The Times (6.17.05)

Respect at last, as punk is let in to the Hall of Fame

Adam Sherwin, Media Reporter

THE punk generation entered rock's respectable hall of fame last night when Siouxsie Sioux, Madness and Shane MacGowan were honoured at the Mojo magazine awards.

Members of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones rose to recognise the achievements of a musical peer group who in the late 1970s had vowed to destroy rock's "dinosaurs".

Siouxsie Sioux, who with the Banshees performed with Sid Vicious and wore a swastika armband, beat David Bowie to the Mojo Icon award. Now 48, Sioux lives a quiet life in a converted farmhouse near Bordeaux, in France. The Edge, U2's guitarist, presented her with the award, voted for by readers, marking her "spectacular global career".

Sioux accepted her award after witnessing a parade of male winners. She said: "I must be the token female winner. Where are all the other women? I want Sinead O'Connor and all the other female artists to join me on stage."

The sisterhood declined her request.

Shane MacGowan was rewarded for his songwriting with the Pogues. The Irish expatriate group's 1985 record Rum, Sodomy and the Lash received the Classic Album Award. MacGowan and his colleagues had created an "evocative" record that mixed traditional Irish themes, poetic storytelling and punk.

Madness, who sold five million singles in the early 1980s, entered the Mojo Hall of Fame. The "nutty boys" are now recognised as classic English songwriters in the tradition of Ray Davies, the Kinks frontman who also attended the cere-mony in West London.

After turning their songs into the West End musical Our House, Madness have reformed to release an album of Jamaican ska cover versions.

Davies presented the Songwriter Award to Paul Weller, whose three-minute observations on English life topped the charts with the Jam before a successful solo career.

The Magic Numbers, a London group comprising two pairs of brothers and sisters, were voted Best New Act.

www.timesonline.co.uk/music

* GOT THEIR MOJO

Icon Award Siouxsie Sioux

Hall of Fame Madness

Best New Act The Magic Numbers

Songwriter award Paul Weller

Classic album The Pogues

Legend award Dr John

Inspiration award Gang of Four

Lifetime Achievement Robert Wyatt

Contributed by Jerry Burch.