With Mercury-nominated 2011 debut Peanut Blues & Melancholy Jam, Ghostpoet rewired something very British into his own bleak, bruised sound.

When Dominic Cooke took over at the Royal Court, he said he wanted to stage more plays about “what it means to be middle class”. Now, as the reins of artistic director pass to Vicky Featherstone, comes possibly the most middle-class play of his era - and very funny on the topic it is too.

Sir Mike Rake, the chairman of BT, is to become president of the employers' organisation the CBI, taking over from Sir Roger Carr.

“Most of the songs I write are about the sort of things that every teenage girl is thinking of. I guess not everyone turns these thoughts into pop songs.”

You may be wondering, with his former protégé Plan B at the top of his game, why we still need Mike Skinner, a previous generation's white British social-realist rapper. The fact is that, while Ben Drew's forte is surveying the bigger political picture, few songwriters around can zoom in and focus on fine detail as skilfully as Skinner.

A thrilling story of deprivation that shows off the bravura versatility of its author

Anything but middle of the road

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"What's wrong with this bloke?" The Streets' bare-chested Mike Skinner berates the burly, naked Croatian man he's cajoled on to the stage who is taking perverse pleasure in refusing to crowd surf during the heart-rending "Dry Your Eyes".

Wondering who's going to emerge as the voice of 2011? Look no further than the Peckham Princess

Never mind the capital... The most celebrated new UK rappers come from outside London and are using the locations in their music. Rahul Verma takes the tour

While Harvey worshippers bow to their idol, fans of The Streets bid Mike Skinner a sad farewell

As Mike Skinner calls time on The Streets, Fiona Sturges says that Girls Aloud would do well to consider a similar coda