 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
|
|
|
||
 |
 |
|
 |
Music Interviews Beverley Knight 
 |
 |
|
 |
||||||||
 |
|
 |
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||
 |
 |
|
 |
||||||||
| Beverley Knight |
| By Michael Hulme & Afsheen Shaikh | |
|
Monday, 03 March 2003 From Despair to Bel-Air
 Last year has been a busy year for you – an album, tours and now a new single. Is 2003 going to be just as manic?It's just this last burst of energy that’s needed because this will probably be the last of the singles from Who I Am. After that is done, I’ll be working on the next album. It certain was a bit of a year last year! (giggles) You’ve recently collaborated with Wyclef Jean on a re-work of your new single 'Shape Of You (Re-Shaped)'. What was it like working with the former Fugee? Do you feel more at ease taking your music to America, having had Wyclef on board? Working with him was great for the kudos of it all. Whether it will translate into helping to break into the States, I don’t know. It seems to me so much more is needed to crack that market but considering past people I’ve worked with (Wyclef, Musiq Soulchild, Redman), it all adds up to a nice little story. Is there a place for British R&B in the states especially with Ms Dynamite and Craig David breaking through? My standpoint is a lot more soul-based, whereas theirs comes from the feel of garage, which they don’t have at all in the US. Craig has proved you can sell something entirely different to what they have over there. Coming from a similar background, I’m sure Ms Dynamite can make it all work, especially with being a mother. As for myself, whether or not America will appreciate me is if they see me perform - as a voice rather than just another artist that they may or may not have something similar to. I think everything would make sense then.  Last year, you travelled to Brazil with Christian Aid on a humanitarian visit. What did you see there and has it changed your perceptions of foreign aid policy?When you come into close contact as I have (for many years now) with HIV, the suffering and the devastation that it causes, it’s hard. To go to another country and see that with little children, I can’t begin to tell you how distressing it is. What impressed me greatly is what Brazil is doing. There are organisations that Christian Aid help to fund which are by the local community, for the local community. They're educating people and trying to make life a little bit easier for those who are living with HIV and their families. There is so much prejudice over there – on a greater scale than we have here. It made me think we could do a lot more to help. AIDS is not an issue confined to developing countries, it is a global problem. You took part in an anti-gun rally in Birmingham with Ms Dynamite, held memory of the two teenagers shot dead outside a New Year's party. What was that like for you especially with it being close to your hometown? It was very distressing. We’re talking about shootings happening not too far from where I’m from and young kids...I mean, that could have easily been me. Do you think the fascination with gun culture is glamorised by the media or the music industry? The streets have guns because drug dealers have guns - that’s the way they enforce the streets. I don’t think it’s the same 18-year-olds running around with them in their hands, they’re buying them off someone who's bringing them into the country. A lot of the problems start in our inner cities and I’m speaking from experience. It's when you have impoverished communities that the government doesn’t give a shit about and won’t put any money into. When something goes off, their attitude is to turn around and say “well, the music did it!” It’s unbelievable! There was violence beforehand and long after the music policies have changed, there will be violence after. The causes are not the music; the music is merely a reflection. Did you ever imagine meeting Nelson Mandela, or singing 'Happy Birthday' to Mohammed Ali? No, certainly not meeting Nelson Mandela. I did not see that ever happening to me ‘cos he is a very elderly man now. The fact that I’ve met him twice and sang for him on both occasions, I sit and think “My God, Bev! You come from Wolverhampton, you had this dream about music and you followed it through and that has taken you to a place where you’ve met the greatest iconic figure in history!” I don’t know how other famous folk have felt when they’ve met him but for me it was the biggest deal. Mohammad Ali also but in a slightly different context – you can see how the world of music and sport can collide, although I never imagined I would get the chance to meet him. In ‘Made It Back’, what was the ‘place called nowhere’ really like for you? It was hell. It’s not something I can talk about easily either – very, very upsetting.  How do you feel about your two Brit Award nominations? (Best UK Urban, Best Female)It’s nice that the industry recognises I did some work, and that’s very much how I view these nominations. I don’t seriously consider any chance of winning. In terms of whose year it’s been (it’s been Ms Dynamite’s year), 2002 in Britain will be remembered for being her year and unfortunately the year of Pop Idol and all that business as well… I’m just going there to put on the frock and enjoy the show! (giggles) Was Fame Academy a good idea? The actual show? I don’t really subscribe to all those things – who’s the winner? What’s his name – David …..? Erm, David Sneddon. Yeah, so he gets a house and gets to live the life of a popstar. Well, no, you get to live the life of someone who has a lot of money certainly and yes you play the piano and that’s all very well and good but are you planning to carve out a 10 year career for yourself? I’m not sure that Fame Academy is the right vehicle to do so. I watched the show twice and I saw this guy, Lemar. I thought his voice was great and I wanted to showcase it on my own show. I really felt him as an artist vocally but I only got to hear about him because of the show. I’m glad I had the opportunity to hear his voice but I wished it wasn’t on that kind of a vehicle. I wished I could have wandering into a club and heard him there. Those kind of shows are very difficult to shake off the tag and it’s always making money for somebody else. You’re one of the few artists who makes a real effort in putting on live performances with a full backing band and you are very much “one of the band”. Where has this philosophy of 'live' music come from and how do you ensure such artistic control? The second part is difficult because some TV shows would prefer you to mime ‘cos it makes their logistics very simple, but I’m sorry, I’m not here to make your logistics simple, I’m here to sing and sing I will. That’s my attitude. If it’s a case of mime or don’t appear, then I don’t appear! It’s that simple! The philosophy of live music comes from the fact that I’ve been performing live (this year will be my 26th year of standing in front of a crowd and singing). The first time I did, I was four, so this is what I know. I find it a contradiction to be asked to mime. Do you think you’re a diva? No! (laughs) Is the tag 'diva' too harsh? When people refer to divas, they think of people who are female, demanding, throwing tantrums, and I don’t think that’s me at all. Back in the day, a diva was someone who was so magnificent, particularly with her voice that she earned the right to be called a diva and along with that came the tantrums and the behaviour of a spoilt brat. I don’t think I’ve earned the right to be called a diva in the old-fashioned sense of the word and in the new sense, I’m definitely not! (laughs loudly)  Kelly Rowland or Beyoncé Knowles?Kelly. Why? I’ve met Destiny’s Child a few times and with Beyonce, there was always the very professional, polite façade but you felt there was something else behind that – the determination and the ambition. With Kelly, it felt more organic and genuine. The smile wasn’t just ‘cos there was a camera. I can only speak for them as people. As artists, it’s a whole different thing and we haven’t heard Beyoncé by herself yet other than the Austin Powers tune ['Work It Out']. What can we expect from the new album? It’ll be, as ever, heart-felt, and probably more raw in feeling and in sound from Who I Am. There’s a lot that’s happened in my personal life and in my public life, so the sound of it will be harder hitting. The album will be done this year but I don’t think it will be released in 2003. However, we will hear something new this year for sure.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
© 2004-2006 uk-fusion.com
All rights reserved. Editor: Afsheen Shaikh.
Powered by LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) |
|
 |
|
 |