THE Muswell Hill-born co-founder of legendary 60s band The Kinks has been awarded a CBE.

Ray Davies, 59, whose 1971 record Muswell Hillbillies paints a picture of life in N10, joins other big names from sport, showbusiness, politics, medicine and industry in the New Year's honours list.

The English everyman of British rock is cemented in the canon of great songwriters with hits such as Sunny Afternoon and Waterloo Sunset.

Often described as the godfather of Britpop, Davies' quintessential Englishness and lyrical wit have heavily influenced contemporaty pop legends such as Blur and The Beautiful South.

The Davies family grew up in a tiny house in Denmark Terrace, Fortis Green. Ray and his brother Dave were the youngest of eight children; the six elder siblings all girls.

The brothers, whose notoriously stormy relationship is the stuff of rock legend, formed The Ray Davies Quartet in 1962 with Pete Quaife on bass and John Start on drums.

The following year the band became known as The Kinks and released several singles, but it was the 1964 release of You Really Got Me which launched the band into superstardom both sides of the Atlantic.

The 60s brought the band a flurry of hit singles, including All Day and All of the Night and Tired of Waiting for You and the gender-bending Kinks favourite Lola which cracked the US Top 10 in 1970.

Davies joins Professor Robert Souhami, medical oncologist and researcher of Muswell Hill, who has been awarded a CBE for services to medicine.

Dr Beatrix Wonke, a consultant haematologist from Highgate has been awarded an OBE for services to medicine.

Shiraz Durrani, of Tottenham, is awarded an MBE for services to public libraries and Ms Kiki Gale, an artistic director from Finsbury Park, has been awarded an MBE for services to dance.

Ms Fiona Grant, joint president of the Institute of Tourist Guiding, of Muswell Hill, has been awarded an MBE for services to the tourist industry and Ms Debbie Wilson, a composer from Highgate, has been awarded an MBE for services to the film industry.

Mrs Leonora Davies, a music educational consultant from Muswell Hill has been awarded an MBE for services to education.

Jim Brown, former chairman of Newsquest Media Group, parent company of the Independent, was awarded a CBE for services to the regional newspaper industry.