Popular rock band Queen have been awarded with a prestigious award at a US music industry ceremony that was held in the UK. The ceremony that was held in London saw the rock band being awarded with a prestigious Icon prize.

The guitarist for the band, Brian May, stated that receiving any type of award is a huge honour but this was especially rewarding because it was an American award.

Other artists that were also recognised at the awards ceremony held in London include Spandau Ballet, Van Morrison and Eric Clapton.

The awards event is held by the Broadcast Music Inc (BMI) and it provides recognition to artists that have managed to get airplay within the US. It is notoriously difficult to break the US music market and many UK artists have struggled majorly to do this.

The popular song Brown Eyed Girl from Van Morrison was also recognised at the awards ceremony after it achieved ten million plays on US radio. This song has also achieved phenomenal success within the UK over the years. Brown Eyed Girl has become a popular song to be played on the radio in the UK and it is often played by many different music DJs.

There is only one other UK track that has managed to achieve more than ten million air plays on US radio and this was Every Breath You Take from Sting.

Eric Clapton also received recognition for his song Layla; this was recorded under the name Derek and The Dominoes; this managed to achieve over eight million plays on US radio.

At the awards ceremony music industry experts from the US stated that they hoped more songs from the UK would be able to be played on US radio. Many UK artists choose to move from the UK in order to focus their efforts on the US market, although very few manage to make it.