Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically

The Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically is one of the awards presented annually by the Ivors Academy at the Ivor Novello Awards to recognize the best in songwriting and composing talents from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The award was first presented in 1968, with John Lennon and Paul McCartney being the first recipients for the song "She's Leaving Home", performed by The Beatles. The award goes to the writers of the song, not the performers unless they share songwriting credits.

Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically
Awarded for	quality songwriting from Britain and Ireland
Country	United Kingdom
Presented by	The Ivors Academy
First award	1968
Currently held by	Victoria Canal, Jonny Lattimer and Eg White for "Black Swan" (2024)
Website	ivorsacademy.com/awards

Recipients

1960s

Contents
1968 · 1969

List of award nominees and winners for the 1960s

Year	Songwriter(s)	Song	Performing artist(s)	Result	Ref.
1968	John Lennon, Paul McCartney	"She's Leaving Home"	The Beatles	Won	[1]
	Tony Hatch, Jackie Trent	"Don't Sleep in the Subway"	Petula Clark	Nominated
1969	Category inactive				[2]

1970s

Contents
1970 · 1971 · 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979

List of award nominees and winners for the 1970s

Year	Songwriter(s)	Song	Performing artist(s)	Result	Ref.
1970	Peter Sarstedt	"Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?"	Peter Sarstedt	Won	[3]
1971	George Harrison	"Something"	The Beatles	Won	[4]
1972	Hurricane Smith	"Don't Let It Die"	Hurricane Smith	Won	[5]
1973	Tom Evans and Peter Ham	'"Without You"	Badfinger	Won	[6]
1974	Elton John and Bernie Taupin	'"Daniel"	Elton John	Won	[7]
1975	Ralph McTell	"Streets of London"	Ralph McTell	Won	[8]
1976	Category inactive				[9]
1977	Category inactive				[10]
1978	Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber	"Don't Cry for Me Argentina"	Julie Covington	Won	[11]
	Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb	"How Deep Is Your Love"	Bee Gees	Nominated
	John Farrar, Hank Marvin, Don Black	"Sam"	Olivia Newton-John	Nominated
1979	Gerry Rafferty	"Baker Street"	Gerry Rafferty	Won	[12]
	Chris Arnold, David Martin, Geoff Morrow	"Can't Smile Without You"	The Carpenters	Nominated
	Kate Bush	"Wuthering Heights"	Kate Bush	Nominated

1980s

Contents
1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989

List of award nominees and winners for the 1980s

Year	Songwriter(s)	Song	Performing artist(s)	Result	Ref.
1980	Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson	"The Logical Song"	Supertramp	Won	[13]
	Mike Batt	"Bright Eyes"	Art Garfunkel	Nominated
	Alan Tarney	"We Don't Talk Anymore"	Cliff Richard	Nominated
1981	Barry Gibb and Robin Gibb	"Woman in Love"	Barbra Streisand	Won	[14]
	Kate Bush	"Babooshka"	Kate Bush	Nominated
	Ken Leray	"Together We Are Beautiful"	Fern Kinney	Nominated
	Tony Macaulay, Don Black	"Your Ears Should Be Burning Now"	Marti Webb	Nominated
1982	Andrew Lloyd Webber, T.S. Eliot, Trevor Nunn	"Memory"	Elaine Paige	Won	[15]
	Andy Hill, Pete Sinfield	"The Land of Make Believe"	Bucks Fizz	Nominated
	John Lennon	"Woman"	John Lennon	Nominated
1983	Andy Hill, Pete Sinfield, John Danter	"Have You Ever Been in Love"	Leo Sayer	Won	[16]
	Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb	"Heartbreaker"	Dionne Warwick	Nominated
	Andy Hill, Nichola Martin	"Now Those Days Are Gone"	Bucks Fizz	Nominated
1984	Sting	"Every Breath You Take"	The Police	Won	[17]
	Paul McCartney	"Pipes of Peace"	Paul McCartney	Nominated
	Gary Kemp	"True"	Spandau Ballet	Nominated
1985	Phil Collins	"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"	Phil Collins	Won	[18]
	George Michael, Andrew Ridgeley	"Careless Whisper"	George Michael	Nominated
	Jim Diamond, Graham Lyle	"I Should Have Known Better"	Jim Diamond	Nominated
1986	Elton John, Bernie Taupin	"Nikita"	Elton John	Won	[19]
	Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, Chris Hughes	"Everybody Wants to Rule the World"	Tears for Fears	Nominated
	Tim Rice, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson	"I Know Him So Well"	Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson	Nominated
	Mick Jones	"I Want to Know What Love Is"	Foreigner	Nominated
1987	Peter Gabriel	"Don't Give Up"	Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush	Won	[20]
	Charles Hart, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Richard Stilgoe	"All I Ask of You"	Cliff Richard and Sarah Brightman	Nominated
	Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart	"The Miracle of Love"	Eurythmics	Nominated
1988	Labi Siffre	"(Something Inside) So Strong"	Labi Siffre	Won	[21]
	Simon Climie, Dennis Morgan	"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)"	Aretha Franklin and George Michael	Nominated
	Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Michael Rutherford	"Throwing It All Away"	Genesis	Nominated
1989	Sting	"They Dance Alone"	Sting	Won	[22]
	Gary Clark	"Mary's Prayer"	Danny Wilson	Nominated
	Mark Nevin	"Perfect"	Fairground Attraction	Nominated

