Skin awarded OBE in the Queen's 2021 Birthday Honours list

She's been recognised for her "services to music"

Author: Scott ColothanPublished 13th Jun 2021
Last updated 13th Jun 2021

Skunk Anansie singer and Absolute Radio presenter Skin has been awarded an OBE (The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s 2021 Birthday Honours list.

First established by King George V in 1917, OBEs reward contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service.

Honoured under her real name of Deborah Ann Dyer, singer, songwriter, author, DJ, model and radio presenter Skin has been recognised for her “services to music.”

Celebrating the news, Skin shared a photo of herself on Instagram and wrote: “The face you make when you get an OBE!!

“Not bad for a skinny black girl from Brixton who fell in love with Rock & Roll!! But seriously, this is a lovely thing to happen to me and I’m quite chuffed, gonna take a step back and suck it in.”

53-year-old Skin co-founded Skunk Anansie in 1994 alongside bassist Richard "Cass" Lewis and guitarist Martin "Ace" Kent and the band’s first two studio albums – 1995’s ‘Paranoid & Sunburnt’ and 1996’s ‘Stoosh’ - went Platinum in the UK.

Skunk Anansie also scored a string of hit singles in the late 90s including ‘Weak’, ‘Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)’, ‘Brazen (Weep)’ and ‘Charlie Big Potato’, and they were the last band of the 20th Century to headline The Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury when they topped the bill on Sunday 27th June 1999.

Seven years after their split, Skunk Anansie reformed in 2008 and they have released three further studio albums to date – ‘Wonderlustre’ (2010), ‘Black Traffic’ (2012) and ‘Anarchytecture’ (2016).

Last year, Skin released her acclaimed autobiography ‘It Takes Blood And Guts’ and she was unveiled as The Duck on the first series of TV show The Masked Singer.

In October 2020, Skin hosted a new 10-part series on Absolute Radio called The Skin Show, and it returned for a second season in early 2021.

Absolute Radio’s Skin Tings podcast, which launched this spring, features Skin chatting to her musical heroes and some of the most exciting up and coming talent.

Guests have included Debbie Harry, Billy Corgan, Shirley Manson, Arlo Parks, Paul Weller, Sam Bettens, Joan Armatrading, Living Colour and the legendary Annie Lennox.

Everyone at Absolute Radio congratulates Skin on her incredible achievement!

Listen to Skin Tings with Annie Lennox:

The real names of famous musicians:

Mark Berry (Bez)


John Martin Maher (Johnny Marr)


Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (Lana Del Rey)


William Bruce Rose (Axl Rose)


Gerard Crosbie (Gerry Cinnamon)


Edward Louis Severson III (Eddie Vedder)


Farrokh Bulsara (Freddie Mercury)


Michael Peter Balzary (Flea)


Perry Bernstein (Perry Farrell)


Robert Deal (Mick Mars)


Frank Ferrano (Nikki Sixx)


Frank Edwin Wright III (Tré Cool)


Courtney Michelle Harrison (Courtney Love)


Georg Albert Ruthenberg (Pat Smear)


Chaim Klein Witz (Gene Simmons)


James Newell Osterberg, JR. (Iggy Pop)


Vincent Damon Furnier (Alice Cooper)


Saul Hudson (Slash)


Michael Ryan Pritchard (Mike Dirnt)


Ronald James Padavona (Ronnie James Dio)


Bree Joanna Alice Robinson (Brody Dalle)


Chad Robert Turton (Chad Kroeger)


Deborah Anne Dyer (Skin)


Nicholas Jones (Nicky Wire)


Amy Lynn Hartzler (Amy Lee)


William Perks (Bill Wyman)


Jeffrey Isbell (Izzy Stradlin)


Stanley Eisen (Paul Stanley)


Henry Garfield (Henry Rollins)


Richard Harrison (Rick Parfitt)


Vincent Neil Wharton (Vince Neil)


Stevland Hardaway Morris (Stevie Wonder)


Michael McKagan (Duff McKagan)


Ian Kilmister (Lemmy)


John Baldwin (John Paul Jones)


Joan Larkin (Joan Jett)


Keith Palmer (Maxim Reality)


Eric Patrick Clapp (Eric Clapton)


Susan Janet Ballion (Siouxsie Sioux)


David Robert Hayward Stenton Jones (David Bowie)


Richard Wayne Penniman (Little Richard)


John Simon Ritchie (Sid Vicious)


Paul Daniel Frehley (Ace Frehley)


Louis Firbank (Lou Reed)


John Graham Mellor (Joe Strummer)


Mark Feld (Marc Bolan)


David Howell Evans (The Edge)


Marvin Lee Aday (Meatloaf)


Steven Victor Tallarico (Steven Tyler)


John Michael Osbourne (Ozzy Osbourne)


John Francis Bongiovi (Jon Bon Jovi)


John Anthony Gillis (Jack White)


Paul David Hewson (Bono)


Reginald Kenneth Dwight (Elton John)


Gordon Sumner (Sting)


Robert Allen Zimmerman (Bob Dylan)


Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (Lorde)


Gary Mounfield (Mani)


Alan John Wren (Reni)


Quentin Leo Cook (Fatboy Slim)


Jake Edwin Charles Kennedy (Jake Bugg)


Roger Keith Barrett (Syd Barrett)


George Ezra Barnett Smitherson (George Ezra)


William John Paul Gallagher (Liam Gallagher)


Rory Charles Graham (Rag'n'bone Man)


Stephanie Lynn Nicks (Stevie Nicks)


William Michael Albert Broad (Billy Idol)


Steven Patrick Morrissey (Morrissey)


Leslie Sebastian Charles (Billy Ocean)


Paul Arthurs (Bonehead)


Graham McPherson (Suggs)


Stuart Leslie Goddard (Adam Ant)


Andrew John Hozier-Byrne (Hozier)


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