Catatonia’s Cerys Matthews pays tribute to her family as she is made an OBE
The Cardiff-born singer received her medal from the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle.
Musician and broadcaster Cerys Matthews has paid tribute to her family as she was made an OBE, “in gratitude of the freedoms I have as a female in this era”.
The Cardiff-born singer was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to music and received her medal from the Prince of Wales at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.
The BBC Radio 6 Music presenter was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and is a familiar voice to many over the Christmas period thanks to her 1999 rendition of Baby It’s Cold Outside, sung with Sir Tom Jones.
Speaking to the Press Association after the ceremony, Matthews, 57, laughed as she recalled how she and William discussed her band, who shot to fame amid the “Cool Cymru” movement of the 1990s.
She said: “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).”
Matthews wore Black Watch tartan – Scotland’s royal regimental tartan – to the investiture, 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.
Matthews said: “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.
“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.
Matthews said: “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.
“This positive change… I hope it continues across the world.”
Techno DJ Carl Cox was also made an OBE for services to music, and told 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 going on to pioneer a number of DJing techniques, including the use of three decks.
Cox 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 is 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.”