Lennon and McCartney receive five Ivor Novello awards

On behalf of him and John Lennon, Paul McCartney accepted five Ivor Novello awards during a luncheon at the Savoy Hotel on the Strand, London.

The ceremony was presented by David Frost, and the awards were given to McCartney by Sir Billy Butlin. McCartney arrived 40 minutes late after forgetting about the event.

Lennon, meanwhile, chose not to attend after the fuss caused by The Beatles being awarded MBEs. In recognition of this, McCartney accepted one of the awards with the words, “Thanks. I hope nobody sends theirs back now.”

McCartney’s acceptance and subsequent speech was filmed by cameras from Rediffusion. The event was broadcast between 10.30pm and 11.05pm during a show called Pick Of The Songs.