Hall of Fame - Lionel Richie, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Nile Rodgers and Marvin Gaye were among those honoured by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Richie won the most prestigious prize, given to a songwriter who has already been inducted. The inductees also included Rodgers' writing partner Bernard Edwards and Wild Thing songwriter Chip Taylor. The celebration in New York also featured live performances by Jennifer Hudson, the B-52s, Marcus Mumford, Sister Sledge, Jussie Smollett and Rachel Platten.
Costello performed his 1977 song Alison, and said how grateful he was to Linda Ronstandt for her cover version, which he said helped keep him afloat. "This honour means all the more to me because I am probably the least commercially successful songwriter to have ever been inducted," he joked. Seymour Stein, who co-founded Sire Records and signed acts from punk pioneers The Ramones to pop star Madonna, was also honoured, along with Nick Jonas, the singer, songwriter and actor, who is best known as one of the Jonas Brothers.
Slow Hand - Eric Clapton has said damage to his nervous system is making it difficult to play the guitar. The musician told Classic Rock magazine, "I've had quite a lot of pain over the last year. It started with lower back pain, and turned into what they call peripheral neuropathy. [It's] hard work to play the guitar and I've had to come to terms with the fact that it will not improve." But he added that given his life had been fraught with addiction "I consider it a great thing to be alive at all".
London Calling - London mayor Sadiq Khan is backing a new website that promises to showcase all of the capital's theatre offerings. The site, Theatre. London, is aimed at encouraging audiences to see productions across London and not just in the West End. It will allow users to find out about theatre taking place in the 200-plus venues in the city, from the major West End houses to the smaller fringe venues. Consumers will access information about the productions and be able to buy tickets from the site.
Launched by London and Partners, the official promotional body for London, it aims "to shine the spotlight on the breadth and depth of theatre throughout London, and so encourage more people to discover more theatre".
Khan said, "Hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world set their sights on the bright lights of the West End every year. But beyond Theatreland, London has a treasure trove of playhouses in all corners of the city, hosting everything from our thriving fringe to top musicals, all of which contribute to our status as a world leader for culture and creativity."
Ladies First - Women were employed more in the music, performing and visual arts sector in 2015 than any other part of the UK's creative industries, new figures have revealed. However, the music, performing and visual arts sector - which employed 286,000 people in the UK last year - also had the highest increase in jobs for men over the four years prior to 2015.
New statistics published by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport showed that 138,000 jobs were held by women in music, performing and visual arts in 2015, and 149,000 by men. The number of female workers in the sector is higher than any other group in the creative industries, with the lowest number - 31,000 - in architecture.
(Jim Evans)
