The Beatles | Ivor Novello Award, Presented To E.M.I Records, For We Can Work It Out, 1965

The Beatles

Ivor Novello Award, Presented To E.M.I Records, For We Can Work It Out, 1965

bronze statuette of Euterpe designed by Hazel Underwood, on wooden base, with engraved brass plaque "E.M.I. RECORDS LTD. | FOR ITS PARLOPHONE RECORDING OF | "We can work it out" | 1965, (290 x 63mm.), black paint worn away on wooden base with traces left around the plaque, otherwise very good

The Ivor Novello awards are presented for excellence in composition and song writing; The Beatles were nominated for 20 of these awards between 1964 and 1971, and won 14.

“We Can Work It Out” was released as a double A side with “Day Tripper” in December 1965 and won its Novello award for achieving the highest British certified sales in 1966.

Paul was inspired to write the song during a turbulent period of his relationship with Jane Asher. Although the basic idea and title were Paul’s he took it to John to finish it off. Lennon described the song as: “Paul’s first half, my middle eight,” In an interview in `Playboy’ magazine in 1980 Lennon explained: “He came to my house with the first bit and I came up with (singing) ‘Life is very short, and there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friend.’ You’ve got Paul’s writing ‘We can work it out,’ real optimistic, you know, and me, impatient, ‘Life is very short…’”