Warehouseman nominated for top songwriting award
A warehouse worker without a record deal was nominated for one of the music industry’s most prestigious awards today alongside international artists including Coldplay and Duffy.
Nick Hemming, the guitarist and songwriter from little-known indie band The Leisure Society, was shortlisted for the best song musically and lyrically at the Ivor Novello Awards.
The 35-year-old, from Staffordshire, will battle it out with Mercury Prize winners Elbow and the songwriters from established band The Last Shadow Puppets for the award at a ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House on May 21.
Hemming receives the nod for the band’s self-published and self-produced debut single 'The Last Of The Melting Snow', which was released in December but failed to make the top 40 in the charts.
The best song musically and lyrically is generally regarded as the most prestigious Novello, and this is the first time in the awards' 54-year history that a self-published musician has been nominated in the category.
Previous winners include Pulp for 'Common People', Sting for 'Every Breath You Take', George Harrison for 'Something' and John Lennon and Paul McCartney for 'She’s Leaving Home'.
