Damon Albarn on going solo; Maxine Peake; Jonathan Yeo; Suranne Jones; Kiran Leonard

Presented by John WilsonSince Damon Albarn's introduction to the public as the lead singer of Blur, he's become famous for his collaborations with a wide range of partners including artist Jamie Hewlett, the next Artistic Director of the National Theatre Rufus Norris, and Soul legend Bobby Womack. As he prepares to play songs from his forthcoming debut solo album, for a special 6Music festival gig, Damon talks to John about going it alone.Maxine Peake is one of the subjects in a new exhibition at the Lowry dedicated to portrait painter Jonathon Yeo. Maxine and Jonathan describe the experience of creating a portrait from their different perspectives. And when she's not being captured in oils, Maxine is the star of the BBC legal drama Silk where she plays the role of barrister Martha Costello QC. The new series of Silk starts this week and Maxine discusses how Martha's character has developed.Suranne Jones plays one half of television police duo Scott and Bailey. The series, described as the "Cagney and Lacey of Manchester", arose out of Suranne's desire to find better parts for women. She's now playing one of Virginia Woolf's most distinctive creations, Orlando, in a new production at the Royal Exchange Theatre. Suranne discusses with John what this play, about a character who lives as a man and a woman, can contribute to our contemporary view of the gender divide.The musician Kiran Leonard will be performing on the main stage of the 6Music festival on Saturday 1 March. He released his debut album last year at the age of 17 and he's a multi-instrumentalist who lists Mothers of Invention, Sufjan Stevens, Albert Ayler, Krzysztof Penderecki, and the Beach Boys, as just a handful of his influences. He'll be playing live on Front Row.Producer: Ekene Akalawu.