NEWS
Prince, The Clash and Frankie Valli were among those who received Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Grammys’ Special Merit Awards.
The ceremony took place on Saturday night (February 1) at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, one night before the main Grammy Awards on Sunday night.
Hosted by the Recording Academy, the honour is given to artists who have made significant contributions to the music industry, and this year the award was also presented to funk artist Frankie Beverly, gospel singer Dr. Bobby Jones, prog blues musician Taj Mahal and rapper Roxanne Shante.
Recipients of the Trustee Awards were composers Erroll Garner and Tania Leon and producer Glyn Johns, while acoustic pioneer Dr. Leo Beranek picked up this year’s Technical Grammy Award.
Among those honouring Prince at the ceremony were Jimmy Jam, formerly of The Time, a Minneapolis band closely associated with the Purple One in his early career. “He had the best work ethic of anybody I ever met,” Jam said. “What that lesson taught me was that he saw me as better than I saw myself. I want to enlighten other people to their greatness.”
Public Enemy’s Chuck D was on hand to accept the award for punk icons The Clash, who read out a message from the band’s surviving members Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon. “As you heard our voice, we also heard yours,” concluded the message.
The 67th Grammy Awards go down tonight (February 2) at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Comedian Trevor Noah will host the event for the fifth consecutive year and Beyoncé leads the way with 11 nominations, making her the most nominated artist in the awards’ history.
See the full list of this year’s nominees here.
The show will air live on CBS from 8pm EST in the US. Paramount+ subscribers with the Showtime add-on can also stream this year’s Grammys live at the same time. Fans in the UK will need to tune in from 1am on Monday, with Paramount+ streaming the ceremony live internationally.
Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter are all scheduled to appear. British artists Cynthia Erivo, RAYE, and Coldplay’s Chris Martin will also be joining the lineup.
Music legend Stevie Wonder will be leading a tribute to the late Quincy Jones alongside Janelle Monáe. This year, the ceremony will be helping to raise funds for those who suffered due to the recent Los Angeles area wildfires.
Perry Farrell has released another public apology following an on-stage confrontation involving his bandmate Dave Navarro.
The Jane's Addiction frontman was involved in a physical altercation with guitarist Dave Navarro last year during a live performance, an incident that prompted the band to cancel their reunion tour and eventually led to their split.
“I'd like to address what happened on stage last year,” Perry, 66, said in a statement shared across both his personal Instagram account and Jane's Addiction’s official page. “I've reflected on it and know I didn't handle myself the way I should have. I apologize to our patrons and my bandmates for losing my temper and for disrupting the show.”
He went on to admit that he did not meet fan expectations and described himself as deeply remorseful toward everyone impacted by the incident.
“Jane's Addiction has been at the center of my life for decades. The band, the songs, the patrons, and the impact that we've had on music and culture mean more to me than any words I could ever possibly write down,” he shared.
“My aim has always been to give our audience the best possible show, something real, honest and positive. In Boston, we fell short of that, and I'm truly sorry to everyone who was impacted.”
Jane's Addiction also issued its own statement regarding the altercation, which ultimately led to the group’s remaining members filing a lawsuit against Perry alleging assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract.
“Today we are here to announce that we have come together one last time to resolve our differences, so that the legacy of Jane's Addiction will remain the work the four of us created together,” the band wrote, signaling that the group would not move forward with Perry. “We now look forward to the future as we embark on our separate musical and creative endeavors.”
