Steve Harley was last night presented with the ChildLine Rocks Special Award at the Classic Rock magazine Roll Of Honour ceremony, held in the ballroom of London’s Park Lane Hotel.

The coveted award, won previously by Ian and Jacky Paice and Bryan Adams, came as a complete surprise to Steve, who was named as recipient for his charity fund-raising. He was at the event as a guest of Bob and Trudie Harris, and completely unaware of the surprise to come.

The award cited Steve’s connections with MAG (as an ambassador for the landmine clearance agency), the National Neurological Hospital, the Hope School for Children with Multiple Disabilities and Chailey Heritage School for Disabled Children.

In his brief acceptance speech, Steve told the gathering of music industry executives, fellow musicians and media representatives that “Giving back is part of the deal when you live as privileged a life as I do. Compared to the suffering of those surrounded by landmines in south-east Asia, and the intolerable suffering of the kiddies at those schools, giving is easy.”

Steve received an ovation from the packed room, which included fellow guests Pete Townsend, Jeff Beck, Iron Maiden, Rick Wakeman, Ronnie Wood, Iggy Pop and Slash.