Damon Albarn receives an honorary degree from University of East London

At a ceremony held at the Barbican Hall on 12 December 2006, Damon and his parents Keith and Hazel Albarn joined hundreds of UEL graduates 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!"

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