Beverley Knight interview: "I'm not competing with Katy Perry"

After 15 years in the biz, we could forgive Beverley Knight for wanting to take it slow. Nonetheless, with six studio albums, a string of MOBO awards and an MBE for contribution to music to her name, she remains committed to keeping soul music alive in the UK - something she celebrates on her latest record, titled Soul UK. Excited, we caught up with her to find out more.

This is your seventh album; do you still get nervous putting out a record?
"I don't get as nervous as I used to - I'm more concerned about how well it's going to be received. You think it would get easier the more you do it, but you still worry because sometimes people can be completely indifferent - you don't want people to think 'so what?!'"

How would you sum up the album?
"The album is a tribute of my British soul. I say my because it's not some sort of definitive collection of British soul covers - it's the ones I related to and inspired me when I was growing up. I wanted to celebrate that and thank those guys!"

How did you go about choosing which songs to cover?
"It was so, so difficult. I made a point of selecting songs from when I first I was started out in music onwards. I picked songs that I could distinctly remember and had a story to tell. For example, there's a cover of Jamiroquai's 'When You Gonna Learn' on there, and I can still see myself searching the whole of Cheltenham trying to find the song!"

It's your second independently released album; does that pile on the pressure?
"In terms of sales it feels like the pressure is off because I don't have to fulfil some man in an office's wet dream about how many records I should be selling. In terms of finances, I don't need to sell even a third of what I use to sell to get a far better return. I'm older now, so I don't feel like I need to go up against the likes of Katy Perry, but at the same time that doesn't mean I don't care about sales."

Especially as it's your own money at stake...
"Exactly. That's where it becomes personal, because the money invested is money I've sweated for! It makes an album feel like your own child - you want people to love it. Maybe it's my ego, but I'm convinced that people will love this album when they hear it, so it's just a case of getting it out there."

The album's first single is 'Mama Used to Say'; why did you decide to release that particular track?
"That song, even now, still stands up and says 'I am a hit!' You'd really have to screw it up to make it sound less like a hit song. It's also a song that is part of my DNA, and I figured there's a whole new generation of people that need to hear it."



The music industry has changed a lot since you started out; what do you make of it at the moment?
"I feel like there are a lot of different industries all coming under the same umbrella but operating very differently from each other. There's the juggernaut that is The X Factor which is completely different from the buying public that put Adele at number one. Then there's an American-lead explosion of Euro-influenced R&B, though I'm not quite sure what that's all about! Albums don't seem to figure with that part of the industry - the single and their profile is God."

Would you ever consider lending your experience to The X Factor if the offer came along?
"A lot of my friends say that I should go on that show, but I don't think I could get into bed with that monstrosity. I couldn't ever stand there and effectively tell them how to become a superstar. They won't be, and a huge amount of money will be sunk into them that could have gone to someone who has worked hard for it. I love to give my advice and expertise to artists who are putting in the groundwork, but that show requires a level of fakeness that I couldn't give. I'd want to get deep - talk about annunciation and posture - but the TV wouldn't want that! They want pantomime."

Are you recording any original material?
"I am. I've got so many ideas, but the theme and styles keep changing. When I manage to pull all my schizophrenic personalities into one I'll focus on getting the next album out, which will be original material. I think there is scope to go back to this concept again later, but that won't be for some time."

Beverley Knight's 'Mamma Used to Say' is out now. The album, Soul UK, follows on July 4.

Watch Beverley Knight's 'Mamma Used to Say' music video below: