New Year Honours: OBE for The Selecter's Pauline Black

The lead singer of 2-Tone band The Selecter has praised her home city of Coventry after being appointed an OBE in the New Year Honours.

Pauline Black said the city "made me who I am today" and it was "wonderful" to be recognised during Coventry's UK City of Culture 2021 year.

The 68-year-old helped launch the cultural programme after the start date was delayed to May due to the pandemic.

Black, known as the Queen of Ska, is honoured for services to entertainment.

Having lived in Coventry for more than 50 years, she said the city had given her the chance to study, work and "ultimately find my creative voice within the 2-Tone movement, which has spearheaded the musical conversation about racism and sexism for the past 42 years".

Inspired by punk and reggae, she joined the fledging The Selecter in 1979 and the band released their debut album Too Much Pressure the following year.

They went on to release five top 40 singles in the UK and continue to perform live and record today.

When Coventry finally launched its year as UK City of Culture in May, the singer joined other figures from the city, including author Lee Child, in reading the words of author George Eliot as part of a short film.

In June, Black opened the signature event of the year, Coventry Moves, with a song called River Rushing Flow.

She then announced the winner of this year's Turner Prize on 1 December as part of the cultural celebrations.

The singer released her autobiography in 2011 and has collaborated with artists including Blur frontman Damon Albarn during her career.

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