Eve Graham, the pop star known for her work with the 1970s group the New Seekers, has described receiving an MBE as “amazing and humbling”. The singer attended the King’s investiture ceremony at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on Tuesday as part of Royal Week in Scotland.
Graham, who is from Perth, was among those named on the New Year’s Honours list. She told the Press Association after the ceremony that the honour came as a complete surprise. “I’d been in America last November, singing over there. I came back and two days later on the doorstep was this letter. It was just so out of the blue, I was still suffering from jetlag. It was just amazing and so humbling. Though I’ve had a great career, the last thing I expected was to be honoured for it,” she said.
New Seekers’ international success
The New Seekers achieved international success with tracks like I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing and represented Britain in the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest. Graham, who continues to perform, credited Lulu with paving the way for Scottish singers to find success. Offering advice to young musicians, she said: “Do it because you love doing it and if it turns into something successful, or anything else, then you’re going to enjoy doing it even more.”
Other Scots honoured at the ceremony included former Hearts chairwoman Ann Budge and former Scotland rugby captain Rob Wainwright, both of whom received OBEs.
Ann Budge reflects on Hearts tenure
Budge stepped down from her long-standing role as chairwoman of Hearts at the end of last year, though she remains honorary president. She described the investiture as a “lovely, lovely experience”. Reflecting on her time at Hearts, she acknowledged the club’s “ups and downs” but expressed confidence in its upward trajectory. “I’ve still got my season ticket, I’ve never given that up. I haven’t enjoyed the last few months because it’s really quite difficult standing back when you’ve been so heavily involved over such a long period. That said – I’m now the honorary president. Which really means I don’t have to do anything except be wheeled out every so often. So, that’s quite nice,” she said.
Budge noted that Hearts had a “fantastic” season, coming within “a few minutes of winning the league”, and expressed hope the Edinburgh side would win the Scottish Premiership. “I hope we carry on stronger than ever,” she added.
Rob Wainwright honoured for charity work
Wainwright was made an OBE in the 2024 New Year Honours list for his voluntary and charity services, particularly his contributions to the late Doddie Weir’s foundation. He launched the Doddie’s Triple Crown endurance cycling challenge, which this year raised more than £1 million for the motor neurone disease charity. Wainwright said it had been “a real honour to meet the King and to have recognition”, and thanked those who worked at the foundation. “I’ve been in great company, some really interesting people who’ve done amazing things. We’ve had an amazing six or seven years of fundraising for My Name’s Doddie Foundation. We’ve got a fantastic community and I’m kind of collecting this on behalf of all the people who answered the call and came out, mainly on their bikes, and suffered a bit in order to raise money and find a cure for MND,” he told the Press Association.