1990s

Contents
1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999

List of award nominees and winners for the 1990s

Year	Songwriter(s)	Song	Performing artist(s)	Result	Ref.
1990	B.A. Robertson and Mike Rutherford	"The Living Years"	Mike + The Mechanics	Won	[23]
	Phil Collins	"Another Day in Paradise"	Phil Collins	Nominated
	Marcus Vere, Richard Darbyshire, Albert Hammond	"Room in Your Heart"	Living in a Box	Nominated
1991	Elton John, Bernie Taupin	"Sacrifice"	Elton John	Won	[24]
	Justin Currie	"Nothing Ever Happens"	Del Amitri	Nominated
	Paddy McAloon	"We Let the Stars Go"	Prefab Sprout	Nominated
1992	Mike Scott	"The Whole of the Moon"	The Waterboys	Won	[25]
	Mick Hucknall	"Stars"	Simply Red	Nominated
	Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon	"The Show Must Go On"	Queen	Nominated
1993	Annie Lennox	"Why"	Annie Lennox	Won	[26]
	Eric Clapton, Will Jennings	"Tears in Heaven"	Eric Clapton	Nominated
	Andy Partridge	"The Disappointed"	XTC	Nominated
1994	Sting	"If I Ever Lose My Faith in You"	Sting	Won	[27]
	Steve Duberry, Billy Lawrie, Lulu	"I Don't Wanna Fight"	Tina Turner	Nominated
	Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Warren Cuccurullo	"Ordinary World"	Duran Duran	Nominated
1995	Andy Hill, Peter Sinfield	"Think Twice"	Celine Dion	Won	[28]
	Mark Nevin, Kirsty McColl	"Dear John"	Eddi Reader	Nominated
	Boo Hewerdine	"Patience of Angels"	Eddi Reader	Nominated
1996	Jarvis Cocker, Nick Banks, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey, Russell Senior	"Common People"	Pulp	Won	[29]
	Gary Barlow	"Back for Good"	Take That	Nominated
	David Freeman, Joseph Hughes	"No More "I Love You's""	Annie Lennox	Nominated
1997	Brian May, Frank Musker, Elizabeth Lamers	"Too Much Love Will Kill You"	Brian May	Won	[30]
	Terence Martin, Karen Poole, Michelle Poole	"I Am, I Feel"	Alisha's Attic	Nominated
	Thomas Scott, Andrew Parle, James Edwards, Franny Griffiths	"Neighbourhood"	Space	Nominated
1998	Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Phil Selway, Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien	"Paranoid Android"	Radiohead	Won	[31]
	Robbie Williams, Guy Chambers	"Angels"	Robbie Williams	Nominated
	Tjinder Singh	"Brimful of Asha"	Cornershop	Nominated
1999	Brian Higgins, Steve Torch, Paul Barry, Stuart McLennan, Tim Powell, Matt Gray	"Believe"	Cher	Won	[32]
	Tracy Ackerman, Ray Hedges, Martin Brannigan, Edele Lynch, Keavy Lynch, Lindsay Armaou, Sinead O'Carroll	"C'est la Vie"	B*Witched	Nominated
	Jarvis Cocker, Nick Banks, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey, Mark Webber	"A Little Soul"	Pulp	Nominated

