Beverley Knight

Beverley Knight MBE
Beverley Knight at the WhatsOnStage Awards 2015
Background information
Birth name	Beverley Anne Smith
Born	(1973-03-22) 22 March 1973 (age 43) Wolverhampton, England
Genres	British soul R&B neo soul
Occupation(s)	Singer–songwriter record producer actress television presenter philanthropist
Instruments	Vocals piano keyboards
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Dome (1994–1997) Parlophone (1997–2008) Hurricane Records (own label) (2009–2014) East West Records (2015–present)
Website	www.beverleyknight.com

Beverley Knight MBE (born Beverley Anne Smith on 22 March 1973) is a British recording artist, radio presenter and musical theatre actress who released her debut album, The B-Funk, in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin, Knight has released eight studio albums to date. Widely labelled as one of Britain's greatest soul singers, Knight is best known for her hit singles "Greatest Day", "Get Up!", "Shoulda Woulda Coulda" and "Come as You Are".

In 2006 Knight solidified her transmission into the mainstream by starring in the BBC music TV series Just the Two of Us, a role she reprised in 2007. After releasing a platinum-selling compilation album in 2006, Knight went on to tour the UK with a reformed Take That. She has also hosted four series of the BBC Radio 2 show Beverley's Gospel Nights, which explores the origins and impact of gospel music. To date the show has run for four seasons and has featured interviews with stars such as Michelle Williams and Shirley Caesar.

Knight is an ambassador for many charities such as Christian Aid and has travelled to areas affected by disease and poverty to help raise awareness. She is an active campaigner for anti-Aids organisations such as the Stop AIDS Campaign and The Terrence Higgins Trust and is also a vocal campaigner against homophobic lyrics in urban music. On Saturday, 15 August 2009, she performed live at the fourth annual UK Black Pride event in Regent's Park. On Friday 4 December 2009, at the invitation of Sarah Brown, wife of the Prime Minister, Knight performed the two songs "Shoulda Woulda Coulda" and "Gold" to an invited audience at 10 Downing Street in support of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood Million Mums charity.