Beverley Knight has had a successful career as the leading lady of UK soul music and has managed to reinvent herself up against the ever-changing music industry.
Following creative differences, Beverley left Parlephone in 2008 and started her own record label Hurricane Records. After seven studio albums, Beverley has decided to pay tribute to British soul legends by releasing 'Soul UK', an album compiled of their classic songs.
Also on the verge of her upcoming UK tour, Beverley Knight tells TaleTela why she chose now to pay homage to soul greats, running her own record label and why Alexandra Burke will have a longer career than Leona Lewis...
You’re on your seventh album now which is incredible! Would you say that the process of making an album gets easier as time goes on?
I don’t know if it ever gets easier, I don’t know if gets harder. I think it’s just different every time, depending on what the album is. This definitely was different because none of it is my material, it’s all my versions of other people’s material. So I’m at the stage now where I’m not thinking ‘oh there’s the pressure of doing another record’ like a lot of new artists have. I’m kind of way beyond that stage. But every single time I approach an album, I’m thinking ‘ok what do I say this time?’ And I guess what I want to say will come really easily and other times not quite so easily. I guess that’s the only thing in terms of it being harder or easier. Mostly it’s just brilliant and lots of fun!
Do you prefer recording music in the studio or being on stage?
I prefer being on stage. I do like being in that creative, reflective atmosphere that you get in the studio or if you’re practicing on the piano or curled up on the sofa writing lyrics. But nothing, nothing, nothing for me at least beats being on the stage and actually just delivering the song. There are no words to describe how fantastic that feels. I think it’s that two-way gratification that they are there enjoying what you do – hopefully – and you are certainly there enjoying their reactions to you. That feeling of euphoria never disappears, it’s wonderful. I guess when you’re in the studio it’s quite solitary and often the time it takes from you writing that song to everybody in the public arena hearing that song is months and months.
So, 'Soul UK' is the name of your new album. Why have you chosen now to bring out this type of record where it samples other people’s work?
It’s one of those records that has been begging to be made – long before I even started my career. A compilation such as this should have been put together but it never has been so this is my version of a compilation. I’m kind of bringing it into an era where I’m making songs which were hits at the time and I’ve tried to make them into songs that will always be played, always be remembered because of the profile that I have I’m able to do that. If I had done an album like this at the beginning of my career, it may have been well-received, but in terms of the mass consuming public they wouldn’t have heard it in the way they’re going to hear it now because my own profile has – thankfully – grown and grown. I feel as though I’m in a great position to celebrate these people who’ve enabled me to have a career, now more than I would have been able to do maybe a few years back.
You’re a soul artist so you’ve taken inspiration from other soul greats throughout your career – how were you able to choose all the songs to include on the album? It must have been a hard task…
It was bloody difficult! Getting the songs together I approached it from the perspective of my own life – the soundtrack to my own life. Songs that I can remember from when I was young or that I’ve got specific memories about or now in my own career I’ve managed to get a connection with them whether I’ve written for them or performed for them, and that’s how I pulled it together. I needed some kind of parameter because the songs from British soul they go on and on and on… And also another parameter that I had to stick to were not to do songs which were all massive hit records and instantly obvious songs. I wanted people to be educated, people who don’t know the area of music, some young people who might not know any of the songs or people who are my age and remember the songs but didn’t know some of the songs that I’ve identified. So it’s a mixture of very well songs and then songs that are not that well known and then songs which you might not have thought as being by soul artists – George Michael’s ‘One More Try.’ They all have soul in them and I kind of tried to mix them together to present them as one cohesive thing to say this is what Britain does well in the soul genre.
It’s great that you’re celebrating and representing not just UK soul music, but UK musicians as a whole because obviously we’re smaller than the US so we sometimes get overlooked…
Yeah, well I think it was just time! It was overdue to be fair. I don’t know what it is about the media that they haven’t embraced soul music coming from the UK in the fashion that they embrace it coming from the US . I guess they don’t see it as being of a same standard. Well this album totally blows that theory out of the water! Especially when you look at the calibre of some of the acts there. It was just absolutely begging to be made and I’m glad I’ve done it. I feel privileged to be the first to do it so hopefully others will follow.
You showcased the album in front of the artists whose songs you cover on 'Soul UK'. That must have been nerve-wracking!
To be honest they had all heard it prior to the show because once I had done the songs I sent them to the various different people whose songs I had covered and said I’ve done this version of this song, what do you reckon? They could have come and said they’re cack but without exception everybody came back going it’s great, love it etc. So when I did the filming of the BBC – which comes free with the album – I thought it would be right, proper and decent to get some of those artists and songwriters down to that filming so I could big them up from the stage and so they could hear the reaction to their songs being made.
A lot of the people in the audience were people who followed me and liked what I do, but it was like – what about these guys? These guys have been doing it long before me and if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t even be here. What was really nice was standing on that stage and people in the audience knowing every word, and others not recognising the songs but really appreciating what they were hearing. The best bit was getting everyone on stage after saying thank you – the cheer that we got when I brought up Junior and Omar and Rod Templeton on stage, it was great. It was definitely one of the best nights of my life because I felt so honoured, I felt like a conduit between this public that were ready to hear these songs and these guys who have had great careers but are not appreciated in their own back yard.
Would you say that you would like soul to become more mainstream?
A lot of people before the underground/mainstream thing, I don’t see it like that. You want great music to be successful and in order to be successful it has to cross over into the wider market. If this album is successful that means it would be a mainstream record but you can’t argue that these songs have lost the underground vibe that they had. Not at all because these songs will still be as great as they were, but they’ll just be appreciated by more people. I don’t think that British soul should be hidden under a bushel somewhere, British soul should be absolutely celebrated by as many people as possible and that’s why I did the record.
