Sony Music Group chairman Rob Stringer, lyricist Bernie Taupin, singer Pauline Black and the Spice Girls’ Mel B are among the music industry professionals recognized in the 2022 New Year Honours List, the annual U.K. tradition dating back to 1890 that bestows titles upon a number of individuals in recognition of their work and is presented in the name of Queen Elizabeth II.
Rob Stringer, leading as chairman of Sony Music Group and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, received the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) honor for his service to creative industries, social justice and charity. He notably launched Sony’s $100 million Social Justice Fund to support social justice and anti-racist initiatives globally.
Bernie Taupin, longtime lyricist for Elton John — the pair have been collaborating for more than 50 years — also received a CBE for exceptional services to music.
Pauline Black, singer with ska’s The Selecter for more than 40 years, received an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to entertainment.
Singer Mel B (Melanie Brown) received an MBE, making her a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, for services to charitable causes and vulnerable women related to her work with domestic violence charity Women’s Aid.
James Bond gatekeepers and Eon Productions heads Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are also among the names on the 2022 list.
The duo, who produced this year’s smash hit No Time To Die, currently the third most successful film of all time in the U.K., have been given CBE honors for a “services to film, to drama, to philanthropy and to skills.” They both already have an OBE.
Another CBE recipient on the 2022 list is Jason Bourne and Captain Phillips director Paul Greengrass for “services to the arts,” while John Boorman, the veteran filmmaker behind Deliverance and Excalibur and already a CBE, is to get a knighthood, the highest honor on the Order of the British Empire list for “services to film.”
Stage and screen icon and renowned activist Vanessa Redgrave, together with Joanna Lumley, best known for playing Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous and for her activism on behalf of Gurkha veterans, are both receiving Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire honors, one step below a knighthood. Redgrave’s award is in recognition for her “services to the arts” while Lumley’s is for “services to drama, to entertainment and to charitable causes.”
The 2022 list, announced just 90 minutes before midnight on Dec. 31, 2021, features a heavy crop of British sports stars, charity workers and, perhaps unsurprisingly, individuals known for their work in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Knighthoods are going to the chief medical officers for England, Scotland and Wales.
A portion of this article first appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
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