Nordoff Robbins announce Pharrell Williams, Paloma Faith and Giorgio Moroder as the first winners at the annual O2 Silver Clef Awards

2 May, 2014

The annual O2 Silver Clef Awards is back, held this year at the London Hilton on Park Lane, on Friday July 4th. Today, Nordoff Robbins make their first winners announcement for this year’s event:

Pharrell Williams will be presented with the Raymond Weil International Award

Paloma Faith will be presented with the Royal Albert Hall Best British Act Award

and Giorgio Moroder will receive the American Express Innovation Award

PHARRELL WILLIAMS
International superstar, Pharrell Williams, has been revealed as the recipient for the Raymond Weil International Award at the annual O2 Silver Clef event after a year of massive successes across the music industry. Having just reached Number one with his critically acclaimed new album,  ‘G I R L’, the ‘Happy’ singer has sold over 5 million copies of the single which was the first taken from the album; it also featured on the ‘Despicable Me’ soundtrack and was nominated for an Oscar. He has recently collaborated with Daft Punk on the massive Number one ‘Get Lucky’ and with Robin Thicke on the biggest selling single of 2013, ‘Blurred Lines’. The multi Grammy Award winner, with a career that has spanned over two decades, built global support throughout the nineties and naughties, producing chart toppers like Britney Spears’ ‘I’m A Slave For You’ and Nelly’s ‘Hot In Here’. Pharrell then featured in Snoop Dogg’s ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ which was named Billboard's ‘Song of the Decade’ in 2009, to name just a few of his vast collaborations and achievements.

Elie Bernheim, Global CEO – RAYMOND WEIL said:

“We are delighted to be presenting Pharrell Williams with the RAYMOND WEIL International Award at this year’s Nordoff Robbins O2 Silver Clef luncheon. Pharrell has had the most incredible year within the music industry with releases "Happy" and "Girl", which have enjoyed huge success across the worldwide charts.  His appearance and wins at The BRIT Awards and The Academy Awards mark a truly memorable year for him. We have had the privilege of awarding the industry's most decorated artists over the past 11 years of working with Nordoff Robbins and are thrilled that Pharrell Williams is to be the latest recipient of the Nordoff Robbins O2 Silver Clef RAYMOND WEIL International Artist Award for 2014.”

PALOMA FAITH
Double platinum selling artist Paloma Faith, who will receive the Royal Albert Hall Best British Act Award, has been an icon of British Music since 2009, when she released her debut single ‘Do You Want The Truth or Something Beautiful?’ Her unique, retro and eccentric style coupled with her bold talent has gained her continuous critical acclaim through to her most recent, third album, ‘A Perfect Contradiction’. Not only known for her stunning music as a recording artist and having been nominated for three BRIT Awards, Faith is also a style icon across the UK for her fearless style. Paloma’s recent track, ‘Can’t Rely On You’ was written by fellow O2 Silver Clef Award winner, Pharell Williams.

Paloma Faith says:

“I’m a great advocate of British music, so to be awarded the Royal Albert Hall Best British Act Award at the O2 Silver Clefs is amazing. Music has always been a form of therapy for me so I am glad to be supporting Nordoff Robbins and helping them to raise awareness of their work, helping people connect and communicate through music.”

Jasper Hope, Chief Operating Officer at the Royal Albert Hall, said:

“We are delighted that Paloma Faith is the recipient of this year’s Royal Albert Hall Best British Act Award. Her previous appearances at the Hall have already shown just how special a performer she is and we’re very much looking forward to welcoming her back this summer for her special one-off concert as part of the Proms.  As always, we are proud to support Nordoff Robbins in the extraordinary work they do to transform lives through music.”

GIORGIO MORODER

Receiving the American Express Innovation Award this year is legendary producer and pioneer of electronic dance music, Giorgio Moroder. The multi award winning songwriter, producer, singer and DJ has worked with some of the biggest music stars in the world including David Bowie, Blondie and Daft Punk and recently remixed Coldplay’s new single, ‘Magic’. Moroder has received three Academy Awards for Best Original Score ‘Midnight Express’ (1978), Best Song ‘Flashdance... What A Feeling’ (1983) and Best Song for ‘Take My Breath Away’ from Top Gun (1986) as well as four Grammy Awards. Both Moroder and Pharrell William collaborated on Daft Punk’s multi-Grammy Award winning album, ‘Random Access Memories’.

Giorgio says:

“Winning the American Express Innovation Award at the O2 Silver Clefs is a true honor that I accept on behalf of all composers, musicians and producers that strive for originality every day. Music was an early discovery, but even with my experience I am learning every day how to reach further, work more efficiently, and relate more globally. I am inspired by the remarkable work of Nordoff Robbins. I can think of little work that is more special than music therapy. 

“Mostly, I want to say thank you to my wife and family, my long time partners and friends, and the electronic music community for being supportive and giving me this many opportunities to do what I love.”
 
