Elvis Costello has been awarded an O.B.E. – the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire. The award was given as part of the Queen’s honors birthday list for his contribution to music.
Posting on his official website, Costello wrote: “I am happy to accept this very surprising honor.”
He continued: “I have to admit that my first reaction, upon receiving an ‘O.H.M.S.’ letter was, ‘Oh no, they’ve finally tumbled me.’ For those of you who enjoy irony, I was standing in my dressing room, at the ‘Queen Elizabeth Theater’ at the time. That’s Vancouver, British Columbia, you know. The pink has stained the map all over the world.”
He then went onto explain that he initially considered rejecting the award as he was not brought up with “loyalty to the crown.” In the end though, he decided to accept the honor after his mother convinced him that one must be gracious and accept an award if it is offered.
He then concluded: “To be honest, I’m pretty tickled to receive this acknowledgement for my ‘Services To Music,’ as it confirms my long held suspicion nobody really listens to the words in songs or the outcome might have been somewhat different.”
You can read his full statement here.