You’ve been in the music industry for a while now, how do you feel about music at the moment? Has it changed for the good?
To be honest the charts at the moment I very rarely look at. I think there’s a very few artists like me who make music from a more organic point of view who even look at the chart positions. I think the last time I was interested in what was going on in the charts was Adele going in at number one and staying there for 11 weeks just from the power of a wonderful artist, a wonderful voice and wonderful songs. That for me was an interesting story because that was someone who wasn’t your typical kind of skinny or blonde or easily-marketed type artist. This was someone who got there on the strength of being great. So you’ve got that type of music industry going on and you’ll find great artists whether they’re well known or not existing in that world. People like Rumer, great artist. Then you’ve got Kele le Roc who’s very much under the radar. People like my cousin Don E, who make music from a more organic point of view.
Then you’ve got people like tabloid, commercial, everybody knows their name – Lady Gaga and people like that who are absolutely huge and chart positions and things like that are absolutely fundamental to their longevity. That’s an entirely different industry that I don’t operate in but you can’t help but see it because it’s everywhere. But you know what, good luck to them because no matter what industry you’re in whether you’re Rihanna, Gaga, Britney – it’s still a fight. It’s always hard whether it’s to stay at the top of your game like Rihanna is clearly doing right now, having that massive pressure to stay at the top of your game and waiting for everyone to say ‘oh you’ve dropped off’ or whether it’s just fighting trying to get people to engage with you in the first place.
Did you ever feel that kind of pressure?
When I was signed to my former label Parlephone, of course they had pressure put on their own shoulders with regards to chart positions etc and that can sometimes clash with your own creative goals of just making the best music you can which enables you to go and tour. To me that’s a goal, not whether it comes in at three, four, five or whatever. [The record labels] need to make as much money as possible so I can understand their point of view and you do try and find some compromise along the way. Sometimes I felt like I compromised too much and I hadn’t felt 100& comfortable with what the public had ended up with and what was being heard. Certainly that’s an eternal struggle when you’ve got a big machinery behind you and they’re expecting sales and chart positions and ‘shifting units.’
You’ve worked with old school legends such as Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan and you’ve also worked with younger artists such as Chipmunk – how have you maintained versatility?
The answer’s really simple – I’m a music fan first. I’m an artist but I buy music, I love it and want to know what’s happening, who’s coming through. And of course being a fan of people who I grew up with and having a chance to work with them. But then finding someone like Chipmunk who even knows who I am and then being interested in actually working with me, for me that’s fantastic and that’s the fan in me. It really does come back to the point that I’m just a music fan.
How are you finding running your own record label?
I knew it would be a tough road, the things I knew would be easier is the creative side. Actually going in, writing songs, recording the records, all the stuff which must interest any artist I knew that would be very easy. But things which I knew would hard, which really are difficult are the more administrative things like the licensing, establishing who’s going to be doing your plugging for radio, TV, online, getting the finance together, managing the budget so that the right amount of money goes to the right area – those kind of things you it’s going to be tough but wow. Thankfully I have a team of people but I do have to be engaged with it.
You received your MBE in 2006, what was that like? Did you feel that you had then achieved everything in your career?
No I certainly didn’t feel as though I’d achieved everything. I’m far from achieveing what I want to achieve. I don’t think I’ll ever achieve all I want to achieve but it means there’s goal posts so I’ll be driven which is a very good thing. Getting that MBE, was a shock. I do what I do musically, and I do what I do charity wise and you just don’t think ‘the powers that be,’ The Establishment taking any notice of it because thousands upon thousands of people do it. So I was stunned to be nominated in the first place, to the point where I nearly turned it down because I just thought I’m so young, why me as opposed to someone else. The thing that imprinted it was when my management said, you’re success story is actually your success story. Think of the thousands of miles from Jamaica , coming to Britain in a very hostile environment, what they did for you to get to this point. When they explained it to me like that I was like ok, I’m going to except this on behalf of Mum and Dad. I’m thrilled that they were able to come to the palace with me and it was the Queen that did it. I lost my Dad in September last year, and I’m so thrilled that he was there and he saw me reach that point because that meant everything to him.
You’re going on tour later this, can we expect anything different from any of your other shows?
This is the first time I’m ever touring with songs that aren’t mine exclusively so certainly that will be making the experience very different. Of course I’ll be throwing in some of my own songs in there as well. I’m going to see if I can rustle up any other artists to join me on stage too.
You mentioned you’re working with Alexandra Burke…
No we’re just doing a show together, we’re the only acts on the bill and that’s nice to share a stage with someone that’s so talented and in my opinion the most talented of anyone to ever come from that kind of show.
Even above Leona Lewis?
Yes, because Alex not only sings brilliantly, but she’s a performer, she works the stage brilliantly. Leona’s a great voice but what Alex has is the entire thing, she has everything you need to be an artist in my opinion so I’m really thrilled to be on the stage with her.
What’s your secret to surviving in the industry?
You’ve got to be driven, there’s got to be an element of the organic about what you’re doing which is why I believe Alex will continue. There needs to be your own creativity that you bring to it, you have to be able to reinvent every so often. You have to know the difference between being relevant and doing something that is current and you’ve got to make the right decisions musically about the kind of record you make. It’s not just one thing, there’s a hell of a lot of elements to enable you to have a longstanding career.
Lastly, I’ve noticed the ring on your finger, congratulations! Will you be singing at your own wedding?
Well I am hoping my band will perform at my wedding and I bet you any money they’ll be like ‘come on Bev, get on the stage!’ I’m not intending to but who knows!
'Soul UK' is out on July 4.
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