BASCA e-mail

Dear Ian,
Many thanks for the email and the update.  I've had a conversation with The Ivors Committee Chairman and I'm

afraid we don't have any further information or comment on that from 2014.  Sorry I can't shed any more light on

the situation.
Best wishes, Fran

Fran Matthews
Ivor Novello Awards - Gold Badge Awards - British Composer Awards
BASCA


-----Original Message-----
From: ian
Sent: 11 July 2016 09:07
To: Fran Matthews
Subject: Jonathan King and the Ivor Novello Award again

Hello, back in January 2014, I wrote an e-mail to BASCA inquiring about Jonathan King's claim to have won an

Ivor Novello Award for his version of the song "Una Paloma Blanca". In reply, it was said that BASCA has no

record of this award being given to King, and that the awards are given only for songwriting and composing. The

songwriting credit for this song is Johannes Bouwens, who originally released it in March 1975 under his stage

name George Baker, as part of the band the George Baker Selection, with the title Paloma Blanca. Bouwens is a

Dutch citizen, so under current BASCA rules he would not have been eligible unless he was living in Britain or

Ireland during 1975.

Since then, Jonathan King has published the second installment of his autobiography, 70 FFFY, in which he

mentions this incident in Chapter 23, reprinted below:

"Chapter 23

Ivor Novello

Way, way back in time, like 1975 or 1976, before you were born dearly beloved, when the mists of ancient history

clouded the fog of memory, I was told I had been awarded an Ivor Novello prize for my recording of Una Paloma

Blanca.

Now this struck me as odd at the time. The Ivors are given for songwriting or publishing and I’d neither written nor

published the song. But it was for something like Best Seller or Most Played and I assumed that the combined sales

or plays of both versions would have gained a prize and, since mine was the bigger hit version, making the Top Five

whilst George Baker’s original was only Top Ten, it warranted an award.

I was in the States anyway, so couldn’t go to the ceremony but the band leader Joe Loss offered to collect it on my

behalf.

I remember this distinctly as, when I returned and phoned to thank him and asked him if he could send it over to

me, he refused. He said he was keeping it. I laughed and said it had my name on the plaque but he insisted he would

put it on his mantlepiece with the writing turned against the wall. He wasn’t joking and it took me several minutes to

persuade him.

It eventually arrived. Without doubt the ugliest statuette in the world, a waltzing lady in a long skirt. I put it on my

own mantlepiece and pointed it out to every visitor saying how ghastly it was. After a couple of years there was a

burglary at the house and it was taken amongst other things. I was pleased to see the back of it, unlike Joe.

Cut to forty or so years later. Joe Loss had become Dead Loss. I was still battling through life. Someone posted on

my website that there was controversy going on at the Wikipedia website about whether or not I’d won the Ivor and

it had been removed from my credits. Since this was really of no importance to me, I ignored it. Wikipedia is famous

for its inaccuracy anyway, being edited by drones with little or no knowledge and a lot of time on their hands, as well

as by the usual haters and loathers.

But several further questions came my way, so I contacted BASCA (the parent company) and asked them to send

me confirmation that I’d had the Award. They replied that I hadn’t; there was no record of it.

This annoyed me and I started a crusade amongst my several friends associated with the organisation. Nobody

could find any proof or evidence.

We found a statuette in the offices and I photographed myself with it but, on polishing off the obscure plaque, found,

beneath the filth of the years, it had been awarded to Abba for one of their songs. Like me they clearly didn’t want

the damn thing. Further e-mails to writers like Gary Osbourne [sic], Bill Martin and Tony Hiller - all winners around

that time -provoked no memories either.

So, unless someone has an old Ivor purchased from a fence or, let’s say, scrap metal dealer, it seems history will

once more be changed to fit the passing of time and the mists of memory. Since the horrid things are made of

bronze, I suspect it’s been melted down and is, I’m sure, now something far prettier. But this is just an example of

how facts can dissolve over the years. A trivial, unimportant one, hardly even warranting a line, let alone a chapter,

in a tome as worthy as this one.
However, it illustrates the way that even solid, real, actual details can get blurred and faded. Unless, of course, my

own memory is faulty, in which case I suggest you not only ignore everything written in this chapter but everything

else in this entire volume - and others."

The claim that King won an Ivor Novello Award for Una Paloma Blanca no longer appears in his Wikipedia article

because it fails Wikipedia's policy on verifiabilty, which says "Readers must be able to check that any of the

information within Wikipedia articles is not just made up.
This means all material must be attributable to reliable, published sources. Additionally, quotations and any

material challenged or likely to be challenged must be supported by inline citations." Since the George Baker and

Jonathan King versions of the song were both released in 1975, 1976 would be the relevant awards ceremony. The

website of The Ivors ( http://theivors.com/archive/1970-1979/the-ivors-1976/ ) gives the 1976 awards as follows:

"The 21st Ivor Novello Awards were presented by the Songwriters Guild of Great Britain and sponsored by PRS;

they were held at the Dorchester Hotel, London

Songwriters of the Year

Wayne Bickerton and Tony Waddington

Music Publisher of the Year

Geoffrey Heath

Outstanding Services to British Music

Dick James

Most Performed British Work

I’m Not In Love
Written by Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart Published by St Annes Music

Best Selling British Record

Bohemian Rhapsody
Written by Freddie Mercury
Released and Published by EMI Records – B. Feldman & Co Ltd

Best Middle of the Road Song

Harry
Written by Catherine Howe
Published by Carlin Music Corporation

Best Pop Song

I’m Not In Love
Written by Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart Published by St Annes Music

Best Theme from TV or Radio

The Edwardians (Upstairs, Downstairs Theme) Written by Alexander Faris Published by Standard Music Ltd

Best Film Score

Murder on the Orient Express
Written by Richard Rodney Bennett
Published by EMI Film & Theatre Music Ltd

Best British Musical

Great Expectations
Written by Cyril Ornadel and Hal Shaper
Published in the UK by The Sparta Florida Music Group – Aviva Music Ltd

International Hit of the Year

I’m Not In Love
Written by: Graham Gouldman – Eric Stewart Published by St Annes Music

Best Instrumental Work

Introduction and Air to a Stained Glass Window Written by John Gregory Published by Arpeggio Music

Best British Work for Children

Captain Noah and His Floating Zoo
Written by Michael Flanders and Joseph Horovitz Published by Novello & Co Ltd"

No King or Una Paloma Blanca, and not in any of the 1970s awards either.
In your e-mail to me dated 18 January 2014, you wrote "... at The Ivors we do give a statuette to the associated UK

music publisher and in the 1950s to 1980s also the UK record company associated with Best Selling A Side. As such

there is a chance Mr King may have owned a company that was recognised, but it would be a company rather than

an individual's award." However, King says in the book that he did not publish the song, and in 1975 the best selling

single in the UK was Bye Bye Baby by the Bay City Rollers. This was written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, both

U.S. citizens, and was originally released by the Four Seasons in 1965.
The Best Selling British Record in 1975 was Bohemian Rhapsody written by Freddie Mercury, as mentioned in the

list of awards above.

Please could I ask if there is any way in which this discrepancy could have occurred? If you cannot add to what has

been said already that is fine. It's just that I hate mysteries and this has proved impossible to clear up.

Thanks.