Musician and broadcaster Cerys Matthews has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to music, receiving her medal from the Prince of Wales at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.
The Cardiff-born singer, 57, paid tribute to her family as she accepted the honour, saying she did so “in gratitude of the freedoms I have as a female in this era”.
Catatonia and Cool Cymru
Matthews, a BBC Radio 6 Music presenter, was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia, who rose to fame amid the “Cool Cymru” movement of the 1990s. She is also widely recognised for her 1999 duet of Baby It’s Cold Outside with Sir Tom Jones.
Speaking to the Press Association after the ceremony, Matthews laughed as she recalled how William discussed her band with her, saying: “It’s interesting, because he’s a little younger than I am, so I didn’t really know if he was a fan or not, but evidently (he is).”
A tribute to her grandfather
For the investiture, Matthews wore Black Watch tartan – Scotland’s royal regimental tartan – in memory of her grandfather Oswald, who served in the Second World War and took part in the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy in 1944.
“Because I’m here with my mum, I’m wearing Black Watch tartan, because my grandad, he fought in the Second World War on D-Day with the South Wales Borderers, and his platoon was decimated, so a lot of the remaining survivors of D-Day then joined with the Black Watch (Regiment) to carry on with the Second World War,” Matthews said.
“So I thought it’s fitting for me to wear Black Watch for his memory, and all the other people that sacrificed themselves for us.”
She added that her grandmother Olive did not have the freedom to pursue music because of economic and societal barriers as a young, working-class wartime bride.
“I’m here in their memory. I grew up in the 80s and 90s as a female who loved music, and I’ve been allowed, and I’ve thrived, in the music industry – sharing other people’s music and making my own, and I accept this honour in their memory, and in gratitude of the freedoms I have as a female in this era,” Matthews said.
“This positive change… I hope it continues across the world.”
Carl Cox also honoured
Techno DJ Carl Cox was also made an OBE for services to music, telling PA it is an “incredible thing to be recognised for something that I have always just done”.
Cox has been a major figure on the British dance music scene for more than four decades, coming up during the rave scene of the 1980s and pioneering a number of DJing techniques, including the use of three decks.
He said of his conversation with William: “First and foremost, he really wanted me to know that he was genuinely, genuinely a big fan of mine. Been listening to my music for many years. He knew exactly who he was giving the honour to, which I think was a big day for him, as it was for me, and he said that, he said, ‘This is one of my best days ever’.”
The DJ added that he and William also share a love of motorcycles, of which Cox has a large collection, “so we spoke a little bit about that too”.
Cox attended Tuesday’s ceremony while in the middle of a tour of the US, and was due to fly to Atlanta, Georgia, the following day. He said: “In some ways, I feel like an ambassador, an artist from the UK, flying the British flag everywhere based on my music, and that’s what it feels like to land back in the UK to have the honour today, knowing how important that is for me and everyone else around me.”
Cox added: “By next year, I would have been putting needle on the record for 50 years, so it’s quite a thing to be able to still keep doing something, even at my time of my life as a 64-year-old man.”
