TOMMY STEELE AND ELO’S JEFF LYNNE TOP MUSIC HONOURS LIST
ROCKERS Tommy Steele and Jeff Lynne are among a number of figures from the music world named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Steele, 83, has been made a knight for services to entertainment and charity after a six-decade career.
The singer and actor rose to fame with ’50s hits like SingingTheBlues, which cast him as the UK’s first teen idol, and earned comparisons with Elvis Presley.
Steele, born Thomas Hicks in Bermondsey, south-east London, has also appeared on Broadway and in the West End, and was made an OBE in 1980.
Singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer Lynne has been made an OBE for services to music.
He is best known as co-founder and vocalist for the innovative rock band Electric Light Orchestra.
Lynne is often considered one of Birmingham’s greatest musical exports, alongside UB40, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath.
He founded ELO in 1970 with Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan.
The band fused classical music and rock, producing songs such as Livin’ Thing, MrBlueSky, TelephoneLine and EvilWoman.
He later co-founded the rock supergroup Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty.
Dizzee Rascal, 36, has been made an MBE for services to music.
The rapper, real name Dylan Mills, helped pioneer the grime genre with his Mercury Prize-winning 2003 debut album BoyInDaCorner.
He found commercial success more than a decade before grime, a style of rap originating in London, became mainstream with artists such as Stormzy and Dave.
Since then he has released six studio albums and scored five UK number one singles.
Singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading has received a CBE for services to music, charity and equal rights.
Armatrading, 69, was born on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts but moved to Brookfields, then a district of Birmingham, aged seven.
A prolific recording artist, she has continued to release albums since her 1972 debut, Whatever’sForUs.
She is celebrated for her contralto voice and varied musical style, taking in folk, jazz, blues, soul and rock.
Lady Leshurr is awarded the British Empire Medal for services to music and charity.
The rapper, real name Melesha Katrina O’Garro, hails from Kingshurst, Solihull, and is best known for her Queen’s Speech series of freestyle performances.
The rap duo Krept and Konan, real names Casyo Johnson and Karl Wilson, are awarded the British Empire Medal for services to music and the community in Croydon.
In 2017 they launched the Positive Direction Foundation to offer an array of activities to young people, including workshops in music production, engineering and songwriting.
In 2019, they judged the first series of BBC Three’s TheRapGameUK.
TV theme composer Tony Hatch has been made an OBE for services to music and charity.
Hatch wrote the theme for the ITV soap Crossroads but is best known for his collaborations with Petula Clark, the most famous of which was 1964’s Downtown.
He married frequent collaborator Jackie Trent in 1967 after meeting at an audition.