing in an argument, losing your wife’s no claims bonus, crying at the Kardashians, it’s all in there,” he explained. “The album is named after Stockport Town Hall, which everyone round where we live calls the Wedding Cake, and it’s where I got married, so it couldn’t be much closer to home.
“The last album [‘Gary’, 2024] had a song about a stolen fibreglass gorilla, which everyone loved, and that gave us the confidence to bring the same playfulness to this one, just with more personal subject matter this time.”
Alongside tracks that came out of writing sessions with Declan McKenna in a hot tub, the album reflects the band’s desire to stay involved in every part of the creative process.
“It started with the recording,” Ogden explained. “We made the album with Shawn Lee, playing live straight to tape, and once you’ve done it that way you can’t really go and fake everything else. We sat down as a band and picked the colour palette, and everything visual followed from that. We had body scans taken of ourselves and cake toppers of the five of us 3D printed, put them on a real cake and photographed it. I’ve directed and edited the videos, and the sets are all built by hand, no green screen. For the pop-up shop on launch weekend, a local artist hand-painted the album cover for the sign outside.
“It’s more work, but you end up with a world that’s yours, and I think people can tell when a band’s had its hands on everything.”
With AI tools and digital effects becoming increasingly widespread, that approach feels particularly relevant. For Blossoms, though, the motivation is simple: “the fun is in the making”.
“Tape doesn’t let you cheat and neither does a real cake,” Ogden said. “If a set’s a bit wonky, it’s because one of us or our mates built it. I think the more stuff gets generated, the more people want to know a human being actually did it. We’ve been in this band together for over 10 years, five lads from Stockport, and that isn’t something you can ‘prompt’.”
Maya Jama also appeared in the video for the album’s first single, ‘Meet Me In Love’. Her appearance came shortly before the UK launch of Celebrity Traitors, where she took on the role of a traitor alongside a cast that included Richard E Grant and James Acaster.
“She was brilliant,” Ogden recalled of working with Jama. “We’d met her at the MTV EMAs in Manchester a couple of years ago, so we took a chance and sent her a DM …and she said yes. Next thing she’s in a theatre in Cheadle miming my vocals while a load of people dressed as me serenade her. She got the idea straight away and was a proper laugh about it.”
The conversation then turned to whether he thought Jama could take home the win on Celebrity Traitors.
Ogden joked: “As for Traitors, she spent a whole day pretending to sing my song and I almost believed her, so I’d say she’s got every chance.”
Fans can listen to ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ now. In November, Blossoms head out on a UK arena tour with The Royston Club. Tickets and further details are available here.
Before the tour begins, the group is also scheduled to appear on SNL UK on Saturday, October 24.
