Perfect Day - Duran Duran lead Brummie musical celebration

I deliberately titled this blog article Perfect Day after Duran Duran's 1995 hit following the launch of new album, Paper Gods, by the Birmingham formed band.  Following in the footsteps of Duran Duran, the Genting Arena at the National Exhibition Centre will play host to the BBC Music Awards today.

The awards come while the BBC faces continued criticism for their lack of investment in the city and region, http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/bbc-director-generals-birmingham-visit-10385799, with  only 13% of the money invested by Midland's licence fee payers reinvested in the region.

Supported by Birmingham City Council, the BBC Music Awards will feature five awards: British Artist of the Year and International Artist of the Year as decided by the BBC Music panel, Song of the Year voted for by members of the public, and a special award for a BBC Introducing artist. This year there will be a new award - Live Performance of the Year – which will be given to the band or artist who has delivered THE stand out BBC Music live moment of 2015, also voted by the BBC Music panel.http://newsonnews.com/story/241015-1285

It is fitting that Birmingham has been chosen to host the awards as it's music scene continues to develop and with its rich history of music.  With concert venues such as the Town Hall which saw musical premieres from Elgar and Mendelssohn, http://www.thsh.co.uk/town-hall/history/, through to the city being the birthplace of heavy metal and onwards to the indie scene Birmingham has music running through it's heart.  In 2012 the Independent noted that B-Town scene was bringing awareness of the indie scene in Birmingham to national attention, http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/forget-madchester-its-all-about-the-b-town-scene-8207631.html.  More recently the Birmingham Mail has interviewed DJ and VJ Miss C Brown about the Birmingham underground music scene.  For me personally as a campanologist, or bellringer, it's nice to see Miss C Brown enjoy the sounds of bells from the parish church of St Martins in the Bull Ring.

The church bells at St Martin in the Bull Ring! I always hear them when I'm walking through the centre towards the train station in the evening. At that time there usually aren't many people around, so it feels more personal - like the bells are ringing for me.http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/special-features/how-streets-brum-shaping-underground-10484878 

Birmingham Big City Culture features several interviews about Birmingham's underground scene, http://birminghamculture.org/news/birminghams-underground-music-scene

Bellringing is perhaps one of the oldest Birmingham musical stories with the first reference to change ringing in Birmingham being a "whole peal of Grandsire Trebles" reported in the Birmingham Gazette of 16 July 1753, http://www.stmartinsguild.org/about-the-guild-2/  Church towers now ring out across the city and are always looking for people interested in taking up the hobby, http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/where-have-all-the-birmingham-bell-ringers-gone-153218


Also taking place today is the prestigious Arqiva Hall of Fame Lunch which recognises top radio personalities and is moving out of London for the first time to the new Resorts World Complex, http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/business/business-news/birmingham-scoops-major-radio-hall-10439140.

The BBC Music Awards are on BBC One at 8.00 pm