SIMPLE Minds’ Jim Kerr said Glasgow was an “artistic desert” when the band started out in the city in 1977.

Kerr was speaking as he, Charlie Burchill and Mick MacNeil were awarded the Outstanding Song Collection award at the 61st Ivor Novello Awards.

He said: “The idea of fame and riches never came into it, we just wanted to be in a great band and take it round the world.

“Everyone talks how everything has changed beyond what we can imagine but essentially what we do here is the same thing. We look for a chorus, a melody, we look for hooks and then we try and take it round the world and hope it means something to people.

“We’re very fortunate because we get recognition.”

He ended by joking: “Alan McGee, it’s a good job you weren’t at our table when you said nothing was happening in 1989 because I would have chinned you.”

The Outstanding Contribution to British Music Award was poorly received by one member of winning band Portishead.

Geoff Barrow said: “I don’t believe you can judge music but I’ve been brought up here. You can’t judge it, it’s just wrong.

“I’m not going to say thank you because I don’t believe in these things and Beth (Gibbons) doesn’t talk anyway so we’re the perfect band for this event.”
However, Adrian Utley did say thank you for their special award.

Damon Albarn was given a standing ovation as he accepted the Lifetime Achievement award from Blur bandmate Graham Coxon.

Coxon said of the 48-year-old frontman and co-founder of Gorillaz: “One would think this a bit premature but not really, he’s fitted about two lifetimes of work in so far.”

Beginning with a long anecdote about Simple Minds’ influence on him when he was a youngster, Albarn said he turned to their latest work for inspiration for his new Gorillaz album.