Latest news with #KeleOkereke
Perth Now
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Bloc Party to receive 'massive honour' at Ivor Novello Awards 2025
Bloc Party will be honoured with an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection. The four original members of the group - Kele Okereke, Russell Lissack, Gordon Moakes and Matt Tong - will receive the prestigious prize previously won by the likes of Queen, Noel Gallagher and Pulp at The Ivors with Amazon Music later this month. Frontman Keke said in a statement: "To be recognised for songwriting is a very special thing for an artist, and receiving an Ivor Novello award for Outstanding Song Collection is a massive honour. "Even before you form a band, play a show or record a note, you're writing songs – it's at the core of being an artist. "It's amazing to see people connecting with Bloc Party's music, from those who've loved the band from the start, to more and more young people we're seeing at our shows over the past few years; inspiring us to push forward as a group whilst also being privileged to look back at everything we have already achieved.' The ceremony will take place at London's Grosvenor House on May 22, 2025. Bloc Party took the indie rock scene by storm with their 2005 debut 'Silent Alarm', and have released a further five studio albums to date, including 'Alpha Games' in 2022. Roberto Neri, CEO of The Ivors Academy, said: 'Bloc Party have made a lasting impact on British music through fearless and innovative songwriting and an unwavering artistic vision. "With emotional depth and urgency, their songs continue to inspire fans and songwriters around the world. "We're proud to honour Kele, Russell, Gordon and Matt with the Outstanding Song Collection Ivor Novello Award, recognising their craft and the impact of their work.' To commemorate Bloc Party's award, an unheard Amazon Music Demo of their breakthrough hit 'Banquet' will be released exclusively by the platform. Tom Winkler, Head of Publisher, Songwriter, and Society Relations at Amazon Music, added: 'We're excited to return to The Ivors for another year - a fantastic evening celebrating outstanding creativity and the best in songwriting and composing talent. "Bloc Party's brilliant demo recording is testament to this, as the well-deserved recipients of this year's Outstanding Song Collection award. "Expect more exclusive content on 22 May, when we'll be bringing you performances, interviews live from the red carpet and behind the scenes access from these prestigious awards."
Perth Now
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Bloc Party announce 20th anniversary reissue of Silent Alarm
Bloc Party have announced a special 20th anniversary reissue of 'Silent Alarm'. The 'Banquet' hitmakers released their debut album - which peaked at number three in the UK charts - in February 2005, and two decades later they're preparing to drop a four LP box set packed with rare tracks on September 26. As well as the original album, the collection will include B-sides and rarities, as well as a 2004 BBC Radio 1 John Peel session and seven demo tracks. There will also be a two CD reissue and double LP repress. In 2018, the group announce plans to hit the road around the world performing the record in full for the first time, and they're set to repeat that later this year. In January, frontman Kele Okereke opened up how it felt to be revisiting the album. He told Billboard: 'It's nice to be able to go back and listen to those records, and to remember where I was when I wrote them, the conversations that I was having and the people that were in my life. 'That's the stuff that comes back to me when I go back to these songs and I don't really do that so often. 'I had to do it for 'Silent Alarm' as I had to relearn the songs. "I've always been obsessed with looking forward, but I am recognizing that we've done something quite good and it's nice to bask in that sometimes.' Before their debut album dropped, Bloc Party had started building up an "underground" reputation for themselves thanks to singles and EPs, but they were determined to "strive further than what people were expecting" with the first full length. Kele added: "We knew it had to be expansive and there was this fear that we might be pushing it too far when we were in the studio, but we didn't succumb to that, and I'm glad that we managed to express what we wanted to express. "I'm glad that it worked and we made the best record we could, because it has stood the test of time."
