Rob’s award confirms he’s
a man of peace
 By
STAFF REPORTER
As the song goes: ‘It’s a long way to Tipperary’. And
that’s certainly true for Leeds songwriter Rob Russell Davies.
Davies has travelled the long road to the Irish county twice — becoming
the first songwriter in the world to win the Tipperary International Song
of Peace contest for a second time.
His song Let Me Find Peace won the Waterford Crystal trophy at the grand
final in Tipperary beating off contestants from Britain, America and Ireland.
The competition is held every year as part of a Festival of Peace with
international leaders and personalities receiving special prizes for their
contributions towards peace in the world.
Previous winners have included Nelson Mandela, Soviet leader Mikhail
Gorbachev, Bob Geldof, former US President Bill Clinton and the former
Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani.
All entries in the song competition must have a theme related to the idea
of peace.
Rob said: “My song is about the massive Aids epidemic in Africa.”
“It highlights the difficulty, slowness and expense of getting the
much needed antiretroviral drugs to HIV/AIDS sufferers on the continent
— drugs which can greatly reduce suffering and extend life.”
Sung by Leeds singers Naomi Murray — a finalist in the Song for
Great Britain contest which chooses Britain’s Eurovision entry —
and Beth Wheatley, Rob’s song proved a hit with the Tipperary crowd
and judges winning by five points to take the prize.
A delighted Rob said: “It has a haunting melody with very meaningful
lyrics. It’s a big arrangement and despite Naomi and Beth having
two very different voices, they nevertheless seem to blend perfectly together.
We’re really excited about receiving this great award for the second
time. And already we’ve had interest from Irish radio stations and
record companies.”
Rob was awarded the accolade first in 2003 before winning again this year.
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