Beverley Knight

Born on 22 March 1973 in Wolverhampton, England, British singer/songwriter, Beverley Knight released her debut album, The B-Funk, with label Dome Records in 1995 to critical acclaim but despite winning two Black Music Awards, the album and subsequent singles failed to find success commercially. Leaving Dome for Parlophone, her second album Prodigal Sista reached the Top 50 album charts and spawned five Top 40 singles. It sealed her success and was hailed, at the time, as one of the best British soul albums ever. Third album, Who I Am (2002) showcased her voice to a larger audience, reaching number seven in the album charts and earning her BRIT nominations for Best Female and Best Urban Act; it also produced one of her catchiest singles, the Nashville-inspired "Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda." But by the time she released her fourth album, Affirmation (2004), she was considered to have moved across from urban to pop; however, although she lost some fans, her single "Come as You Are" has been her biggest selling hit to date. In 2006, she starred in the BBC series Just The Two of Us, which finalised her entry into the mainstream, she toured with Take That in the same year, and regularly hosts a Radio 2 show exploring the origins of gospel music. While she has continued to record, she is also an ambassador for a number of charities, including Christian Aid and Stop AIDS Campaign, and has performed at a number of live events in support of these. 2007 saw the release of her fifth studio album Music City Soul, her highest-charting UK album to date—reaching number eight—while she marked her departure from Parlophone and the launch of her own new label Hurricane Record with 100% in 2009. For her seventh studio album Soul UK, released in 2011, she drew from the well of soul songs that caught her imagination when growing up. Taking a five year break in between albums, she picked up where she left off with Soulsville in 2016, crafting a collection of covers along with a smattering of self-penned tracks. Beverly Knight returned in 2023 with her first album in seven years, The Fifth Chapter, which features collaborations with the London Community Gospel Choir.