Annie Lennox
OBE |
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| Background information |
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| Birth name | Ann Lennox |
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| Born | 25 December 1954 (age 61) |
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| Origin | Aberdeen, Scotland |
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| Genres |
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| Occupation(s) |
- Singer
- songwriter
- activist
- humanitarian ambassador
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1976–present |
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| Labels |
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| Associated acts |
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| Website | .annielennox.com |
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Annie Lennox,
OBE (born 25 December 1954), born
Ann Lennox, is a
Scottish singer, songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the
new wave band
The Tourists, she and fellow musician
David A. Stewart went on to achieve major international success in the 1980s as
Eurythmics. With a total of eight
Brit Awards, including Best British Female Artist six times, Lennox has won more than any other female artist. She has also been named the "Brits Champion of Champions".
[1]
Lennox has been named "The Greatest White Soul Singer Alive" by
VH1 and one of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by
Rolling Stone.
[3] In 2012, she was rated No. 22 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music.
[4] She has earned the distinction of "most successful female British artist in UK music history" due to her commercial success since the early 1980s. As of June 2008, including her work within Eurythmics, Lennox had sold over 80 million records worldwide.
[5]
Early life
Annie Lennox was born on Christmas Day 1954 in
Summerfield Maternity hospital,
Aberdeen, the daughter of Dorothy (née Ferguson) and Thomas Allison Lennox.
[6]
In the 1970s, Lennox won a place at the
Royal Academy of Music in London, where she studied the
flute, piano and harpsichord for three years. She lived on a student grant and worked at part-time jobs for extra money. Lennox was unhappy during her time at the Royal Academy and spent her time wondering what other direction she could take.
[7]
Lennox's flute teacher's final report stated: "Ann has not always been sure of where to direct her efforts, though lately she has been more committed. She is very, very able, however." Two years later, Lennox reported to the Academy: "I have had to work as a waitress, barmaid, and shop assistant to keep me when not in musical work." She also played and sang with a few bands, such as
Windsong, during the period of her course. In 2006, the academy made her an honorary Fellow.
[8] Lennox also was made a Fellow of the
Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama that year.
[9]
Music career
1976–1990: Dragon's Playground, The Tourists and Eurythmics
In 1976, Lennox was flautist with a band called Dragon's Playground, leaving before they appeared on TV's
New Faces.
[10] Between 1977 and 1980, she was the lead singer of
The Tourists (initially known as
The Catch), a British pop band and her first collaboration with
Dave Stewart.
Lennox and Stewart's second collaboration, the 1980s
synthpop duo
Eurythmics, resulted in her most notable fame, as the duo's
alto, soul-tinged lead singer. Early in Eurythmics' career, Lennox was known for her
androgyny,
[11][12] wearing suits and once impersonating
Elvis Presley. Eurythmics released a long line of
singles in the 1980s, including "
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (a US number one and UK number two), "
There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (UK number one), "
Love Is A Stranger", "
Here Comes the Rain Again", "
Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves", "
Who's That Girl?", "
Would I Lie to You?", "
Missionary Man", "
You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart", "
Thorn in My Side", "
The Miracle of Love" and "
Don't Ask Me Why". Although the Eurythmics never officially disbanded, Lennox made a fairly clear break from Stewart in 1990. Thereafter, she began her solo career.
[13]
Lennox and Stewart reconvened Eurythmics in the late 1990s with the album
Peace, their first album of new material in ten years. A subsequent concert tour was completed, with profits going to
Greenpeace and
Amnesty International.
[2]
Lennox has received eight
Brit Awards, the most of any female artist.
[14] Four of the awards were given during her time with Eurythmics, and another was given to the duo for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 1999.
[15]
1992–1993: Diva
Lennox began working with former
Trevor Horn protégé
Stephen Lipson, beginning with her 1992 solo début album,
Diva. It was a commercial and critical success, charting No. 1 in the UK, No. 6 in Germany, and No. 23 in the US where it went
double platinum.
[19][20] Lennox's profile was boosted by
Diva's singles, which included "
Why" and "
Walking on Broken Glass". "Why" won an
MTV Award for Best Female Video at the
1992 MTV Video Music Awards, while the video for "Walking on Broken Glass" set in the
British Regencyperiod, featured actors
Hugh Laurie and
John Malkovich.
[21][22] "
Little Bird" also formed a double A-side with "
Love Song for a Vampire", a soundtrack cut for
Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 movie
Bram Stoker's Dracula.
[23] The
B-side of her single "
Precious" was a self-penned song called "
Step by Step", which was later a hit for
Whitney Houston for the
soundtrack of the film
The Preacher's Wife.
[23] The song "
Keep Young and Beautiful" was included on the CD release as a bonus track (the original vinyl album had only ten tracks).
The album entered the UK album chart at no.1 and has since sold over 1.2 million copies in the UK alone, being certified quadruple platinum.
[24] It was also a success in the US where it was a top 30 hit and has sold in excess of 2,700,000 copies.
[19] In 1993, the album was included in
Q magazine's list of the "50 Best Albums of 1992".
Rolling Stonemagazine (25 June 1992, p. 41) described the album as "
...state-of-the-art soul pop..." and it is included in Rolling Stone's (13 May 1999, p. 56) "Essential Recordings of the 90's" list. The album won Best British Album at the 1993 Brit Awards.
[25]
1995–2000: Medusa and return to Eurythmics
Although Lennox's profile decreased for a period because of her desire to bring up her two children outside of the media's glare, she continued to record. Her second album,
Medusa, was released in March 1995. It consisted solely of
cover songs, all originally recorded by male artists including
Bob Marley,
The Clash, and
Neil Young. It entered the UK album chart at No. 1 and peaked in the US at number 11, spending 60 weeks on the
Billboard 200 chart and selling over 2,000,000 to date in the United States.
[19] It has achieved double platinum status in both the UK and the US.
[24][26] The album yielded four UK singles: "
No More I Love You's" (which entered the UK singles chart at No. 2, Lennox's highest ever solo peak),
[17] "
A Whiter Shade of Pale", "
Waiting in Vain" and "
Something So Right". The album was nominated for
Best Pop Vocal Album at the
Grammy Awards of 1996,
[27] losing to
Turbulent Indigo by
Joni Mitchell, however, Lennox won the Grammy Award for
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the single "No More I Love You's".
[28] Although Lennox declined to tour for the album, she did perform a large scale one-off concert in New York's
Central Park, which was filmed and later released on home video.
[29] Lennox provided an extensive solo vocal performance (without lyrics) for the
soundtrack score of the film
Apollo 13 in 1995.
[30]
In 1997, Lennox re-recorded the Eurythmics track "Angel" for the
Diana, Princess of Wales tribute album, and also recorded the song "Mama" for
The Avengers soundtrack album. In 1998, following the death of a mutual friend (former Tourists member
Peet Coombes), she re-united with
Dave Stewart.
[31] Following their first performance together in eight years at a record company party, Stewart and Lennox began writing and recording together for the first time since 1989. This resulted in the album
Peace. The title was designed to reflect the duo's ongoing concern with global conflict and world peace. The record was promoted with a concert on the
Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior II, where they played a mixture of old and new songs. "
I Saved the World Today" was the lead single, reaching number eleven on the
UK singles chart.
[32] Another single, released at the beginning of 2000, "
17 Again", made the UK top 40, and topped the
US dance chart.
[33] In 2002, Lennox received a
Billboard Century Award; the highest accolade from
BillboardMagazine, with Editor-in-Chief Timothy White describing her as one of "the most original and unforgettably affecting artists in the modern annals of popular music."
[2]
2003–2007: Bare and work in Africa
Annie Lennox on stage in 2004
In 2003, Lennox released her third solo album,
Bare. The album peaked at No. 3 in the UK and No. 4 in the US – her highest charting album in the US to date.