2000s

Contents
2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009

List of award nominees and winners for the 2000s

Year	Songwriter(s)	Song	Performing artist(s)	Result	Ref.
2000	Robbie Williams, Guy Chambers	"Strong"	Robbie Williams	Won	[33]
	Pam Sheyne, David Frank, Steve Kipner	"Genie in a Bottle"	Christina Aguilera	Nominated
	Mutt Lange, Shania Twain	"You're Still the One"	Shania Twain	Nominated
2001	David Gray	"Babylon"	David Gray	Won	[34]
	Cathy Dennis, Simon Ellis	"Never Had a Dream Come True"	S Club 7	Nominated
	Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, Chris Martin	"Trouble"	Coldplay	Nominated
2002	Adam Clayton, The Edge, Bono, Larry Mullen Jr.	"Walk On"	U2	Won	[35]
	David Gray	"Sail Away"	David Gray	Nominated
	Fran Healy	"Side"	Travis	Nominated
2003	David Gray	"The Other Side"	David Gray	Won	[36][37]
	Noel Gallagher	"Stop Crying Your Heart Out"	Oasis	Nominated
	Matthew Hales, Kim Oliver	"Strange & Beautiful (I'll Put A Spell On You)"	Aqualung	Nominated
2004	Francis Eg White	"Leave Right Now"	Will Young	Won	[38]
	Stuart Murdoch, Stephen Jackson, Christopher Geddes, Richard Colburn, Michael Cooke, Sarah Martin, Robert Kildea	"Step into My Office, Baby"	Belle and Sebastian	Nominated
	Dido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong, Richard Nowels	"White Flag"	Dido	Nominated
2005	Mike Skinner	"Dry Your Eyes"	The Streets	Won	[39]
	Tom Chaplin, Richard Hughes, Tim Rice-Oxley	"Everybody's Changing"	Keane	Nominated
	Stephen Kipner, Andrew Frampton, Natasha Bedingfield, Wayne Wilkins	"These Words"	Natasha Bedingfield	Nominated
2006	KT Tunstall	"Suddenly I See"	KT Tunstall	Won	[40]
	Guy Berryman, Jonathan Buckland, William Champion, Chris Martin	"Fix You"	Coldplay	Nominated
	Alex Turner	"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"	Arctic Monkeys	Nominated
2007	Scott Matthews	"Elusive"	Scott Matthews	Won	[41]
	Nerina Pallot	"Sophia"	Nerina Pallot	Nominated
	Alex Turner	"When the Sun Goes Down"	Arctic Monkeys	Nominated
2008	Amy Winehouse	"Love Is a Losing Game"	Amy Winehouse	Won	[42]
	Rosi Golan, Jamie Hartman	"Let Me Out"	Ben's Brother	Nominated
	Amy Winehouse	"You Know I'm No Good"	Amy Winehouse	Nominated
2009	Guy Garvey, Richard Jupp, Craig Potter, Mark Potter, Peter Turner	"One Day Like This"	Elbow	Won	[43][44]
	Miles Kane, Alex Turner	"My Mistakes Were Made for You"	The Last Shadow Puppets	Nominated
	Nicholas Hemming	"The Last of the Melting Snow"	The Leisure Society	Nominated

