Catatonia’s Cerys Matthews pays tribute to her family as she is made an OBE

Izzie Addison, Press Association and Nation.Cymru Staff

Musician and broadcaster Cerys Matthews has paid tribute to her family as she was made an OBE, “in gratitude of the freedoms I have as a female in this era”.

The Cardiff-born singer was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to music and received her medal from the Prince of Wales at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.

The BBC Radio 6 Music presenter was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and is a familiar voice to many over the Christmas period thanks to her 1999 rendition of Baby It’s Cold Outside, sung with Sir Tom Jones.

Speaking to the Press Association after the ceremony, Matthews, 57, laughed as she recalled how she and William discussed her band, who shot to fame amid the “Cool Cymru” movement of the 1990s with songs such as ‘Storm the Palace’ and ‘International Velvet’.

She said: “It’s interesting, because he’s a little younger than I am, so I didn’t really know if he was a fan or not, but evidently (he is).”

Matthews wore Black Watch tartan – Scotland’s royal regimental tartan – to the investiture, in memory of her grandfather Oswald, who served in the Second World War and took part in the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy in 1944.

Matthews said: “Because I’m here with my mum, I’m wearing Black Watch tartan, because my grandad, he fought in the Second World War on D-Day with the South Wales Borderers, and his platoon was decimated, so a lot of the remaining survivors of D-Day then joined with the Black Watch (Regiment) to carry on with the Second World War.

“So I thought it’s fitting for me to wear Black Watch for his memory, and all the other people that sacrificed themselves for us.”

She added that her grandmother Olive did not have the freedom to pursue music because of economic and societal barriers as a young, working-class wartime bride.

Matthews said: “I’m here in their memory. I grew up in the 80s and 90s as a female who loved music, and I’ve been allowed, and I’ve thrived, in the music industry – sharing other people’s music and making my own, and I accept this honour in their memory, and in gratitude of the freedoms I have as a female in this era.

“This positive change… I hope it continues across the world.”