The support for the evening is Gabriella Cilmi, the Australian singer who had the hit Sweet About Me in 2008. She is promoting her new album Pure Love and opens with its title track. She has an amazing voice and wonderful stage presence. Her song Too Far Gone is about being signed at the tender age of 13 and all the things the music industry expects of a female singer. It is a shame we have not heard more of her in the last 23 years since she was signed.
Beverley Knight performs two sets and it is not just a concert, it is a journey through her life. She tells us of being deeply affected by Sam Cooke when she was just three and becoming determined to become a singer, before performing his song Were You There. It was in a club in Wolverhampton when she was 19 that she got noticed, but he was willing to wait until she finished university to sign her to a record label. By her second album she was signed with Parlophone and after a phone call with a friend she wrote the phenomenal song Gold. It was after a break up that she found herself in Nashville with Craig Wiseman (she did a wonderful imitation of his accent for this story) and they wrote the song that changed her world: Shoulda Woulda Coulda.
She told her story of hearing about the 9/11 disaster from dancers as they were rehearsing, and then writing Not Too Late which was very moving, and then about her special friend Tyrone Jamison and losing him to HIV. This is when she got involved in the Terrance Higgins Trust and became a firm ally to the LGBTQ+ community, and when she wrote No One Ever Loves in Vain. Again very moving and sung with such amazing feeling. Apparently it is thanks to Tyrone that Beverley Knight has the confidence to wear such stunning outfits. He was right as her stunning legs deserve to be seen as they jump and high kick around the stage. She has such an energy and passion for singing and performing.
There are so many stories shared across the evening, of her mentors: David Bowie, Prince, and Shaka Khan, and of her involvement in musical theatre: Cats, The Bodyguard, Sister Act and The Drifters Girl. Each is accompanied by a song, and each is amazing. Apparently Sylvia about the suffragettes is soon to tour and sounds well worth seeing, Knight performs March, Women, March from it which is from one of Sylvia Pankhurst’s motivational speeches. The audience needs little encouragement to be on their feet or clap or sing along, all enjoying the journey with this fabulous individual.
The night ends with Everything’s Gonna Be Alright and we all leave with a smile on our faces, convinced that thanks to amazing forces such as Knight it truly will be.
Reviewed 16 June 2026 | Image: Maria Robertson
