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Jimmy Page named officer of the Order of the British Empire


Guitar legend Jimmy Page was among some of Britain's greatest musicians to be included on Queen Elizabeth's annual list of birthday honours this year.


Page, a founding member of Led Zeppelin, was named an officer of the Order of the British Empire, or OBE, for his charity work on behalf of poor Brazilian children with Task Brazil and the ABC Trust charity organizations.


After his wife Jimena set up the charity – which raises money for Brazilian street children – the founder member of legendary band Led Zeppelin has spent the past decade raising money and raising the profile of the cause.

Mark Ereira of ABC Trust said: "We are obviously very pleased. We were part of the nomination process as we wanted to recognise what he was doing for the charity as well all he has achieved in music.

"He is extremely important to the trust, a champion for our cause, and he gives a lot of his time to help us raise the profile. The charity would not be where it is today without all his incredible help."




Jimmy was presented the award on Dec 14th 2005 at Buckingham Palace in London. The 61-year-old rocker said he was overwhelmed to be given the accolade, recalling how he first became involved with Brazilian children in 1994 when fighting broke out between street gangs while he was in Rio de Janeiro promoting an album."At that time in Rio the sun wasn't shining. The army was going into the favelas (shantytowns) and I heard about the plight of the street children,"  said Page.

He joined forces with the British charity Task Brazil and set up a safe
house which has so far supported more than 300 children."I think when you're faced with a plight that's inescapable, and there's something you can do about it, you hope you can make a difference," he said. Page added: "The Queen actually said it was very important work and that it was a horrible problem for the street children."

Task Brazil offers medical and psychological support, food, clothing and job training for street children. Page was a member of the 1960s band The
Yardbirds before forming  Led Zeppelin.