Abstract
This article examines popular musicians recognised by the British honours system within its first hundred years of operation (1917-2017). Through a statistical analysis of a unique dataset of the honoured musicians, compiled for this article, it will be asserted that to be worthy of an honour entails possessing certain non-musical attributes including economic worth and notions of a particular type of Britishness. The increasing importance of popular music to Britain’s cultural life, identity and heritage through the 20th century and early 21st century is vital for understanding why musicians are valued by the government through the conferral of awards. The volume of musicians awarded post-1997 will demonstrate a shift in the perception of popular music by the British government as the creative industries become increasingly important to the British economy and finally, further analysis will reveal that women are underrepresented in the honours system, a trend which reflects wider socio-cultural trends in the recognition of women artists.
Highlights
INTRODUCTION“The thing about honours is that you should never ask for them, and you should never really expect them, but I think you should accept them if they are given to you” (Eliscu, 2002)
This article examines popular musicians recognised by the British honours system within its first hundred years of operation (1917-2017)
This article will provide an analysis of the popular musicians who have been recognised by the honours system, when they were awarded and the reason for the award over the course of the system’s first one hundred years (1917-2017)
Summary
“The thing about honours is that you should never ask for them, and you should never really expect them, but I think you should accept them if they are given to you” (Eliscu, 2002). The honours system’s position as an award that crosses class boundaries to recognise citizens from all walks of life, a rarity in a society so heavily governed by class structures, pays tribute to the multifaceted nature of British identity. It must be noted, that the inclusion of the word ‘Empire’ within the honours system further complicates the notion of what it is to be British. The recognition of popular musicians within the honours system can be viewed as a way for the British government to signify a particular notion of Britishness that has helped to form part of contemporary Britain’s national and global identity
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