LOWESTOFT rockers The Darkness won a prestigious music award today and dedicated it to "songwriters everywhere".The band, topped their meteoric rise to stardom this year with the Ivor Novello Songwriter Of The Year award.

LOWESTOFT rockers The Darkness won a prestigious music award today and dedicated it to "songwriters everywhere".

The band, topped their meteoric rise to stardom this year with the Ivor Novello Songwriter Of The Year award.

Other winners at the 49th Ivors for British songwriters, and composers included young jazz singer Amy Winehouse, Dido and Pop Idol Will Young.

Winehouse, who has also had a stunning year beat her more established rival Kylie Minogue and young rapper Dizzee Rascal to the Best Contemporary Song Award.

At the ceremony at the Grosvenor House hotel, lead singer Justin Hawkins raised a toast to "songwriters everywhere'.

He joked: "It's a great award, it's the heaviest, I think it might lead.

"This is the biggest award you can get if you write your own songs. We have always wanted something like this but didn't expect to be in this position now. Now we've got here we're not going to let it go. This is wonderful.' the singer, who has been touring the US said.

Hawkins, winner of three Brit awards this year, continued his feud with music magazine NME at today's ceremony and said he didn't regret an incident where he shouted at a fan at a concert when he thought that she wrote for the magazine.

Dido took the award for international Hit Of The Year for White Flag, beating Kylie and Robbie Williams, but was not at today's event.

Other winners included Jamelia, who took home an award for most performed work for Superstar, the band Gold Frapp for The Ivors Dance Award and Roland Orzibal for Best Selling UK Single for Mad World.

The Tears for Fears star said: "I think this is God's way of telling me to stop making music and to write for other people like Robbie Williams instead.'

Motown legends Holland Dozier Holland, who has written over 70 top ten hits including Stop! In the Name Of Love were presented with the Special International Award.

Radiohead took the award for International Achievement and thanked everyone who had been on their "long journey'.

Charlotte Church, who is writing material for a new album, arrived at today's ceremony with her boyfriend Kyle Johnson to present one of the awards wearing a stunning Karen Millen dress.

The singer said her new work would incorporate everything from heavy rock to soul and Spanish music. She said of her boyfriend: "It's the first time he's come along to an event like this and I think the photographers scared him a little.'

Other award winners included 10CC for Outstanding Song Collection, Errol Brown for Outstanding Contribution to British Music, Richard Rodney Bennett for the Classical Music Award.

The awards are held in honour of Ivor Novello, the British musician and songwriter who died in 1951.

The winners were:

Best Song Musically and Lyrically

Song: Leave Right Now performed by Will Young

Writer/s: Francis Eg White

Best Contemporary Song

Song: Stronger Than Me performed by Amy Winehouse

Writer/s: Amy Winehouse/Salaam Remi

Best Original Music for Television

Broadcast: The Young Visiters

Composer: Nicholas Hooper

The Ivors Dance Award

Song: Strict Machine performed by Goldfrapp

Writer/s: Alison Goldfrapp/William Gregory/Nick Batt

Best Original Film Score

Film: Max

Composer: Dan Jones

PRS Most Performed Work

Song: Superstar performed by Jamelia

Writer/s: Mich Hansen/Joseph Belmaati/Remee

International Hit of the Year

Song: White Flag performed by Dido

Writer/s: Dido Armstrong/Rollo Armstrong/Rick Nowels

Best Selling UK Single

Song: Mad World performed by Michael Andrews featuring Gary Jules

Writer/s: Roland Orzabal

Other Awards

The Ivors Classical Music Award

Sir Richard Rodney Bennett

Outstanding Song Collection

Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, Lol Creme, Graham Gouldman

International Achievement

Radiohead

Thom Yorke, Ed O'Brien, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Philip Selway

PRS Outstanding Contribution to British Music

Errol Brown

Songwriters of the Year

The Darkness

Justin Hawkins, Dan Hawkins, Frankie Poullain, Ed Graham

The Special International Award

Holland Dozier Holland

Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland

Ends