All at CNS Sport send our congratulations to one of our photographers and correspondents - the Coventry Music Historian Pete Chambers who has been named in the New Years Honours List.
Museum Curator/Director and City Music journalist Pete Chambers (Mr Cov Music), is to be awarded a BEM (British Empire Medal), for "Volunteering Services to Coventry Music".
Pete has probably done more for the promotion of Coventry & Warwickshire music than anyone else. He began writing in the Coventry Weekly News and Brumbeat in the early eighties. He was part of the Covaid team that raised thousands in 1985 for East Africa. He has written six books about Coventry music, and his Backbeat music column in The Coventry Telegraph celebrates its 11th year this month.
Pete was responsible for the creation of The Coventry Walk of Stars, Coventry's 2-Tone Trail and The award winning Coventry Music Museum, where he volunteers unpaid four days a week from Thursday to Sunday 10.00am to 4.00pm.
Pete was inducted onto The Coventry Music Wall of Fame in 2011 and won The Coventry Good Citizen Award in 2014. In 2014 a national report was published by UK Music, in it they looked at music tourism, and Coventry was used as one of four cities of good examples. In it they said, "The development of Coventry’s music heritage tourism has largely been down to the enthusiasm of Pete Chambers, a local music expert. "He has been instrumental in many of the city’s recent music-related tourism developments, founding both the 2-Tone Trail and, more recently, Coventry Music Museum".
Quote from Pete Chambers BEM
"To say I'm thrilled, is something of an understatement. I know that getting an honour like this is a unique thing, and they just don't give these out at will. Being awarded this for Coventry music makes it even more amazing, this is life changing and life affirming for me. I want to thank my wife and soul mate Julie, for all her help with this, and all the other great people that wrote lovely humbling heartfelt citations. Never dreamed that one day I would be on the Honours List and be able to use letters after my name, never saw that one coming!"