Dame Shirley Bassey receives Companion of Honour (Image: Getty)
Dame Shirley Bassey said it was “one of the most wonderful feelings” after being made a Companion of Honour in the King’s New Year Honours list.
The Welsh singer, 86, was given the elite award for “conspicuous national service” following a lifetime of hits including classics such as Big Spender and Goldfinger.
Dame Shirley declared herself “truly humbled” by the honour, created by the King’s great-grandfather George V.
She earned her gong alongside a roll-call of big names from showbusiness and sport.
They include Blade Runner and Napoleon director Sir Ridley Scott, who was made a Knight Grand Cross, and Paul Hollywood, handed an MBE for services to baking and broadcasting.
Veteran disc jockeys Tony Blackburn and Steve Wright were honoured for decades of service spinning records, with an OBE and MBE respectively.
England’s Lionesses were rewarded for following up their 2022 Euros triumph with a run to the final of this year’s World Cup in Australia.
Captain Millie Bright received an OBE, while goalkeeper Mary Earps and striker Lauren Hemp both came away with MBEs for services to football.
Rugby’s Sir Bill Beaumont was made Knight Grand Cross, former England cricket captain Stuart Broad became a CBE, and Peter Shilton, ex-England goalie, an OBE.
Dame Shirley, famous for her powerful voice, lavish gowns and impoverished upbringing in Cardiff’s Tiger Bay, was overjoyed with her latest honour.
She said: “Music has been a constant companion in my life.”
“As a little girl growing up in Tiger Bay, I would dream of travelling the world and never imagined that one day my voice would take me to where I am now. Every step of my career has been about taking that chance, believing in myself and making that leap.”
“I live to sing and love to perform. Entertaining audiences for over 70 years has been a privilege. My heart is full of emotion and I am truly humbled.”
The youngest of seven children, she worked in a factory before launching a singing career by
performing weekends at working men’s clubs.
She scored her first hit in 1957 with a version of the Banana Boat Song and has since gone on to sell more than 140 million records.
As well as Goldfinger, she performed the title song for two other James Bond movies, Diamonds Are Forever and Moonraker.
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BBC legend Tony, 80, called his OBE “the icing on a very lovely cake” after his six decades in broadcasting.
A pioneer of pirate stations with Radio Caroline in the early 1960s and a BBC stalwart from then on, he added: “Receiving this honour is truly unexpected and very humbling.
“When I first replied to a New Musical Express advert looking for DJs back in 1964, I never imagined that nearly 60 years later, I would still be doing something I love so much.”
“To still be in a radio studio a few times a week, being welcomed into so many listeners’ homes, sharing mine and their memories, and playing the music I love is simply wonderful.”
“To be recognised for my work in broadcasting in this way is testament to all those I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the years, on both the BBC and in commercial radio. It really is the best job and to receive this award is the icing on a very lovely cake.”
His fellow DJ – best known for the Steve Wright BBC2 afternoon show – dedicated his MBE to the broadcasters who kept Britain going during the Covid pandemic.
“I love doing my radio shows and try to put in the hours to make them entertaining for listeners,” he said. The 69-year-old, who joined the BBC in 1980, added: “In the back of my mind I know there are people more deserving.
READ MORE Rugby legends honoured with CBEs for Motor Neurone Disease advocacy
“My dad says, ‘Accept the award with good grace and favour.’ I also dedicate it to all the people in broadcasting who gave comfort
and public service during the pandemic.”
Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke, 37, became an MBE alongside her mother Jenny, with whom she founded the brain injury
charity SameYou.
Emilia – who survived a brain haemorrhage during her time playing the fantasy saga’s Mother Of Dragons – called the honour “remarkable, life enhancing and magical”.
Her co-star in the show, Oliver Ford Davies, said he was “honoured” to become an OBE after a 60-year acting career.
TV presenter and writer Ms McVey also wants a greater variety of people from “more walks of life” involved in deciding who best should receive an honour.
Her call came as famous faces from the worlds of sport and entertainment were rewarded in the King’s New Year honours alongside often unknown but extraordinary charity workers, community stalwarts and tireless fundraisers.
The 84-year-old added: “But I’m not done yet – next autumn I shall be playing Malvolio for the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. Then maybe another shot at Lear?”
Former X Factor winner Leona Lewis was made an OBE for her charity work and a string of hits that brought her nominations for seven Brit awards and three Grammies. The songwriter Don Black said his CBE – for a 60-year career in which has collaborated with Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Van Morrison and other luminaries – was “wonderful”.
The founder of the Glastonbury Festival, Michael Eavis, was knighted, and joked after hearing the news that Prince William might want to do his investiture.
“He’s made a few mentions of wanting to come to the festival, so I’ll probably take a couple of tickets in my pocket,” he added.
Charlie Mackesy, the artist and author behind the bestselling book The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse, was given a CBE.
Mary Earps’s honour follows her crowning as 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
BBC sports presenter Hazel Irvine and ex-Sky host Jeff Stelling were awarded MBEs, and Howard Wilkinson, who was briefly England football manager, an OBE.