Lisa Gregg, Head of International Card Products and Experiences at American Express says:

"We would like to congratulate Giorgio Moroder on winning the Innovation Award. Moroder is a true innovator and one of the most legendary figures in the industry, so we are delighted to see him receive the Award this year. As a company, American Express prides itself on encouraging people to realise their dreams and aspirations and, as such, we are a longtime supporter of the work done by Nordoff Robbins and a proud sponsor at the Silver Clef Awards"

CAA's Emma Banks is Chairman of the Nordoff Robbins O2 Silver Clef Committee. Emma said:

"The 2014 O2 Silver Clef Awards line up is shaping up to be one of our best yet. Congratulations to the first three winners - Pharrell Williams will receive the Raymond Weil International Award, Paloma Faith is awarded the Royal Albert Hall Best British Act Award and Giorgio Moroder will win the American Express Innovation Award. 

"The O2 Silver Clefs Awards are an opportunity for Nordoff Robbins, the UK's leading music therapy charity, to recognise an artist's outstanding achievement and contribution whilst raising vital funds and awareness for a cause close to the hearts of many members of the music industry." 

The O2 Silver Clef Awards have been bringing together artists from all areas of the music industry since 1976, to raise funds for Nordoff Robbins’ music therapy work. This year, the O2 Silver Clefs will continue to shine as the pinnacle event in the Nordoff Robbins fundraising calendar and a highlight of the year for the music industry, with some of the biggest names coming together for this special event. Overall, 10 awards will be presented – 9 of which will be announced before the awards ceremony. Best Live Act, voted for by the public, will be announced on the day of the awards.

Music charity Nordoff Robbins uses music to transform the lives of people of all ages all over the UK. Supported heavily by the music industry, where they are the charity of choice at the BRITs and the MITs, to date, the O2 Silver Clef Awards, now in its 39th year, has raised over £8 million for Nordoff Robbins since 1976.

Dr Marcus Stephan, CEO of Nordoff Robbins said: 

"Congratulations to Pharrell Williams, Paloma Faith and Giorgio Moroder on winning O2 Silver Clef Awards. These are three very different artists but all incredibly deserving of this special recognition.  

"In the last 39 years, the O2 Silver Clef Awards have become a highlight in the annual music industry calendar. This year we hope the event will raise half a million pounds to fund our life-transforming music therapy work, supporting isolated and vulnerable people across the UK."

Nuala Donnelly, Sponsorship O2 said: 

“It's fantastic to see Pharrell, Paloma and Giorgio being recognised at the O2 Silver Clef Awards. Their success and musical diversity demonstrates both the credibility that Nordoff Robbins has in the music industry, and the importance of the great work that they do.  We are very proud to be part of the O2 Silver Clef lunch for the 11th year and we look forward to these artists joining into the spirit of the lunch, helping everyone to raise some much needed funds for this wonderful charity.”

Last year’s winners include Barry Gibb (Lifetime), Coldplay (Best British Act), One Direction (Best Live Act), Labrinth (Innovation), Jessie Ware (Newcomer), Alison Moyet (Icon), Alison Balsom (Classical), Ray Davies (Ambassador of Rock), The Clash (Silver Clef Award) and Vampire Weekend (International). Previous winners include Michael Bublé, Kylie Minogue, Emeli Sandé (who is also an ambassador for the charity), Muse, The Who (who won the first Silver Clef Award in 1976), Elton John, Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Sting, Take That and many more. The Nordoff Robbins O2 Silver Clef Awards 2014 event hopes to raise half a million pounds to fund life-transforming music therapy sessions for children and adults across the UK.

www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk / @NordoffRobbins1 / #O2SilverClefs

ENDS
For further information please contact:

Dawbell PR 020 3327 7159
Maria Barham – maria.barham@dawbell.com
Claire Walley – claire.walley@dawbell.com

Nordoff Robbins
Lucy Jackson – 020 7428 0061 / 07872 970636 lucy.jackson@nordoff-robbins.org.uk

For Pharrell Williams, please contact:
Shoshanna Stone, Edge Publicity, 020 3463 8785, 07798 884059, shoshanna.stone@edgepublicity.co.uk
      
NOTES TO EDITORS

About Nordoff Robbins
Nordoff Robbins is a music therapy charity, dedicated to transforming the lives of vulnerable children and adults. They work with people with a range of challenges such as autism, dementia, depression and physical and learning disabilities.

Music therapy is a specialist use of music to help people in many different ways – for some it has physical benefits, for others emotional or social ones and helps many to communicate where they’ve struggled to do so previously.
They carry out their work in their own music therapy centre and units, in schools, day centres, hospitals and care homes. They also train music therapists to Masters level.

Nordoff Robbins receives no government funding. They derive a significant amount of their income from individual sponsors and events such as the Silver Clef Awards and the Music Industry Trust Awards, which enable them to continue to build awareness of their services and transform lives.

The Nordoff Robbins O2 Silver Clef Awards, held annually at the London Hilton on Park Lane, honours artists from across the music industry, whilst raising much-needed funds for Nordoff Robbins. The event, which has raised £8 million for Nordoff Robbins since its inception in 1976, is a chance for the charity to give something back to the music industry, from which they receive significant support throughout the year. The event is attended by artists, celebrities and the great and the good of the music industry.

www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk