Competition History
Hertfordshire Songwriter 2003
Hertfordshire Music Service started Songwriter in 2003 as an umbrella for our new series of informal music workshops and networks of rockschools.
We wanted to provide a progression route for young people to move from the initial contact point of workshops, through to on-going weekly tuition, termly gigs and showcases at festivals, the first of which being Rhythms of the World in Hitchin in July 2004.
We also wanted to encourage young people who were interested in song-writing, but perhaps didn’t wish to perform, as we knew many were too shy to do so. Because of this we decided to set up a project that would seek to judge the creative ideas in the song, rather than the recording or performance. This has distinguished the project from the many Pop Idol and Battle of the Bands style competitions and has also opened the door to a whole range of songwriters who wouldn’t have otherwise been able to engage, from some lovely free-form improvised songs from 5 and 6 year olds, through Special Education Needs(SEN) groups who’d previously had no central on-going support from HMS.
The competition has also engaged pupils from schools who’d previously not engaged with the Service, such as Watford Grammar School for Girls. Over the years we’ve also received entries from school refusers, pupils at risk of exclusion and other vulnerable groups. Song-writing as a vehicle for emotional learning has became one of the significant developing strands of the Songwriter project.
In 2005 we were back at Rhythms of the World to hold our final ceremony for the 2004 competition, where 150 winners and runners-up performed during a session at Club 85. This showcase has been an annual feature of the competition ever since.
We're proud that Songwriter has developed a progression route for informal music in Hertfordshire, and has nurtured a large number of young songwriters, many of whom have returned to work on the project as workshop leaders and Songwriter ambassadors. Check out the development of the competition below, and click on the links in the headings to hear the music in the online charts.
Hertfordshire Songwriter 2005
Songwriter 2005 saw the development of the online voting chart, (cllick to see it) which we’d first come across during our work on the Hertfordshire Pathfinder pilot for the Paul Hamlyn Foundation funded Musical Futures project. This gave us a chance to showcase the songs online, and we quickly found this captured the imagination of the songwriters, their family and friends, and received over 15000 hits.
The winners again performed at a showcase at the Maltings Art Theatre, St Albans and the Rhythms of the World Festival in 2006, and Josh Kelly the winner of the popular new online vote was scheduled to appear at the Royal Albert Hall Gala in 2007, but was sadly killed in a road accident in January 2007. The other members of his band played his song in a powerful tribute to their friend, and in subsequent competitions we’ve offered the Josh Kelly Memorial Award to promising and deserving young songwriters.
Hertfordshire Songwriter 2007
Songwriter 2007 Winners again showcased at the Maltings Theatre and the Rhythms of the World Festival. Judges included Boo Hewerdine, who played a set of songs at the final presentation evening, Feargal Sharkey.
Hertfordshire Songwriter 2009
Songwriter 2009 developed a new partnership with Hertfordshire University, and concluded with a prize-winning ceremony at their Weston auditorium in Hatfield in May 2010. This competition also offered new Post 18 and Electronic categories, and was again notable in the wide range of the song-writers who contributed. Many were from Education Support Centres, Emotional Behaviour Disorder schools and targeted vulnerable groups in mainstream schools we had supported with the Youth Music funded Vocalise project. Others had entered on their own initiative from seeing posters in their school music department, youth clubs, libraries or shop window, whilst others had been engaged by Youth Connexions support workers. The competition was now established as possibly the most accessible and inclusive of music projects run by Hertfordshire Music Service and we were continuing to develop partnerships between the local promoters, other HCC partners and the Music industry more widely.
Judges included Goldie, Annie Nightingale, Boo Hewerdine, Julie Murphy, Kelly Betts, Sheena Massen
Hertfordshire Songwriter 2012
For Songwriter 2012, we were successful with a bid for workshop funding from Youth Music’s Open Programme, and have also raised match funding from;
HCC teams MECS, Children Looked After and Youth Connexions Stevenage, Rib Valley Extended Schools, Broxbourne and Hoddesdon Extended Schools, East Herts Council, Watford Borough Council, St Albans District Council, Herts County Councillors locality budgets in the St Nicholas, Shephall and Chells divisions.
Previous Hertfordshire Songwriter Competition Winners and Sponsors
Songwriter 2004
Year 11, 12, 13 Winner, Hannah Grace Abramian-
Year 9-10 Winner, Tom Braggins-‘ Naturally’. Year 7-8 Category Winner, Kate Deany, Charlotte Cuthbert ,Gemma Sallows and Rebecca Ross, Best Friends’ Year 5-6 Category Winner, Andrew Hina, ‘ Invisible’ Year 3-4 Category Winner, Poppy Stephens, Robyn Wilson, Imogen Williams, Luke Davies’s ‘Answering back’
Songwriter 2005, Sponsor; Make Music, Check out the Online chart here
Online Prize, Josh Kelly-‘That Summer’
Senior Acoustic Winner, Hannah Grace Abramian-
Senior Rock Winner, Hannah Grace Abramian-
Intermediate Acoustic Winner, Tom Braggins-
Intermediate Rock Winner, Hannah Grace Abramian-
Junior Acoustic Winner, Hannah Grace Abramian-
Junior Rock Winner, Hannah Grace Abramian-
Songwriter 2007, Sponsor; Roland UK and Play Something, Check out the Online chart here
Online Prize, Becky Godlee -‘Beauty Corruption’ (2575 hits)
Josh Kelly Memorial Prize, Elliott Harvey
Acoustic Category, Judge Phil Nichol of the Waves
Senior Winner, 'The Good Ones' by Marianne Thorpe
Intermediate Winner, 'Lost to the Dark' by Angelina Munabi & Jessie Tang
Junior Category Winner, Judge Sheena Masson, from Camden Music Service
'Dreams' by Evie Jo Rogers
Rock Category, Judge, Feargal Sharkey of the Undertones
Senior Winner, Why must you always insist on bringing me down?'by Steven Watts, Joe Jones
Intermediate Winner Red Light Traffic' by 'Flagship Down' - Simon Lucas,
Jamie Laing, Thomas Macmichael, Robert Cross, David Johnson
Junior Category Winner, Judge Sheena Masson, from Camden Music Service
'Moving On' by Alison Binns, Steven Binns, Nicole Newman, Douglas MacDonald, Josh Genevver, Modhis Elango
Urban Category, Judge, Solomon Gaye Burke from Aswad
Senior Winner 'Take it Easy' by 'Da Streets' William Rowley, Paul Horley Jamie Herrod , Hannah Seeley, Edward Rowley, Richie Hales, Freddie Davis , Alister Spagnoletti , Katie Rowley
Intermediate Winner Baby Boy' by Precious Henewaa and Arthurine Brown
Junior Category Winner, Judge Sheena Masson, from Camden Music Service
'The Polo Song' by Claire Montgomery
Songwriter 2009, Sponsor; M-Audio, Check out the Online chart here
Online Prize, Black Dawn -‘Dancing with the Dean (2575 hits)
Josh Kelly Memorial Prize, George Hunt
Acoustic Category, Judge Jullie Murphy of Fernhill
Post 18 Winner, ‘Dreams’, Alex Holmes
Senior Winner, 'Nail on the Head by Pandora’s Box
Intermediate Acoustic Winner, ' Fokker 50 by Lizzy Hardingham’
Junior Winner, Thomas Paley-Menzies ’I Saw it in the Ocean’
Rock Category, Judge, Boo Hewerdine
Post 18 winner, Strange Folk, ‘Voices from the Lake’
Senior Winner, Dutch Courage
Intermediate Winner, Watford Songwriter 1 ‘Punk Song’ –
Junior Winner, Demi Louise O’Dell ‘Fly’
Urban Category, Judge, Goldie
Post 18 winner, Adrian Daniels, ‘Destiny’
Senior Winner ‘These Days’ by Mayhem Theatre
Intermediate Winner ’We came to show you’ by Knights Templar Crew
Junior Winner The Five Bananas, ‘Vampire Wanderer’
Electronic Category, Judge, Annie Nightingale
Post 18 winner, Deeja funk, ‘It’s the way she plays’
Senior Winner ‘Memory’ by Arcadium
Intermediate Winner ‘127 Disco Heaven’ by SEN Arts Award
Junior Winner The Five Bananas, ‘Vampire Wanderer’