Latest news with #NordoffandRobbins
Scotsman
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Glasgow mum pays tribute to music therapy charity at star-studded awards bash
Rhiannon met pop star Rick Astley at the awards ceremony. | Rhiannon Lowden The night raised a huge amount of money for a good cause. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A Glasgow mum has spoken in front of a star-studded audience at a glittering awards ceremony that has already raised over £715,000 for Nordoff and Robbins, the UK's largest music therapy charity. Rhiannon Louden took to the stage in front of music royalty - including David Gilmour, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Mika, The Last Dinner Party, The Corrs, Idles, Tony Christie, Rick Astley and Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood - at the O2 Silver Clef Awards. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She shared the ways that music therapy has helped her three-year-old daughter Poppy who lives with Rett Syndrome - a rare genetic neurological disorder that causes severe physical and mental disabilities. Speaking to the audience at the event at London's JW Marriott Grosvenor House, hosted by Scottish DJ Edith Bowman, Rhiannon said: 'It's more than just therapy. Poppy has found a place, just for her, in a world where so few of them exist. A place where she is understood, where she can engage and communicate with everyone around her. Most importantly we've found hope and pure joy. 'Every child deserves a bright future, and Poppy's is brighter because of music therapy.' Rhiannon onstage at the Nordoff and Robbins O2 Silver Clef Awards 2025. | John Marshall - JM Enternational It was the 49th time the awards have been held, with over £17 million for Nordoff and Robbins since 1976, and David Gilmour paid tribute to the 'wonderful' charity's work while collecting the prestigious O2 Silver Clef Award. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Pink Floyd star said 'My relationship with them goes back 50 years – thank you to them for this award and for the miraculous work they do, and have done since then.' Funds raised at the event will directly support children and adults across the UK who are autistic, living with dementia, or have learning difficulties, brain injuries, mental health challenges or life-limiting illnesses – helping them to connect and communicate through music. You can find out more about Nordoff and Robbins and how you can support them here.
Wales Online
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Sophie Ellis-Bextor says AI cannot copy human connection in music
Sophie Ellis-Bextor says AI cannot copy human connection in music The Murder On The Dancefloor singer, 46, said she is "sure AI will have a place" in her industry, but that it will be "very hard" for it to mimic imperfections. (Image: PA ) Sophie Ellis-Bextor has said she thinks there is "something about human connection in music" that is "impossible" for AI to mimic, as she was named best female at the O2 Silver Clef Awards. The Murder On The Dancefloor singer, 46, said she is "sure AI will have a place" in her industry, but that it will be "very hard" for it to mimic imperfections. Ellis-Bextor was presented with her award on Wednesday by Nordoff and Robbins, the UK's largest music therapy charity. She told the PA news agency: "I think there's something about the human connection in music that is impossible to mimic. "I think the nuances and complexity of a human heart are something that only we have the hold the key to, really. "So I'm sure AI will have its place actually. But I think when it comes to imperfections that we hold, it's very hard for something to mimic imperfections. Article continues below "We're very good at doing that, so I think, I think we've got that safe actually." The singer was awarded alongside Rick Astley, who received the outstanding achievement in music award; Noah Kahan, who was handed the best male award; and band Idles, who were named best live act. Amarillo singer Tony Christie, who received the icon award, was diagnosed with dementia four years ago but has previously said he will not let the illness stop him. He told PA at the London ceremony that he discovered he had dementia after struggling with crossword puzzles. "All my life I've been good at crosswords and things like that," the 82-year-old said. "Suddenly, I was struggling with crosswords." The singer said that after his diagnosis, his doctor told him it is beneficial that he is in music, as listening to songs could help slow his deterioration. "It makes people listen," Christie said. "Instead of sitting there quiet and worrying about it, they listen to music." The O2 Silver Clef awards celebrate artists who touch the lives of people through their music and the event helps to raise funds for Nordoff and Robbins to provide music therapy for vulnerable people across the UK. Mika, who was given the global impact award, told of what Nordoff and Robbins means to him. "I had loads of issues growing up," the Grace Kelly singer told PA. "I was kicked out of school. I was super dyslexic and bullied and so I hid in my own world. "The only thing that pulled me out of that was music. "So it kind of was a therapy, without even me realising it was happening and that changed my whole life. Article continues below "After being kicked out of school, I started working, I started doing music, I felt like a person again, and from then, I never left."
