Everyone's a winner...?

The Irish Music Industry was plunged into controversy yesterday with the release of an open letter from the outspoken Donegal band The Revs. The letter, which castigates elements within the industry – and which reserves its greatest ire for the rash of manufactured bands which has been nurtured in Ireland in recent years – was read out on air by Today FM breakfast show host, Ian Dempsey. (For a detailed picture as to what The Revs have to say, click here.)

The letter highlights the fact that there has been an evident confusion regarding the categories and nominees for this year’s IRMA Awards, which are run in conjunction with the mobile telephone network Meteor and with the co-operation of RTE. The national broadcaster was also strongly criticised by the Donegal outfit.

Over the previous two weeks, a series of press releases had been issued which gave a shortlist for the "Hope for 2002/Best Newcomer" Award at the upcoming event. One of these releases was issued jointly by the official PR company for Meteor, and from the event promoters MCD. It listed the nominees in the category as Bellefire, Reel, Six, Damien Rice, Lynn Ryan and The Revs.

The voting for the winners in this category was scheduled to begin on the Tony Fenton show on 2FM on Monday February 25th. However, a meeting of the interested parties in IRMA took place on the Monday morning – following which final decisions were taken which ultimately left the winners of the RTE Popstars-style programme without a nomination.

As late as this morning (Weds), the 2FM website seemed to continue the confusion, referring to the "Best Newcomer" Award on some pages, while others still carried the somewhat different "Hope for 2002/Best Newcomer" category.

However, the list of nominees in this category – whatever its correct title – had been expanded to nine, and it now excluded both Six and the Cork singer-songwriter Lynn Ryan, whose debut single was released this week. Industry sources were somewhat perplexed to see among the names on the list, the former Hothouse Flowers and Black Velvet Band singer, and Commitments star, Maria Doyle Kennedy – who featured on the first Hot House Flowers album released in 1988 and who recently released her own solo album. Charm was lavishly praised in Hot Press, Phil Udell describing it as "making up for lost time in particularly fine fashion".

As well, the list was now no longer dominated by what Revs frontman called "the Irish popstars/boyband ilk" – Gemma Hayes and David Kitt, who dominated Hot Press’ critical and readers’ polls of the year 2001, now appeared.

However, speaking to Hot Press.com, IRMA chief executive Dick Doyle played down the controversy. "The record companies were slow to get their nominations in," he said. "And people were slow to change the websites as well. It was all a matter of timing."

Doyle’s words of comfort notwithstanding, The Revs were clearly unrepentant, going on Galway Bay FM, to expand on the theme they had begun on the Ian Dempsey Show earlier on Tuesday. Interviewed by Jon Richards, they continued to question the way in which the nominations for the Award had been handled and heaped scorn on the whole process of manufacturing bands.

With just a few days left before the filming of the Awards show by RTE, this is one category in which controversy is the order of the day.

IRMA chairman Freddie Middleton was happy to offer a clarification on this matter. To read what he had to say, click here.