December 21, 2006 - University of East London: Damon Albarn awarded honorary Master of Arts of the University of East London Pop pioneer Damon Albarn, one of the worlds most influential musicians, has become an Honorary Master of Arts of the University of East London. At a ceremony held at the Barbican Hall on 12 December, Damon and his parents Keith and Hazel Albarn joined hundreds of graduates from UELs School of Social Sciences, Media and Cultural Studies celebrating academic success with their friends and families. Accepting his award from UELs Chancellor Lord Rix, Damon Albarn told the assembled graduates: Ill be brief because Im sure you all want to go out and celebrate. First, its really nice to see so many proud, positive, heart-warming faces on a Tuesday morning! Secondly, its great to receive this award from an institution where my Dad used to work and which I, as a child, used to think of as that big building with lots of interesting people in  and it clearly still is - and thirdly, thank you all very much! Born in Leytonstone, Damon Albarn is founder and front-man of two world-famous contemporary bands, Blur and Gorillaz, and one of the most influential musicians in the world. He was awarded the Honorary Degree in recognition of his outstanding contribution to music and culture. [...] During the 1990s, Blur were at the forefront of Britpop. Since 2001, Damon Albarn has achieved critical and popular acclaim with a separate group, Gorillaz, and this year he teamed up with former Clash bassist Paul Simonon, guitarist Simon Tong, and drummer Tony Allen to produce an album, The Good, the Bad and the Queen, released in January 2007. Damon's father Keith Albarn established the Fine Art degree programme at what was then the Polytechnic of North-East London in the early 1970s  UEL is now a leading centre for research and teaching in Architecture and the Visual Arts. Article found by zion at forums.blur.co.uk.

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