Canal St meets Beverley Knight

Beverley Knight has firmly established herself as one of the leading lights of the British soul scene with major hits such as Shoulda Woulda Coulda, Come As You Are and Greatest Day but in recent times you would be more likely to see her gracing the West End stage in The Bodyguard and Memphis. 

But Knight is back on the road and hits Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on May 28th and with her 8th studio album due for release, she had plenty to talk about when Canal Street caught up with her.

Tell me about the new album?

It’s a southern soul record, it’s very earthy, rootsy soul. I went to Memphis when I was researching the role of Felicia Farrell in the musical Memphis, and part of my research was the history of the place and what Memphis looked like half a century ago. 

For me, as a musician, it was like a pilgrimage because that’s where rock and roll was born. I was looking around like, “This is amazing” and once I left there, I was determined I was coming back to record the album, I was so inspired by everything I saw there and I wanted the album to have that proper soul sound, the kind of stuff I grew up with. So here I am with this new album, I’m delighted with it. 

Do you get nervous before a release?

My days of being terrified by releases are gone, I don’t feel like that anymore. I just hope people will appreciate what they hear. When you’re younger there’s so much pressure on “Oh my God, chart positions” and that kind of thing and now that I’ve been doing what I do for the best part of two decades, the pressure is less intense, I just hope people like what they hear, enjoy it and get to hear it. 

What can fans expect from the tour?

Hopefully they will have a great time throughout, but what they will hear are all the classic songs that they know and love, songs they’ve heard before and we’ll all celebrate them together. But also a nod to the new material from the new album and on top of that a little nod to what I’ve been doing in the West End. There are so many people coming to see me off the back of what’s happened with the whole West End thing, I thought it would only be right and fair to include that in the whole repertoire. I’m excited, I really, really am. I haven’t been on the road in five years which, for me, is insane.

Is it nice to be Beverley Knight again?

When I’m on stage as me, it’s like being at home. It’s like a bunch of friends have come around and you’re just sharing with them and it’s the most normal, natural thing in the world for me. 

When I’m on stage as someone else, the first night is all about “What entrance do I come on?”, “Do I turn to the left?” “Do I turn to the right?” It’s all those things and then you do it and you’re fine and you completely relax and you’re in the routine of it. 

Do you see your future lying in musical theatre or do you intend to do a bit of everything?

I see the duality of both theatre and music; I’m enjoying myself so much with it. I look at people like Streisand and I think “she’s done it”. When I was younger that wasn’t what I was about, I didn’t want to be someone who was across every kind of medium but as I’ve got older I appreciate the opportunities afforded to me and I’m grabbing them with both hands. 

Are there any roles out there that you have your eye on?

It’s difficult because the ideal is always to originate a role and I was so grateful that I got the chance to do that playing Felicia. Having said that, I’d love to play Anita in West Side Story, it’s my favourite musical of all time. I’d need some serious dance lessons because my God, that show is so much about dance. 

You wrote about a friend of yours coming out to you (for the website rucomingout.com) and it was a refreshing, perfect response (Beverley’s response was “And…?”)

My thing was “we both like Bobby Ewing in Dallas”. You didn’t think I wouldn’t know? Yes dear. 

What can we do to stop coming out being such a big deal?

The onus isn’t on people who are coming out, the onus is on the rest of us to have big flappy ears that are ready to listen and, to borrow from George Michael, listen without prejudice.  

To me, coming out or having something revealed about yourself should be no different to “Guess what folks, I’m left handed”.  

I remember when I was really young, about seven, I remember having a music teacher who was about 107 or she seemed that way to me and she told me that when she was a kid they beat her over her left hand because she was naturally left handed and they taught her to write with her right because it (left handed) was the sign of the devil.  Today we look at that and say “For real? What kind of madness was that?” but that’s how it was and sexual orientation should be the same, it shouldn’t even be a thing. 

When I was born I was really light and then I got darker and then you discovered I was right handed and then you discovered I liked boys blah blah. I don’t get what the thing is, I don’t get it, I’ll never get it and it’s down to the rest of us to get to that headspace where we understand that to have a problem with someone because of their sexuality is as stupid as having a problem with someone because they write with their left hand and not their right.

You are a great supporter of the Terence Higgins Trust, what have you been doing recently with the charity?

As I’ve been in the West End I haven’t been around as much. They’ve got the annual fundraising dinner coming up which I will absolutely be at, hosting a table and getting everybody to sign up. I’ve done private things, for example we did a night at the Hippodrome as the cast of Memphis and half the proceeds for the tickets went to the Terence Higgins Trust. The great thing about a captive audience is when the doors are closed you can get them to cough their money up. You’re not getting out. I’m still keeping my hand in as much as is humanly possible.

What do you think is the biggest threat to the fight of HIV/AIDS?

Apathy.

It’s always been apathy. People think you just pop a pill and you’re all right aren’t you? We’ve cured it now haven’t we? No, what are you talking about? Now people think of it as being no more a big deal as chlamydia, I’m not saying chlamydia is a big deal but people think (about HIV), you get it, you get your treatment and off you go. No this is something you’re living with while you have life. If you’re not on the correct combination of drugs things could go very badly for you.

I should know, I nursed my friend right to his last breath and it terrifies the hell out of me that people are so casual and a lot of young people don’t even understand what HIV is. The amount of people who don’t know the difference between the HIV virus and having full blown AIDS, wow that’s scary. People don’t know the absolute basics.

After the tour, will you be taking some time off?

I wish. As soon as I finish the tour, I’m straight into The Bodyguard and that opens 15th July so I am literally straight into rehearsals. 

You worked with Prince who is your idol, is there anybody, alive or dead, who you would love to duet with?

That’s easy, Sam Cooke. I wish he was still alive because he gave us “Change Is  Gonna Come” which is the most powerful brilliant song ever and his voice, he was the father of soul and I would have loved to be able to sing with him and sit down and have a cup of tea with him.

For further info please go to www.beverleyknight.com

By Chris Park for Canal St Online

Published: 28-Apr-2016: (3702)