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24
May 2023
Knaresborough man wins Ivor Novello award
A man who grew up in Knaresborough was among the winners at this year's Ivor Novello Awards, which honour the best in British songwriting and screen composition.
Composer and voice actor Grant Kirkhope was named alongside the likes of Harry Styles, Raye, Florence Welch and Sault as winners at London’s Grosvenor House,
Mr Kirkhope, Gareth Coker and Yoko Shimomura won best original video game score for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope.
The former local band member has created the soundtrack for video games that have sold in excess of 40 million copies.
He now lives in Los Angeles and has worked on major video game productions including Golden Eye 007 and Donkey Kong 64. But his formative years were in Knaresborough, where he lived from the ages of five to 33 and attended King James’s School.
Grant Kirkhope in his Knaresborough days
He talked to the Stray Ferret about his North Yorkshire upbringing and winning an Ivor Novello. He said:
Back in his band days
Mr Kirkhope enjoyed a successful music career before working on video games. He says:
Mr Kirkhope's brother Gary lives in Starbeck and he travels back to the UK each year to catch up with family.
Mr Kirkhope now lives in Los Angeles
He has been nominated for numerous awards, including a BAFTA, but last week's Ivor Novello topped the lot. He says:
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