Lana Del Rey Talks Relationship Violence in Ivor Novello Award Speech, Paul McCartney Ribs Bruce Springsteen

The vibe at the 2024 Ivor Novello Awards at Grosvenor House in London on Thursday night (May 23) swung from gentle ribbing among two of rock’s most active seniors to a serious moment from one of today’s most influential songwriters about the importance of speaking out about domestic violence.

Lana Del Rey, 38, accepted a Special International Award celebrating her career and influence, during which she decried the rise of relationship-based violence. “When I started, I think a lot of things were written about how the songs were sort of navel-gazing and just about me and my experience with challenging relationships,” Del Rey said, according to the Evening Standard.

“Now I think what we’ve seen is that those songs were not written about a small microcosm of people and women, we’re seeing a huge amount of things written about difficult relationships,” Del Rey continued. “And even when COVID began, the second epidemic in the United States (we saw for) interpersonal relationships violence, it increased by 300%. So, you know, I just think it’s amazing that female singer-songwriters, you know, have the freedom to write about absolutely whatever they want.”

The singer added, “It was always nerve wrecking to think that writing about your relationships were maybe something that could be seen as self-gratuitous, feigning vulnerability. I heard that a lot. But I mean it’s a very vulnerable thing, not just for women. But for men. I’ve learned so much in the last few years, from my peers about having a challenging time in music.”

The mood was decidedly lighter when Sir Paul McCartney, 81, ribbed youngster Bruce Springsteen, 74, while presenting the Boss with the Fellowship of the Ivors Academy prize, the highest honor the organization gives out. While ushering in the first international songwriter the Academy has included in the Fellowship — following in the footsteps of Elton John, Kate Bush and Macca himself — the former Beatle had fun while handing the award to the Jersey rock icon, according to NME.

“Like Bruce’s concerts, I’m going to keep this brief,” McCartney said in a joke about Bruce’s legendarily lengthy shows, adding the quip that he couldn’t think of a more fitting recipient for the honor, “except maybe Bob Dylan, or Paul Simon, or Billy Joel, or Beyoncé, or Taylor Swift. The list goes on.”

Sir Paul then got in a final razz about Springsteen’s performance stamina. “He’s known as the American working man, but he admits he’s never worked a day in his life,” the equally indefatigable pop legend said.