Mojo - The Music Magazine

LAST YEAR’S Honours List ceremony was roundly hailed the best ever, with The Stooges, The Doors, Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn cramming into The Brewery venue in east central London to drink too many rum cocktails and love each other up. Certainly, if an event were to be judged solely on the basis of bonhomie, then the bonhomie-ometer was decisively off the dial.

Marc Almond nearly wept as he honoured The Doors’ Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger. Manzarek’s acceptance speech took the form of a groovy beat poem. Björk serenaded the room with her rendition of Foreigner’s Hot Blooded. Meanwhile, visions of Amy Winehouse with her hands down Ozzy Osbourne’s trousers will haunt us forever (she claimed she was tucking his shirt in – a likely story).

2007 also saw the debut of a procession of new votable categories – Best Album, Best Song, Best Compilation and Best Live Act – awards you can vote for this year, too.

But there was a poignant coda to the larks and gongs. Ike Turner (pictured) had graced us with his presence after a week of fevered negotiation (initially, he’d asked for a bottle of oxygen to be placed next to his table). But six months later, one of the inventors of rock’n’roll (if you consider his involvement in Jackie Brenston’s seismic 1951 release, Rocket 88) was dead, aged 76.

Damon Albarn’s tragic words of tribute ring in our ears. “There’s another good record left in this man,” the ex-Blur man said, hugging Turner, who contributed vocals to Gorillaz’ Demon Days album. “God willing, God willing…”

As we speak, tracks recorded by Turner with The Black Keys in 2007 sit twiddling their thumbs as legal issues regarding the Turner estate are resolved. God willing, we’ll hear them soon.

See 2007’s speeches and video interviews.

Enjoy the non-moving pictures in our 2007 gallery.

Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 2:10 PM GMT 31/03/2008