U2 to become first Irish songwriters to receive prestigious Ivors Academy fellowship
U2 will receive the Ivors Academy fellowship at The Ivors with Amazon Music at Grosvenor House in London on May 22.
U2 will be bestowed with the Ivors Academy fellowship.
The rock legends - Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr and Adam Clayton - will become the first Irish songwriters to receive the highest honour from the songwriting academy, following in the footsteps of Sir Elton John, Kate Bush, Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen.
Frontman Bono said: “We were a band before we could play, let alone write songs… In fact it was our inability to play other people’s songs that kicked off our own songwriting. Early musical heroes like The Ramones, Patti Smith, The Clash were our inspiration. There’s alchemy at play, turning base metals into gold… your s**** into gold would be another way of putting it.”
Guitarist The Edge said: “Songs are kind of magic. The best ones feel like gifts from some other dimension, but to catch them you have to make yourself available. I’m not sure songs can change the world but they sure have changed mine.”
Bassist Adam Clayton said: “To be recognised in this way by The Ivors Academy feels very special indeed. The appreciation of one’s peers is a humbling honour and we are immensely grateful. We’ve been playing our songs in this country for over 45 years, thank you to all those who have not just supported us, but carried us... producers, engineers, crew, fans, management, label.”
And Drummer Mullen Jr. added: “Making music collectively, as we’ve done for close to 50 years, has been an incredible experience and privilege for the four of us and I believe it’s a testament to a band that values individual creativity and independence of mind. We are grateful to each other and very grateful to The Ivors Academy for recognising us with this award.”
U2's extensive back catalogue includes timeless classics ‘I Will Follow’, ‘Pride (In The Name of Love)’, ‘Bad’, ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’, ‘With or Without You’, ‘One’, ‘Beautiful Day’, ‘Walk On’, ‘Vertigo’, ‘Magnificent’ and ‘Ordinary Love’.
The group already have four Ivor Novello Awards to their name, having won the Special Award for International Achievement in 1994, Best Song Musically and Lyrically for ‘Walk On’ in 2002, Outstanding Song Collection in 2003, and International Hit of the Year for ‘Vertigo’ in 2005.
This year’s nominees will be announced on April 23, and the winners will be revealed at The Ivors with Amazon Music at Grosvenor House in London on May 22.
