Journal of Cultural Analysis and Social Change, 2019, 4(2), 12 ISSN: 2589-1316 Popular Music and the State: The British Honours System and its Treatment of Popular Musicians Emma-Jayne Reekie 1* 1 University of Liverpool, UNITED KINGDOM *Corresponding Author:
[email protected] Citation: Reekie, E. J. (2019). Popular Music and the State: The British Honours System and its Treatment of Popular Musicians, Journal of Cultural Analysis and Social Change, 4(2), 12. https://doi.org/10.20897/jcasc/6356 Published: December 11, 2019 ABSTRACT This article examines popular musicians recognised by the British honours system within its first hundred years of operation (1917-2017). Through a statistical analysis of a unique dataset of the honoured musicians, compiled for this article, it will be asserted that to be worthy of an honour entails possessing certain non- musical attributes including economic worth and notions of a particular type of Britishness. The increasing importance of popular music to Britain’s cultural life, identity and heritage through the 20th century and early 21st century is vital for understanding why musicians are valued by the government through the conferral of awards. The volume of musicians awarded post-1997 will demonstrate a shift in the perception of popular music by the British government as the creative industries become increasingly important to the British economy and finally, further analysis will reveal that women are underrepresented in the honours system, a trend which reflects wider socio-cultural trends in the recognition of women artists. Keywords: awards, popular music, cultural economy, honours system, Britishness INTRODUCTION “The thing about honours is that you should never ask for them, and you should never really expect them, but I think you should accept them if they are given to you” (Eliscu, 2002).