Screens for public viewing will be located in London’s Hyde park, centenary Square in Birmingham, Sheffield’s Cathedral Square, Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, Carlisle’s Bitts Park and Coleraine Town Hall located in Northern Ireland. If you are unable to get to one of the Big screens, selected cinemas will also be broadcasting the funeral. For those watching at home, the funeral service and the processions will be available to watch live via BBC one, ITV and Sky.

Details of how people can watch Her Majesty The Queen’s state funeral and the ceremonial processions have been publishedhttps://t.co/H7MFy0CXFe

— Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (@DCMS) September 18, 2022

As the world remembers Queen Elizabeth II for her time on the throne, many are left reminiscing about her influence within the arts, particularly those whom she has knighted and awarded for their service within music. Within Queen Elizabeth II’s long and storied 70-year reign, some of music’s most influential artists have received a royal nod of recognition. Named the Order of the British Empire, it consists of five levels of importance. The first is MBE, otherwise known as Member; the next is Officer (OBE), second to the top is Knight and Dame Commander (KBE and DBE) and the most important is Knight and Dame Grand Cross (GBE).

Here are some of the most notable names to be honoured by Queen Elizabeth II. Many know Bob Geldolf as the organiser and figurehead for Live Aid; not surprisingly, he was given an honorary knighthood by the late monarch on 10th June 1986. Otherwise known as the fifth Beatle, George Martin was given the GBE title in 1996 for his work as a record producer. The Beatles band member and solo artist Paul McCartney was knighted by the late Queen on 11th March 1997, fellow bandmate Ringo Starr joined the knighthood ranks at a ceremony on 29th December 2017.

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger took the knee in 2003 for his knighthood, fellow singer Ray Davies, frontman for The Kinks, was knighted in 2017. Some inductees are not English but are considered for an Order of the British empire due to their time spent within the UK; Barry Gibb from The Bee Gees is an example of this ruling; although the group are often linked to Australia, Gibb was knighted in 2017 due to the amount of time spent within the UK.

Even though most artists put forward for the award accept the invitation, many have refused to accept the Order of the British Empire. Famously David Bowie refused a CBE in 2000 and a Knighthood (GBE) in 2003. Speaking on his decision, the “Starman” singer gave the following statement, “I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that. I seriously don’t know what it’s for. It’s not what I spent my life working for. It’s not my place to make a judgement on Jagger, it’s his decision. But it’s just not for me.“

For more information concerning the state funeral please click here.

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A post shared by James Blake (@jamesblake)

The video is shot in black and white and is set at a funeral, with a number of black cars with individuals wearing black suits and dresses. One car is filmed and seats Slowthai at the back, with the 4 other people who look to be upset, fitting due to it being a funeral. Slowthai leaves the car for a cigarette before starting his verse, which then leads James Blake to be in the seat that Slowthai had just left with the mood in the car having changed to laughter.

The song “Funeral” is off James Blakes latest album, Friends that Break Your Heart(Bonus), with the original version not having Slowthai as a feature on the track. The project was released on the 8th of October and in the midweek charts is expected to reach a top 5 in this week’s charts. The pair teamed up to perform their new track together on The Tonight show with Jimmy Fallon.

 

 

 

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James Blake has announced an intimate solo piano show for banquet records on the 28th of April to celebrate the release of his new project, performing at Pryzm, Kingston.

Ahead of the release of his new project James Blake has appeared on the cover of a number of notable magazines including Contents, GQ and Clash. As well as this the 33-year-old musician has announced the Friends that Break Your Heart tour which will the singer perform at 9 dates, including Glasgow, Manchester, Brussels, Copenhagen, Berlin, Paris, Utrecht, Sheffield and London.

This isn’t the first time Slowthai and James Blake have worked together with James Blake appearing on Slowthai’s latest album Tyron on the track “Feel a Way”. This is also not James Blakes first time working with a rapper and in recent years the 33-year-old has made a habit of having worked alongside Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock and UK rapper Dave.

Slowthai has been relatively quiet since the release of his chart-topping album Tyron, with his only musical appearance having been as a feature, one alongside Pa Salieu for their track “Glidin” which was announced to be on the upcoming FIFA tracklist, “BDE” with Shygirl and “Slugger” alongside $not and Kevin Abstract.

The video for James Blakes track “Funeral” featuring Slowthai is available to watch here: