Lily Allen in hat-trick at UK Ivor Novello awards

Quirky popstress Lily Allen took home three awards for songs from her smash album 'It's Not Me, It's You' at the Ivor Novello awards on Thursday, crowning an eye-catching year of success for the wry British singer.

A teary-eyed Allen, dressed in a parachute-style pale yellow dress, snapped up gongs for best music and lyrics for a song and the most performed work for hit single The Fear.

"This song is so much about feeling so lost in a lot of ways and this has made me feel quite found all of a sudden," she said.

She and co-writer Greg Kurstin also won songwriters of the year for their work on Allen's album which combines light pop tunes with sharp, chatty lyrics about everyday life.

The 55th edition of the Ivor Novello awards, which endeavour to reward artists for the quality of their composing rather than their commercial success, also gave nods to some lesser known acts.

Indie songstress Bat For Lashes -- real name Natasha Khan -- won the best contemporary song award for 'Daniel', upstaging more popular tracks from breakthrough artist La Roux and cheery rapper Dizzee Rascal.

"Who would have thought when I was sitting in my pyjamas in my bed writing this song I would be standing up here with this," Khan said, collecting her award.

Duran Duran singer Simon LeBon gave young Scottish singer Paolo Nutini his award for best album. Nutini's 'Sunny Side Up', a rootsy departure from his radio-friendly past efforts, saw off competition from Rascal and a long player about cricket by The Duckworth Lewis Method.

Former guitar player for The Smiths Johnny Marr received an Ivors Inspiration award in recognition of his influence over a generation of strummers and angsty songwriters and top producer Trevor Horn was rewarded for his contribution to British music.

Oasis songwriter and guitarist Noel Gallagher was on hand to present the lifetime achievement to Paul Weller, who has found success across three decades with The Jam, the Style Council and his acclaimed solo work.

The daytime ceremony, slightly more austere than some of Britain's more glitzy awards events, also recognised writing for video games, television and films such as the soundtrack for animation Ice Age 3.

The special international award went to soft balled crooner Neil Sedaka.

"It has been a crazy career of 58 years," Sedaka said. "This is trendy fickle business, but the song is the bottom line. The song is what really counts."