Hozier was awarded the Nordoff-Robbins Silver Clef International Award in London on Friday, July 1, 2016.

About the Award

Past Irish recipients of the Silver Clef International Award include Bob Geldof, U2, The Corrs, and Chris de Burgh.

The prize was sponsored by Raymond Weil, who coincidentally presented Hozier with a watch when he played Montreux, Switzerland last February.

The Silver Clef Awards raise funds for Nordoff-Robbins which provides music therapy outreach programs worldwide in addition to education and research in the field. Read more about music therapy on the Nordoff-Robbins website.

Over £600k raised by the #O2SilverClefs! This will go such a long way in changing lives through music! #Thankyou https://t.co/59yzjeC3lQ — Nordoff Robbins UK (@NordoffRobbins1) July 1, 2016

Awards Ceremony

Take a look back at @Hozier as he arrived to collect his #O2SilverClefs @raymondweil International Award! pic.twitter.com/STuLoAnGKg — Nordoff Robbins UK (@NordoffRobbins1) July 1, 2016

Annie Lennox, who performed with Hozier at the 2015 Grammys, presented him with the Silver Clef International Award. She posted her touching presentation speech to her Facebook page.

Was lovely to meet @Hozier earlier and thrilled for him and his award presented by @AnnieLennox. @NordoffRobbins1. pic.twitter.com/eKd1Onetfy — Nicholas McCarthy (@NMcCarthyPiano) July 1, 2016

@hozier collecting the Nordoff Robbins 'International Award' from Annie Lennox at the 2016 Silver Clef Awards. #HOZIER #anniennox #musicmatters #nordoffrobbins #silverclef 👏🏼🙌🏽🏆 A photo posted by STEVE PITRON (@stevepitron) on Jul 1, 2016 at 8:58am PDT

"It's an amazing charity. Music is such a fundamental aspect of human expression." @Hozier #O2SilverClefs pic.twitter.com/lmOw9N4p2o — Nordoff Robbins UK (@NordoffRobbins1) July 1, 2016

Annie Lennox presenting…. A photo posted by @johnjoahern on Jul 1, 2016 at 8:26am PDT

Update: Nordoff-Robbins posted this video of speech highlights:

Revisit all of our highlights from the #O2SilverClefs! A huge thank you to all involved! 👏 https://t.co/59yzjeTEdohttps://t.co/4A5pF1MHzu — Nordoff Robbins UK (@NordoffRobbins1) July 4, 2016

Awards Coverage

(This section contains updates since the post was originally published.)

Hozier | Nordoff Robbins O2 Silver Clef Awards – Winners Room https://t.co/uqlwKNqne1 pic.twitter.com/Ume25TcrJE — FirstLook LIVE (@FirstLookLive) July 1, 2016

RTE: No better man! Hozier picks up prestigious music award

Bonus

Hozier met Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees at the Silver Clef Awards. This meeting has a special significance in Hozier’s history.

When Caroline Downey, now Hozier’s manager, first heard him sing, it was a Bee Gees song. From The Irish Times:

Hozier was 16 when Downey heard him doing a cover version of ‘To Love Somebody’ by the Bee Gees at a music show in the school. Downey happens to be a big Bee Gees fan. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck.

It was Nina Simone’s version of the Bee Gees-penned song that inspired Hozier’s performance. In one of the earliest videos of Hozier, here he is at age 20 performing the song at Oxegen Festival on July 10, 2010.

Ten years after performing a Bee Gees song at a high school talent show, Hozier picked up an award alongside Barry Gibb.

Thanks to all of our contributors with special thanks to @literarypengke and @Megn0481.

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Featured image: John Joahern