On South African Freedom Day, Sunday April 27, 2014, the twentieth Anniversary of Democracy in South Africa, Jerry Dammers, the British musician, will be awarded National Honours, described by the South African Presidency as, “the highest awards that our country bestows on its citizens and eminent foreign nationals who have contributed towards the advancement of democracy and who have made a significant impact on improving the lives of South Africans”. Dammers will be awarded the prestigious ‘Order of the Companions of O.R.Tambo (in Silver)’ for “his excellent musical contribution to the international Free Mandela Campaign and his involvement in the influential Artists Against Apartheid”.
Other non-South Africans who will receive awards that day include Lord Richard Attenborough, the maker of the films, ‘Gandhi’ and ‘Cry Freedom’, Quincy Jones, musician and producer for Michael Jackson, former British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock and the Hollywood actor Danny Glover.
Jerry Dammers comments, “I am very honoured indeed to be receiving this award, especially considering the extreme sacrifices very many people in South Africa made in getting rid of Apartheid, compared to what I did, which was only what anyone would have tried to do in my position at the time. I am extremely thankful for this appreciation I am being shown now, and would like to thank all the artists who performed under the Artists Against Apartheid banner both at Wembley Stadium , and in the concerts leading up to the Wembley concerts”.
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