Richard Thompson OBE

The national press comments on the award of an OBE to Richard Thompson have generally been dismal, with endless references to Fairport Convention which he actually left in 1971. That's 38 years of recordings ( since Henry the Human Fly came out in 1972) left unmentioned, and little sense of his achievements in the wider context of British music. The Guardian, which ought to have known better, described Thompson as a guitarist and songwriter 'once of Fairport Convention but also a writer of lyrics for Robert Plant and Elvis Costello.' That's about as wrong-headed as it could be.

Still, whatever one thinks about the merits of the Honours system, ( and Thompson's own web-site, Beesweb, suggests he is proud of his award ) it is at least entertaining to think of the processes by which his OBE was confirmed. Key responsibility lay with an Arts and Media sub-committee which uses its 'specialist' knowledge to identify candidates, who are then submitted to an overall selection committee, which in turns makes recommendations to the Prime Minister, who then sends the final list to the Queen. Current members of the Arts and Media group include:

Independent Chairman: Lord Stevenson of Coddenham CBE

Non-civil service members: Dame Jenny Abramsky DBE, Former director, radio and music, BBC; John Gross, author and former theatre critic of The Sunday Telegraph; Ben Okri OBE, novelist and poet; Sir Peter Stothard, Editor of The Times Literary Supplement

Permanent Secretary (Department for Culture, Media and Sport): Jonathan Stephens

Permanent Secretary (Scottish Executive): Sir Peter Housden KCB

Any closet Thompson fans there? Stevenson was the former chair of HBOS, who was forced to resign after the company's virtual collapse, and subsequently apologised to the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee for his role in the affair, which led to a government bail out to the banks of £37b. His 'remorse' echoes Thompson's penitent banker in The Money Shuffle' from Dream Attic (2010):

I love kittens and little babies, Can't you see that's the guy I am, And your money is so safe with me, You've never met such an honest man.

Or perhaps DC himself listens to Thompson alongside the Smiths? Maybe Richard, like Marr and Morrissey, should have forbidden Dave from liking his music.