MUMBAI: The nominations for the coveted diamond jubilee of the Ivor Novello Awards have been declared. British electronic group Clean Bandit lead this year's Ivors with three nominations for the song 'Rather Be', which has been nominated for Best Contemporary Song, Best Song Musically and Lyrically, and PRS for Music Most Performed Work.

Joining them in the first category are British alt-folk band Bear's Den, singer/songwriter Ben Howard and Irish singer/songwriter Hozier for their tracks 'Above The Clouds Of Pompeii', 'I Forget Where We Were' and 'Take Me To Church', respectively. Also competing with Clean Bandit for Best Contemporary Song are indie rock band Alt-J for 'Every Other Freckle' and trip hop vocalist FKA Twigs for her song 'Two Weeks'.

The nominations for The Ivors 2015 were announced in association with PRS for Music, a UK copyright collection society and performance rights organisation. In the PRS for Music Most Performed Work category, Clean Bandit faces competition from YouTube Music Award winner George Ezra for 'Budapest' and multiple Grammy Award winner- Sam Smith for 'Stay With Me'.

The Album Ivor Award nominees include indie rock band Wild Beasts for their recent critically acclaimed album 'Present Tense', garage rock band Royal Blood for its chart-topping self-titled debut album, and Bombay Bicycle Club for its recent album 'So Long, See You Tomorrow'.

Academy Award winning music composer Dario Marianelli has been nominated for Best Original Film Score for 'The Boxtrolls'. Joining him in the category is Academy Award nominee Gary Yershon for 'Mr. Turner' and well known Irish electronic composer David Holmes for the film ''71'.

Previous Ivor Novello Award winning composer Martin Phipps has been nominated again with vocalist Natalie Holt for 'The Honourable Woman' in the Best Television Soundtrack category. Along with Phipps, Samuel Sim has been nominated for his composition for the second series of 'The Mill'. Wrapping up the nominees in the category is Madonna's tour music arranging director Edmund Butt for his composition for the TV film 'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher - Beyond the Pale'.

In a statement earlier released, BASCA Chairman, Simon Darlow said, "BASCA is delighted that in their 60th year The Ivors nominations continue to reflect the health and diversity of British and Irish songwriting and composing. These awards were created to raise the profile of our best creative talent and today's nominations, which include a host of fresh new writers, demonstrate that The Ivors continue to achieve this. Congratulations to everyone represented here today."

BASCA will also present awards to songwriters and composers in recognition of their contribution to British Music in awards including Lifetime Achievement, Outstanding Song Collection, PRS for Music Outstanding Contribution to British Music, PRS for Music Special International Award, Songwriter of the Year, The Ivors Classical Music Award, The Ivors Inspiration Award and The Ivors Special Anniversary Award.

The Ivor Novello Awards were first organised by the Songwriters Guild of Great Britain, which later became the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, commonly referred to as BASCA. When Ivor Novello died in 1951, founder chairman, the late Bruce Sievier suggested that the Awards be named in his honour, to commemorate all that he had done for British musicals and music in general.

BASCA will also announce its 18th BASCA Fellowship as part of the 60th Ivor Novello Awards which will be held on 21 May.