[34] She embarked on her first tour as a solo artist to promote the album. The tour, simply titled Solo Tour, pre-dated the release of the album and visited both the US and Europe, with only a two-night stop in the UK at Saddler's Wells Theatre in London. The album has been certified Gold in both the UK and the US and was nominated for
Best Pop Album at the
46th Grammy Awards.
[35] The album was released with a DVD which included interviews and acoustic versions of songs by Lennox.
[36]
In 2005, Lennox and Stewart collaborated on two new songs for their Eurythmics compilation album,
Ultimate Collection, of which "
I've Got a Life" was released as a single in October 2005. The promotional video for the song features Lennox and Stewart performing in the present day, with images of past Eurythmics videos playing on television screens behind them. The single peaked at number fourteen in the
UK Singles Chart and was a number-one US
Dance hit.
[16][17] On 14 November 2005, Sony BMG repackaged and released Eurythmics' back catalogue as 2005 Deluxe Edition Reissues.
[39] Lennox also collaborated with
Herbie Hancock doing the song "Hush, Hush, Hush" on his collaboration album,
Possibilities in August 2005.
[40]
2007–2008: Songs of Mass Destruction and AIDS activism
Ending her long association with
Stephen Lipson, Lennox's fourth solo album,
Songs of Mass Destruction, was recorded in Los Angeles with veteran producer
Glen Ballard(known for producing
Alanis Morissette's album,
Jagged Little Pill). It was released on 1 October 2007, and was the last studio album of Lennox's contract with
BMG. It peaked at No. 7 in the UK and No. 9 in the US.
[16][17] Lennox stated that she believed the album consisted of "twelve strong, powerful, really emotive songs that people can connect to". If she achieves that, she says, "I can feel proud of [it], no matter if it sells ten copies or 50 million."
[41] Lennox described it as "a dark album, but the world is a dark place. It's fraught, it's turbulent. Most people's lives are underscored with dramas of all kinds: there's ups, there's downs – the flickering candle."
[42] She added, "Half the people are drinking or drugging themselves to numb it. A lot of people are in pain."
[42]
The album's first single was "
Dark Road", released on 24 September 2007. Another song on the album, "
Sing", is a collaboration between Lennox and 23 prominent female artists:
Anastacia,
Isobel Campbell,
Dido,
Céline Dion,
Melissa Etheridge,
Fergie,
Beth Gibbons,
Faith Hill,
Angelique Kidjo,
Beverley Knight,
Gladys Knight,
k.d. lang,
Madonna,
Sarah McLachlan,
Beth Orton,
Pink,
Kelis,
Bonnie Raitt,
Shakira,
Shingai Shoniwa,
Joss Stone,
Sugababes,
KT Tunstall, and
Martha Wainwright. The song was recorded to raise money and awareness for the HIV/AIDS organisation
Treatment Action Campaign.
[43] Included among the group of vocalists are TAC activist members' own vocal group known as The Generics, whose CD of music inspired Lennox to make "Sing".
[43]
To promote
Songs of Mass Destruction, Lennox embarked on a primarily North American tour called Annie Lennox Sings, which lasted throughout October and November 2007.
[44]
2008–2009: The Annie Lennox Collection and departure from Sony
Finishing out her contract with Sony BMG, Lennox released the compilation album
The Annie Lennox Collection. Initially intended for release in September 2008, the release date was pushed back several months to allow Lennox to recuperate from a back injury.