Perth Now
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
'Thank you for the miraculous work...' Pink Floyd's David Gilmour pays tribute to Nordoff and Robbins charity as he accepts O2 Silver Clef Award
Pink Floyd legend David Gilmour received the prestigious O2 Silver Clef Award for his contribution to music in London on Wednesday night (03.07.25). The 79-year-old rock icon accepted the accolade at the O2 Silver Clef Awards ceremony from Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood and during his speech, Gilmour praised 'the wonderful Nordoff and Robbins music therapy charity" that the awards support every year. He added: "My relationship with them goes back 50 years – thank you to them for this award and for the miraculous work they do, and have done since then.' The star-studded ceremony, hosted by Edith Bowman and held at JW Marriott Grosvenor House hotel, brought together artists, industry leaders and celebrity supporters for an unforgettable evening of celebration, fundraising and reflection on the transformative power of music. Other winners on the night included Sophie Ellis-Bextor who was crowned Best Female, receiving her statuette from songwriter Cathy Dennis, Mika, who picked up the Global Impact Award for his multilingual stardom and advocacy and The Last Dinner Party, who won the Best New Music prize. Rick Astley, The Corrs, IDLES, Soul II Soul, Noah Kahan, AURORA, Tony Christie and Chase and Status also took home top honours. The 49th annual O2 Silver Clef Awards, raised £715,000 and counting for Nordoff and Robbins, the UK's largest music therapy charity. Before the ceremony started, Sandra Schembri, CEO of Nordoff and Robbins, admitted she was looking forward to meeting one of her heroes in Wish You Were Here singer Gilmour. Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz, Sandra said: "So as a prog rock child, the fact that David Gilmore is in the room, I'm going to try and be very professional, but I doubt I'll be able to!" Sandra also teased that there are already big plans happening to mark the event's 50th anniversary in 2026. She said: "So next year is our 50th, we've been planning already. It's going to be very big, and we are hoping to have all our recipients in the room, so watch the space!" Emphasising the important work Nordoff and Robbins does with adults and children with various needs, Sandra added: "Music therapy, done by music therapists, it's music in the hands of an expert, and what it is is when words fail, music speaks. "Music therapists helps them access that. We work with children, special education needs, we work with people with dementia, we've had children speak for the first time in some of our therapy sessions, and we've had people with dementia who've been closed off for many, many, many years actually find themselves and recognise their family again for the first time in years in a session, so t's very powerful. "We find the musicians that connect with us, they see what else music can do. That what they that they feel, and they see their audience, that connection, that really exists. When they see that connection being used in this extra way, it's an instant connection with the event, so for them, it gets in their hearts."
Perth Now
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Rick Astley would sing The Smiths' songs 'every weekend' - but Blossoms don't need him
Rick Astley would do another Songs of The Smiths tour - but he doesn't think he can get Blossoms back on stage. The Never Gonna Give You Up hitmaker was backed by the British indie band for two shows in Kentish Town, London where they played tracks by the seminal 1980s Manchester band, including This Charming Man, Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, Ask and There Is a Light That Never Goes Out. The collaboration between Rick and Blossoms even saw them play Glastonbury Festival in 2023, and the 59-year-old singer admits he would do that tribute to Morrissey and Johnny Marr's former band "every weekend" but he thinks Blossoms - fronted by guitarist-and-vocalist Tom Ogden - are too busy enjoying their own success to do more concerts. Speaking to BANG Showbiz at the O2 Silver Clef Awards in London on Wednesday night (02.07.25), Rick said: "I think Blossoms don't need me for anything to be honest, they're doing alright by themselves. "I talk to the guys all the time and we have a real bond over that music. Even though generationally we're in different time spaces, we both absolutely love those songs and those records. As fun as it was to do - I'd do it every weekend - they've got a whole career going on. We'll see, who knows? "I think we've always got that memory. I think it was such a wonderful thing to do. "I'd always had this fantasy of singing those songs at some point. I was just going to get a band together and do it in a local pub. I chatted to them about that on their podcast and before you know what you're doing we'd go in a room and played those songs, I was practically crying and I just said, 'We've got to do this.' We were just going to do it in a pub in Stockport but we've got friends in high places so we got to do it somewhere else." Rick has been to watch 61-year-old Marr's solo shows and has been blown away by his interpretation of his own songs, replacing The Smiths singer Morrissey on vocals. But Astley has never met Marr, 61, to ask him what he though of his interpretation of The Smiths back catalogue. Rick added: "I've seen Johnny Marr sing those songs in the last year or two and it's amazing. They're just amazing songs, I think. "I've never met him. I think he's got bigger fish to fry and he's not worried about what anyone else is doing." At the O2 Silver Clef Awards - which raised £715,000 and counting for Nordoff and Robbins, the UK's largest music therapy charity - Astley was presented with with the Outstanding Achievement in Music Award by Alistair Norbury (BMG), acknowledging both his 1980s legacy and contemporary reinvention as a beloved performer. Astley - who was photographed with his trophy by Dominika Scheibinger - admitted it was an honour to receive the accolade because he has seen first hand the incredible work Nordoff and Robbins does. He said: "Everyone needs a bit of help at some point – if you see the work Nordoff and Robbins do, you feel extremely humbled. This is truly important. You realise what music can do. It's given me a life I am unbelievably grateful for."
Belfast Telegraph
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Sophie Ellis-Bextor says AI cannot copy human connection in music
The Murder On The Dancefloor singer, 46, said she is 'sure AI will have a place' in her industry, but that it will be 'very hard' for it to mimic imperfections. Ellis-Bextor was presented with her award on Wednesday by Nordoff and Robbins, the UK's largest music therapy charity. Mika, who was given the global impact award, told of what Nordoff and Robbins means to him.
