Popular Music and the State: The British Honours System and its Treatment of Popular Musicians

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 20^th century and early 21^st 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.