[45] The compilation was eventually released in the US on 17 February 2009, and in the UK and Europe on 9 March 2009. Included on the track listing are songs from her four solo albums, one from the
Bram Stoker's Dracula soundtrack, and two new songs. One of these is a cover of
Ash's single, "
Shining Light". The other is a cover of a song by the English band
Keane, originally the B-side of their first single in 2000. Lennox renamed the song from its original title "
Closer Now" to "
Pattern of My Life". A limited 3-disc edition of the album included a DVD compilation featuring most of Lennox's solo videos since 1992, and also featured a second CD of rarer songs including a version of
R.E.M.'s "
Everybody Hurts" with
Alicia Keys and Lennox's Oscar winning "Into the West" from the third
Lord of the Rings film. The album entered the
UK Album Chart at No. 2 and remained in the top 10 for seven weeks.
[46]
Lennox's recording contract with
Sony BMG concluded with the release of
Songs of Mass Destruction and the subsequent retrospective album
The Collection, and much was made in the press in late 2007/early 2008 about the apparent animosity between Lennox and the record company. Lennox stated that while on a trip to South Africa in December 2007 to appear at the
46664 campaign in Johannesburg, the regional company office of the label failed to return phone calls and e-mails she made to them for three weeks, and had completely failed to promote the Sing project as planned. Upon her return to the UK, Lennox met with the head of Sony BMG UK, Ged Docherty, who was "mortified" by the problems she had encountered with the South African branch. However, the debacle (partly inflamed when Lennox's dissatisfaction with the South African office was made public on her blog) led to press reports falsely stating that she was being dropped by Sony BMG. The record company themselves quickly refuted the rumour stating that Lennox's contract with them had merely been fulfilled and that they hoped she would consider remaining with them. The British tabloid,
Daily Mirror, subsequently printed a retraction of its story about her being dropped by the label.
[47]
2010–2013: Island Records and A Christmas Cornucopia
According to
Metacritic,
A Christmas Cornucopia has gained "generally favourable reviews".
[51] Ian Wade of
BBC Music gave the album a very positive review, saying "this collection could find itself becoming as much a part of the holiday season as arguments with loved ones."
[52] Sal Cinquemani of
Slant Magazine awarded the album 3.5/5 and said "Lennox seems more inspired on
A Christmas Cornucopia than she has in years."
[53] John Hunt of
Qatar Today magazine gave the album 9/10 and said "in particular, the vocal work and musical arrangement of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' are impactful to the point of being intimidating."
[54]
2014: Nostalgia
In October 2014, Lennox released her sixth solo album,
Nostalgia.
[56] The album is a collection of Lennox's childhood favourite soul, jazz and blues songs.
[57] Critic Mike Wass of
Idolator stated that Lennox "puts her own inimitable spin" on the selected tracks.
[58] The
lead single "I Put a Spell On You" received its first radio play on 15 September 2014 by
Ken Bruce on
BBC Radio 2.
[59] Upon release, the album entered the UK and US Top 10, and reached number one on the US
Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart. The album was nominated for a
Grammy Award for
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. On 28 January 2015, Lennox performed a live concert at the
Orpheum Theatre in
Los Angeles entitled
An Evening of Nostalgia with Annie Lennox. The show aired on
PBS in the US in April 2015, and was released on DVD and Blu-ray internationally in May 2015.
[60]
Public image
Charity and political work
Lennox has been a public supporter of
Amnesty International and
Greenpeace for many years, and she and Dave Stewart donated all of the profits from Eurythmics' 1999 Peacetour to both charities.
[63]
In 2006, in response to her humanitarian work, Lennox became patron of the Master's Course in
Humanitarian and Development Practicefor
Oxford Brookes University.
[2] In October 2006, Lennox spoke at the
British House of Commons about the need for children in the UK to help their counterparts in Africa.
[2]
Lennox's 2007 song "
Sing" was born out of her involvement with
Nelson Mandela's 46664 campaign and
Treatment Action Campaign(TAC), both of which are human rights groups which seek education and health care for those affected by HIV.
[2][43] In December 2007, Lennox established
The SING Campaign, an organisation dedicated to raising funds and awareness for women and children affected by HIV and AIDS.
[67]
On 11 December 2007, she performed in the
Nobel Peace Prize Concert in
Oslo, Norway together with a variety of artists, which was broadcast to over 100 countries.
