SATURDAY KNIGHT FEVER
Bee Gee Barry made Sir & Strictly Darcey’s a Dame
SATURDAY Night Fever legend and last Bee Gee Barry Gibb is made a Sir in the New Year’s Honours, while Strictly’s Darcey Bussell becomes a Dame.
TWO pop icons and a Strictly judge have been given the highest awards in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List.
Bee Gees legend Barry Gibb and exBeatle Ringo Starr have been awarded knighthoods for services to music and charity.
And ballerina Darcey Bussell has been made a dame for services to dance.
Stayin’ Alive singer Sir Barry, 71, last night said he was “deeply honoured, humbled, and very proud”.
He added: “This is a moment in life to be treasured and never forgotten.
“I want to acknowledge how responsible my brothers are for this honour. It is as much theirs as it is mine.
“The magic, the glow, and the rush will last me the rest of my life.”
Sir Barry and his two brothers Maurice and Robin became pop superstars in the 1970s with a string of disco hits including How Deep Is Your Love and Night Fever.
He is the last surviving Bee Gee after Maurice died in 2003 and Robin passed away in 2012. Sir Barry’s solo performance at Glastonbury of the band’s old smash hits was one of this year’s music highlights.
Sir Ringo, 77, receives his title 20 years after his Fab Four bandmate Sir Paul McCartney got his.
Pleasure
He had not received an honour from the Queen since being made an MBE along with the rest of the band in 1965.
The music icon said: “It’s great! It’s an honour and a pleasure to be considered and acknowledged for my music and my charity work, both of which I love. “Peace and love. Ringo.” Macca had been campaigning for his old mate to join him as a Sir for years.
In 2011, he said it was “about time” the iconic drummer got more recognition from the Queen.
Ballet legend Dame Darcey receives the top honour following a stage career spanning more than 20 years.
She has become a household name on telly since joining the Strictly judging panel in 2012.
The 48-year-old said: “I am truly humbled to receive this honour.
“I gratefully accept it on behalf of all the dance organisations that I am so fortunate to be part of. Dance is such a beautiful art form, it is inspiring and provides joy, social cohesion and wellbeing.”
Breakfast telly king Eamonn Holmes last night joked that getting an OBE was “like getting a gold star for your homework”.
The 58-year-old This Morning host also said of his wife and co-star Ruth Langsford: “Ruth was even more thrilled than I was.
“I think she just thought it was very well deserved.”
Blackadder and Night Manager actor Hugh Laurie, 58, was given an upgrade from an OBE to a CBE. And telly chef Rick Stein, 70, was given a CBE for his services to the economy in Cornwall.