Beverley Knight

Beverley Knight is a British soul singer, songwriter and record producer from Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. She is born Beverley Ann Smith and is known as Beverley Knight MBE. Her work sits mainly within soul, R&B and acid jazz, and she is associated with Hurricane Records.

Career

Knight releases her debut album in 1995. She draws on influences from soul singers including Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin. Over her career she releases five studio albums and one compilation album, and she is widely regarded as one of Britain’s leading soul singers.

Among her best-known singles are “Greatest Day”, “Shoulda Woulda Coulda”, “Come As You Are” and “Made It Back”. In March 2006 she releases Voice - The Best Of Beverley Knight, a compilation of most of her UK top forty singles. It enters the UK albums chart at number ten and later rises to number nine, and it is certified gold shortly after release. The single “Piece of my Heart”, a cover of the Erma Franklin song made famous by Janis Joplin, precedes the album and becomes her longest-running chart single, reaching number sixteen in the UK singles chart.

In October 2006 she records Music City Soul in Nashville. The album is completed in less than five days and features contributions from Ronnie Wood and Scotty Moore. It includes the singles “No Man’s Land”, “After You” and “The Queen of Starting Over”.

Television, radio and collaborations

Knight appears on the BBC1 music series Just The Two Of Us in 2006. She also hosts the Radio 2 programme Beverley’s Gospel Nights, which looks at the origins and influence of gospel music and includes interviews with artists such as Destiny’s Child and Shirley Caesar. She joins Take That as a support act on their reunion arena tour in 2006.

Awards and campaigning

After a decade in the industry, Knight receives a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Urban Music Awards in 2004. She becomes an MBE in 2006. She is also active in charity and campaigning work, including support for Christian Aid, the Stop AIDS Campaign and the Terrence Higgins Trust, and she speaks out against homophobic lyrics in urban music.

Associated acts

She is a member of Leading Ladies and The Justice Collective.