Tracey Thorn

As one half of the pop duo Everything But The Girl, the singer, songwriter and musician Tracey Thorn was one of the most recognisable faces of the 1980s and 90s. Today she is an acclaimed writer and columnist.

Born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire in 1962, Thorn performed with the trio Marine Girls and studied at the University of Hull. There she met the musician Ben Watt and formed Everything But The Girl in 1982, taking the name from a sign in the window of a furniture shop in the city. The couple married in 2008 and have twin daughters and a son.

The duo's soulful, intelligent work, exemplified by songs like Each and Every One and a wistful cover version of I Don't Want To Talk About It, brought them consistent success through much of the 1980s and 1990s.

On her programme Tracey Thorn will pay tribute to Kate Bush’s live comeback this year with a cover of one of Bush’s songs as well as delving into young adult fiction.

It was a remix of their 1994 single Missing which brought Thorn and Watt their biggest hit, reaching Number 2 on the Billboard chart and sending them in a new direction, electronic dance.

More recently, Thorn's bestselling memoir, Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to be a Pop Star, received rave reviews and led to her writing a regular column for the New Statesman. As a guest editor, she will investigate the positive aspects of the internet for teenage users.