The British Masters

In host John Doran's own words, "Tracey Thorn is a singular English musician whose instantly identifiable voice has towered over the pop-cultural landscape from the 1980's to the present day. After being a member of the none more cult Marine Girls, who were one of Kurt Cobain's favourite bands, Tracey's voice was then everywhere in the mid-90s due to her work with Massive Attack and most significantly as one half of Everything But The Girl, with their track 'Missing' accidentally becoming an undisputed anthem of the era. Since then, she has become a respected author and journalist and has recently returned to the musical fray with an album of disco belters called 'Record'."

Scottish masters of the sublime Mogwai found fertile new ground between post-rock, goth and indie during the 90s. Nine studio albums later, they remain to this day a blueprint of what an independent group should be. Here we induct guitarist Stuart Braithwaite as a British Master.

Originally known as the bass player in The Clash, a lifelong artist and style obsessive, Paul Simonon was one of the key architects of the aesthetics of punk. His obsession with dub and reggae helped broaden the sound of The Clash gloriously. We spoke to him in Damon Albarn's West London Studio, where they were rehearsing for their upcoming tour as one half of The Good, The Bad & The Queen.

One of the most famous and hard working faces in the contemporary musical landscape, Albarn rose to prominence as the frontman of the world bestriding Blur. He has since become known for his seemingly never ending supply of side projects and collaborations, Gorillaz being the most globally renowned. We spoke to him in his West London studio about the release of his new album with supergroup The Good, The Bad and The Queen.

Big Narstie is probably best known as a hilarious internet and TV personality, but it should never be forgotten that he is a bona fide master of the British art form of grime and has been focal to the scene for over fifteen years. He has also been outspoken on numerous issues, from the campaign to save the NHS and the drive to raise awareness about mental health. This misfit from Brixton has somehow won hearts across the nation simply by being himself and is arguably already a national treasure.