Beverley Knight is an English 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 transition into the mainstream by starring in the BBC music television 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 country 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. 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 several charities. After more than a decade in the industry, Knight was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2006 in recognition of her contribution to British music.
In September 2005, Knight was made an honorary Doctor of Music from the University of Wolverhampton. After receiving a host of awards, including three MOBO Awards, Knight was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 at the Urban Music Awards in London. Knight supported Prince during his residency at the O2 Arena and ended up performing at his after party. As a result of this, she was also flown to perform at his Oscars party in front of A-list stars and got a standing ovation from stars such as Quincy Jones. In September 2013, Knight made her first foray into musical theatre, taking over the lead role of Rachel Marron from Heather Headley in The Bodyguard. On 21 February 2014, it was confirmed that Knight would take on the lead role of Felicia in the musical Memphis, opening on 23 October 2014. Beverly made her panto debut in 2017 at the Birmingham Hippodrome as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella.
