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CLAPTON & DAVIES GET ROYAL HONORS
1/1/04
 LONDON
(AP) -- Could Queen Elizabeth II be a rock 'n roll fan? Legendary guitarist Eric Clapton
and Kinks founder Ray Davies recei ved royal honors Wednesday, becoming Commanders of the Order of the British
Empire just weeks after Rolling Stone Mick Jagger picked up his knighthood at Buckingham
Palace.
Also among the luminaries singled out for awards in the annual New Year's Honors list were
World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, who became a knight, and tennis star Tim Henman,
made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, or OBE.
This year's honors have been the subject of more than the usual amount of debate.
Responding to criticism that the selection process was too secretive and tainted by
politics and public relations, the government announced it would review the system to make
it more open and independent.
One leaked document said Henman, a four-time Wimbledon semifinalist whose failure to win
the tournament has bitterly disappointed Britons, was being recommended for an OBE to
"add interest" to the list.
Physicist Berners-Lee, now at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is credited with
making the Internet accessible to millions by inventing the Web system of servers and
browsers which he distributed free. A prominent scientist, Colin Blakemore, complained
publicly about reports that he was denied a knighthood because he is a vocal proponent of
research on animals. He did not get an award.
Though the honors are bestowed by the queen, she chooses only a few. Most recipients are
selected by committees of civil servants from nominations made by the government and the
public.
But Britons are divided over the importance of the awards - Keith Richards criticized his bandmate Jagger for accepting the knighthood,
saying he shouldn't have associated himself with such a symbol of the establishment.
And The Sunday Times published a list of 300 well-known people - including singer
David Bowie, comedian John Cleese and actors Albert Finney and Kenneth Branagh - who had
declined honors since 1945.
Clapton, 58, a member of the 1960s R&B band the Yardbirds and a founder of the rock
trio Cream, has won more than 15 Grammy awards and gained greatest renown for his solo
career, with songs like "Layla," "After Midnight" and "Wonderful
Tonight". 
Davies, 59, founded the Kinks with his brother Dave. Their hard-edged, guitar-driven music
drew a huge following in the '60s and beyond with hits like "You Really Got Me,"
"All Day and All of the Night" and "Lola."
Among the 981 people receiving honors: 37 players and coaches from England's
national rugby team, which won this year's World Cup. Lesser-known names also were singled
out for awards, sometimes for quirky pursuits. Andy Hine, chairman of the Roller Coaster
Club of Great Britain, was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire, or MBE, for
services to tourism.
Animal behavior expert Bruce Fogle, co-founder of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, also got
an MBE, as did Anne Patrizio, an Edinburgh, Scotland, teacher who has campaigned for the
rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. MBEs also went to a milkman, a
school handyman and a former crossing guard.
Author and historian Harold Evans, whose book The American Century was a best
seller, was made a knight. He is a former editor of The Times and The Sunday
Times in Britain and served as vice chairman and editorial director of the New
York Daily News and U.S. News and World Report magazine. Former NATO
Secretary General Lord Robertson received a knighthood.
 Actress
Joan Plowright, wife of the late Laurence Olivier, was made a dame, the female equivalent
of a knight. So was Rabbi Julia Neuberger, a broadcaster, author and health care charity
chief.
Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, awards went to Billy Elliot
director Stephen Daldry and to Philip Pullman, author of the children's fantasy trilogy His
Dark Materials. Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman Godric Smith also got
a CBE, as did cartoonist Ronald Searle, 83.
Actress Virginia McKenna, whose role in the African lion saga Born Free, led to a
career in wildlife conservation, received an OBE. An OBE also went to craggy-faced actor
Pete Postlethwaite, nominated for an Oscar for 1993's In the Name of the Father.
In descending order, the honors are knighthoods, CBE, OBE and MBE. Those who are awarded
CBEs, OBEs and MBEs have no title but can put the letters after their names.
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