[68] Lennox appeared at the Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Tribute in June 2008
[69] and then led a rally against the
Gaza War in London on 3 January 2009.
[70]
Lennox opened the 2009 Edinburgh Festival of Politics with commentary on Pope
Benedict XVI's approach to HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa. She said that the Pope's denunciation of condoms on his recent tour of Africa had caused "tremendous harm" and she criticised the Roman Catholic Church for causing widespread confusion on the continent. Lennox also condemned the media's obsession with "celebrity culture" for keeping the AIDS pandemic off the front page. During her address, Lennox wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "HIV positive". Lennox wore similar T-shirts at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concert at Madison Square Garden on 30 October 2009,
[71] during her appearance on
The Graham Norton Show on 30 November 2009 (where she performed the new song "Full Steam", a duet with singer
David Gray), during a recorded performance for
American Idol during a 21 April 2010 fundraiser, entitled
Idol Gives Back, and during a performance on the live
Comic Relief show on 18 March 2011.
"She is one of those exemplary human beings who chose to put her success in her chosen career to work in order to benefit others. She is a true friend of Africa and of South Africa. Her Aids activism in general, and support for the treatment action campaign in-particular, contributed significantly to turning the pandemic around in our country."
In November 2013, Lennox received the Music Industry Trusts Award for her career achievements in music and her charity commitments.
[72] Elton John said of her award; "It is so well deserved and not only for your extraordinary contribution to music and songwriting but also for your outstanding and tireless work as an HIV and AIDS activist and supporter of woman's rights," while
Adele stated; "Annie Lennox has been a constant part of my life. An example of a brilliant talent that exudes excellence and influence on everyone."
[72]
Gay icon
Lennox has garnered a significant following within the
LGBT community. According to
The Advocate, "her distinctive voice and provocative stage persona have made Lennox a longtime gay icon."
[79] With Eurythmics' music videos earning regular rotation on MTV in the 1980s, Lennox took part in the shaping of popular culture alongside other gay icons such as
Boy George,
Madonna,
Morrissey, and
Michael Stipe.
[80]
Exhibition
In conjunction with the
Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Lennox put many items from her collection—costumes, accessories, photographs, awards, ephemera from her political campaigns, and personal belongings—on display. This collection, which spanned her entire career, along with music videos and interviews, became
The House of Annie Lennox at the V+A from 15 September 2011 to 26 February 2012.
[81] An expanded version of the exhibit was later installed at
The Lowry in
Salford from 17 March 2012 to 17 June,
[82][83] before moving to Aberdeen for twelve weeks.
[84]
Music videos
Both as part of Eurythmics and in her solo career, Lennox has made over 60 music promo videos. The 1987 Eurythmics album
Savage and her 1992 solo album
Diva were both accompanied by video albums, both directed by
Sophie Muller.
[85] Actors
Hugh Laurie and
John Malkovich appeared in the music video for "
Walking on Broken Glass" in period costume, while the video for "
Little Bird" paid homage to the different images and personas that have appeared in some of Lennox's previous videos.
[22] The clip features Lennox performing on stage with several lookalikes (male and female) that represent her personas from "Why", "Walking on Broken Glass", "Sweet Dreams", "Beethoven", "I Need a Man", "Thorn in My Side", "There Must Be an Angel", and even her stage image from the 1992
Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.
[86]
Personal life
Lennox has been married three times. Her first marriage, from 1984 to 1985, was to German
Hare Krishna devotee Radha Raman.
[87] From 1988 to 2000, she was married to
Israeli film and record producer
Uri Fruchtmann.
[88] The couple have two daughters, Lola and
Tali. A son, Daniel, was stillborn in 1988.
[89] On 15 September 2012, Lennox married
South African gynaecologist Dr. Mitch Besser, in London in a private ceremony.