2010s

Contents
2010 · 2011 · 2012 · 2013 · 2014 · 2015 · 2016 · 2017 · 2018 · 2019

List of award nominees and winners for the 2010s

Year	Songwriter(s)	Song	Performing artist(s)	Result	Ref.
2010	Lily Allen, Greg Kurstin	"The Fear"	Lily Allen	Won	[45]
	Nick Hemming	"Save It for Someone Who Cares"	The Leisure Society	Nominated
	Ed Adlard, Will Adlard, Ali Digby, George Eddy	"The Last Bus"	Patch William	Nominated
2011	Conor O'Brien	"Becoming a Jackal"	Villagers	Won	[46]
	Jonathan Higgs, Jeremy Pritchard, Alexander Robertshaw, Michael Spearman	"My Kz, Ur Bf"	Everything Everything	Nominated
	Jack Bevan, Edwin Congreave, Walter Gervers, Yannis Philippakis, James Smith	"Spanish Sahara"	Foals	Nominated
2012	Ed Sheeran	"The A Team"	Ed Sheeran	Won	[47]
	Adele, Paul Epworth	"Rolling in the Deep"	Adele	Nominated
	Paul Epworth, Kid Harpoon, Florence Welch	"Shake It Out"	Florence + the Machine	Nominated
2013	Hugo Chegwin, Harry Craze, Anup Paul, Emeli Sandé	"Next to Me"	Emeli Sandé	Won	[48]
	Natasha Khan, Justin Parker	"Laura"	Bat for Lashes	Nominated
	Iain Archer, Jake Bugg	"Two Fingers"	Jake Bugg	Nominated
2014	Dominic Major, Hannah Reid, Daniel Rothman	"Strong"	London Grammar	Won	[49]
	Will Doyle, Sam Fryer, Chilli Jesson, Pete Mayhew	"Best of Friends"	Palma Violets	Nominated
	John Newman, Steve Booker	"Love Me Again"	John Newman	Nominated
2015	Andrew Hozier-Byrne	"Take Me to Church"	Hozier	Won	[50]
	Andrew Davie	"Above the Clouds of Pompeii"	Bear's Den	Nominated
	Ben Howard	"I Forget Where We Were"	Ben Howard	Nominated
2016	Jamie Lawson	"Wasn't Expecting That"	Jamie Lawson	Won	[51]
	Piers Aggett, Kesi Dryden, Amir Izadkhah, Gary Lightbody, Johnny McDaid, Leon Rolle, Ed Sheeran	"Bloodstream"	Ed Sheeran	Nominated
	Ellie Rowsell	"Bros"	Wolf Alice	Nominated
2017	Dean 'Inflo' Joisah Cover, Michael Kiwanuka	"Black Man in a White World"	Michael Kiwanuka	Won	[52][53]
	Laura Mvula, Nile Rodgers	"Overcome"	Laura Mvula	Nominated
	Blaine Harrison, Henry Harrison	"Telomere"	Mystery Jets	Nominated
2018	Guy Garvey, Craig Potter, Mark Potter, Pete Turner	"Magnificent (She Says)"	Elbow	Won	[54][55]
	Jonathan Higgs, Jeremy Pritchard, Alex Robertshaw, Michael Spearman	"Can't Do"	Everything Everything	Nominated
	Sampha	"(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano"	Sampha	Nominated
2019	Ben Howard	"Nica Libres at Dusk"	Ben Howard	Won	[56][57]
	Alex Turner	"Four Out of Five"	Arctic Monkeys	Nominated
	Andrew Hozier-Byrne	"Nina Cried Power"	Hozier	Nominated

2020s

Contents
2020 · 2021 · 2022 · 2023

List of award nominees and winners for the 2020s

Year	Songwriter(s)	Song	Performing artist(s)	Result	Ref.
2020	Jamie Cullum	"Age of Anxiety"	Jamie Cullum	Won	[58][59]
	MJ Cole, Jimmy Napes, Stormzy	"Crown"	Stormzy	Nominated
	Sam Fender	"Dead Boys"	Sam Fender	Nominated
2021	Barney Lister, Obongjayar	"God's Own Children"	Obongjayar	Won	[60][61]
	Gianluca Buccellati, Arlo Parks	"Black Dog"	Arlo Parks	Nominated
	Headie One, Fred again...	"Gang"	Headie One and Fred again...	Nominated
	Marina Diamandis	"Man's World"	Marina	Nominated
	Celeste and Jamie Hartman	"Stop This Flame"	(Celeste)	Nominated
2022	Sam Fender	"Seventeen Going Under"	Sam Fender	Won	[62]
	Adele, Greg Kurstin	"Easy on Me"	Adele	Nominated
	Mike Elzondo, Natalie Hemby, Ben Jackson-Cook, Rag'n'Bone Man	"All You Ever Wanted"	Rag'n'Bone Man	Nominated
	Sarah Aarons, Holly Humberstone, Rob Milton	"Haunted House"	Holly Humberstone	Nominated
	Ella Henderson, Ben Kohn, Pete "Merf" Kelleher, Tom "Froe" Barnes, James Arthur	"Let's Go Home Together"	Ella Henderson featuring Tom Grennan	Nominated
2023	Jack Antonoff and Florence Welch	"King"	Florence + The Machine	Won
	Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson and Harry Styles	"As It Was"	Harry Styles	Nominated	[63]
	Laurie Blundell and Tom Odell	"Best Day of My Life"	Tom Odell	Nominated
	Katie Gregson-MacLeod	"Complex"	Katie Gregson-MacLeod	Nominated
	Dean "Inflo" Josiah Cover and Cleopatra Nikolic	"Stronger"	SAULT	Nominated