UNITED KINGDOM: SINGER AND SONGWRITER BEVERLEY KNIGHT REISSUES HER HIT SINGLE "MAKE IT BACK " AND ALBUM "PRODIGAL SISTA"

Record ID: 388298

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: SINGER AND SONGWRITER BEVERLEY KNIGHT REISSUES HER HIT SINGLE "MAKE IT BACK " AND ALBUM "PRODIGAL SISTA"
  • Date: 24th April 1999
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) SINGER BEVERLEY KNIGHT SAYING: I think anybody who has the ability to sing, is given the ability to sing I think I'm pretty sure it's a gift you know but it is a gift that has to be nurtured. It has to develop, it has to mature. Voices are like wine, it gets better as you get older as long as you look after it and the conditions are right. I've had to
  • Embargoed: 9th May 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVADZ2TI4RB1J2O3HTHD49SJ2ZOL
  • Story Text: 1998 MOBO winner, vocalist and songwriter Beverley Knight has returned to the music scene in 1999 with a remix of last year's single, "Made It Back" and a re-packaged version of her highly acclaimed album, "Prodigal Sista".
    Considered to be one of the hottest R&B singers currently on the music scene, Reuters met Knight recently at one of London's top restaurants to discuss her career to date.
    Beverley Knight was born with a very special gift, her voice.At the tender age of twenty five, she is hotly tipped to be as big as Aretha Franklyn and she definitely has the vocal power to do it.
    Last year at the MOBO awards, she is said to have 'wowed' the audience - one of whom was so struck by her talent that he insisted on meeting Knight after the performance to congratulate her.Needless to say, Knight was a little overwhelmed when David Bowie popped his head around the door of her dressing room to say 'well done'.
    Her talent, is something she's aware of and anxious to protect.
    "I think anybody who has the ability to sing, is given the ability to sing I think I'm pretty sure it's a gift you know but it is a gift that has to be nurtured.It has to develop, it has to mature.Voices are like wine, it gets better as you get older as long as you look after it and the conditions are right.I've had to work at it but certainly the voice that I have is one that just landed on my shoulders...I don't know why I was chosen to have this great big voice but here I am and I'm certainly not going to waste it," she says.
    But after three years of escalating success, Knight is gradually becoming accustomed to her acclaim.
    Encouraged to take up singing and songwriting more seriously by her cousin, artist and producer Don.E., Knight was spotted by Dome Records in 1994, while still and undergraduate.Within a year, at the age of 21, she released her first single, one of the hottest UK swing/soul records of the year and decade,
    "Flava of The Old School." It became a club classic.
    Four years on, Knight says she is a litle older and wiser.
    With a new recording contract with Parlophone records, she's back and ready to take on the world.Having had time out for a couple of years, she says she's more of life's experiences to write and sing about - providing ample material for her new album, On "Prodigal Sista", Beverley takes credit for all lyrics, melodies and vocal arrangements.She also composed and produced them with a couple of collaborations on the way.She reunited with producers 2B3 and Carl McIntosh as well as Dodge and Don.E..
    And the finished product, she positively enthuses about.
    "I feel really positive about this album.Nothing that I ever produce will be perfect and without flaw but what this album has, is my character stamped all over it you know.
    Although it's a snap shot into one aspect of my life, you know the kind of 25 year-old Beverley Knight so it's not something that will be relevant certainly, but not the b-all and end-all of what I am it's perfect for now, it's exactly how I feel now.I'm really comfortable with the sound and everything and I think it's eclectic enough to point to where I may be going in the future in terms of new albums and new material."
    But, the album is not all she's about she says.To get a taste of who Beverley Knight really is, people have to see her perform live.
    "Touring is a very big deal, touring is the essence of who Beverley Knight is and if you want to understand what I'm all about, the two albums will give you an idea, they'll give you a bit of a window but the whole thing if you like is summed up when you see me live umm.It's energetic, it's lively it's passionate beyond belief, very soulful," says Knight.
    Many music pundits would agree.This girl brought up in the West Midlands who has a degree in theology is going places.
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