Chugg Wins Songwriters Accolade

Promoter Michael Chugg was given an accolade at the APRA awards for songwriters and publishers, held May 30 at Sydney, Australia’s Four Seasons Hotel.

Chugg was handed this year’s Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music. It was as much for his tireless charity fund-raising as for the countless events he has promoted throughout his 40-year career. The most recent of these was this year’s WaveAid concert at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which raised $2.3 million for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.

The two main winners of the night were Jet (songwriters of the year, most performed Australian work overseas for “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?”) and Missy Higgins, whose “Scar” was voted song of the year by APRA’s 15,000 songwriter members and who took out the Breakthrough Award for an emerging songwriter.

A consistent highlight of the APRA awards night is other performers’ treatment of Song Of the Year nominees. Sarah Blasko did an impressive jazz rendition of Jet’s “Look What You’ve Done,” and Kasey Chambers interpreted Higgins’ chart-topper “Scar” to cheers from the 600 guests.