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I really enjoyed this too, as I always do with Picaroon, but can't parse 4d - can anybody help please?

Hi Neville,
Two outside letters then a word fitting. Ignore the capitalised R.

Ah, of course! Thanks Jono

rocky17 @ 19: I hope you relished the ‘shop’ bit of 11 as much as I did, when the penny dropped. A lovely misdirection by surface, if you know what I mean!
On reflection, I agree with you and jono - best Prize of the year so far (which isn’t of course the same as ‘hardest’).

I absolutely did Rogissimo. I really like puzzles that have plenty of those which this does.

Hint (SPOILER ALERT) for 23: see the prior day's Guardian Cryptic 29,361. :-)

That took me a while of combing through the clues and solutions before I realised I was looking in the wrong place, geeker!
Good to be reminded of a good ordinary cryotic though, thanks…

Struggling as usual with this setter, I never seem to be able to get on Picaroon's wavelength. I have managed to complete the bottom half but looking like a DNF looking at all the gaps I have in the top half. I have guessed at at an answer for 3d which includes a fruit, but apart from providing a definition I cannot see how it parses - or maybe my first word is completely wrong? I only have one crosser to assist.

Can anyone give me a clue as to the era, gender or genre of the US singer?

And do the first 2 words of 2d provide the definition?

Completely lost at this stage!

Just three to go. All NW. Never heard of 8d either so had to look up post parsing.

Is the definition for 3d the first two words?

male singer, active over a long period, started in the 60s
2d yes
3d
first 4 letters are the diva, but i'm as baffled as you about the rest!