In September 2012, Lennox featured in Series 9 of the BBC's
Who Do You Think You Are?, in which she discovered that her great-great-grandmother Jessie Fraser worked, at the age of 13, at the
Broadford Flax Mill in Aberdeen. Her maternal grandmother, Dora Paton, was a dairy maid at the
Balmoral Royal Estate and her maternal grandfather, William Ferguson, was a
gamekeeper also at Balmoral, who on one occasion danced with the then
queen consort of the United Kingdom,
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
[90]
Discography
Studio albums
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Compilation albums
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Awards and nominations
Lennox has received a variety of major awards during her career:
[94]
- BRIT Awards[95]
- 1984 – Best British Female Artist
- 1986 – Best British Female Artist
- 1989 – Best British Female Artist
- 1990 – Best British Female Artist
- 1993 – Best British Female Solo Artist
- 1993 – Best British Album (Diva)
- 1996 – Best British Female Solo Artist
- 1999 – Outstanding Contribution to British Music (Eurythmics)
- American Music Awards[96]
- 2008 – AMA Award of Merit for her work and her humanitarian efforts
- Academy Awards[97]
- 2004 – Best Original Song ("Into the West")
- Grammy Awards[98]
- 1984 – Best New Artist (Eurythmics) (nominated)
- 1986 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (Eurythmics, "Would I Lie to You?") (nominated)
- 1987 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (Eurythmics, "Missionary Man") (Won)
- 1993 – Album of the Year (Diva) (nominated)
- 1993 – Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (Diva) (nominated)₣
- 1993 – Best Music Video – Long Form (Diva) (Won)
- 1996 – Best Pop Album (Medusa) (nominated)
- 1996 – Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("No More I Love You's") (Won)
- 2004 – Best Pop Album (Bare) (nominated)
- 2005 – Best Song Written For a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media ("Into the West") (Won)
- 2014 – Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album (Nostalgia) (nominated)
- Ivor Novello Awards[99]
- 1984 – Songwriter of the Year for Lennox and Dave Stewart
- 1987 – Songwriter of the Year for Lennox and Dave Stewart
- 1987 – Best contemporary song ("Its Alright, (Baby's Coming Back)")
- 1993 – Best Song ("Why")
- MTV Music Awards[21]
- 1984 - MTV Best New Artist “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)”
- 1992 – Best Female Video ("Why")
- 1992 - MTV European Video Of The Year (“Why”)
- Golden Globe Awards[100]
- 2004 – Best Original Song – Motion Picture ("Into the West")
- Honorary degrees and awards[101]
- Other awards/titles/ambassadorships[103]
- 2002 – Billboard Century Award by Billboard
- 2008 – OUT magazine honoured Lennox for her work in the HIV and AIDS field. The top 100 most influential people in Gay Culture.
- 2008 – The British Red Cross Services to Humanity Award
- 2008 – Glamour Magazine's Inspirational Woman of the Year Award
- 2008 – Honoured at the 2008 Youth AIDS Gala, for her contribution in helping the fight against HIV and AIDS
- 2008 – The German Sustainability "special achievement" award for her commitment in the fight against HIV and AIDS
- 2008 – Webby Award for official website www.annielennox.com[104]
- 2009 РSave the Children "Amigo de los Ni̱os" Award
- 2009 – Awarded the "Freedom of the City of London" by the British Red Cross for services to humanity in the field of HIV and AIDS
- 2009 – Nobel Peace Laureates for services to humanity
- 2010 – Patron of the Elton John AIDS Foundation
- 2010 – Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Scotland
- 2010 – Ambassador for HIV/AIDS in London
- 2010 – UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador
- 2010 – Barclays Women of the Year Award
- 2010 – International Service Award for Global Defence of Human Rights[105]
- 2010 – GQ Charity Woman of the Year Award
- 2010 – Harper's Bazaar Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2010 – Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her work fighting AIDS and poverty in Africa
- 2013 – Music Industry Trust Award (MITS) for her creativity and work that inspires those who work within the music business and millions of others worldwide
