Beverley Knight: My career has been my own

Singer and actress Beverley Knight has said it is "so important" for female artists to speak up and maintain artistic control over their careers.

She told BBC Woman's Hour she's always been "determined" to keep control, even if it's made for a "slow burn" success.

This included holding firm over the sound of her 2002 single Gold.

Knight is currently starring in the West End show The Drifters Girl as Faye Treadwell - one of the first black women to manage a group in the US.

The musical tells of how Treadwell, following the death of her husband George in 1967, decided to take control of the doo-wop and soul group - revitalising their popularity in the face of racism, sexism, and legal battles.

Knight said the role at the Garrick Theatre had led her to relate to Treadwell as a "forthright woman" who was "not afraid to speak her mind" in a male-dominated music industry.

Speaking to Woman's Hour host Emma Barnett on Tuesday, Knight reflected on her own experiences defending her artistic vision.

"From a very early age I was determined that the music I was going to make was... [what] I wanted to make.

"It's meant that my career has been a slow and a long burn... but one... in my control."

The soul singer also revealed she had come under significant pressure from male producers to forego the "stripped back" sound she intended on her single Gold.

"I certainly didn't appreciate being blamed for the fact that the producer at the time was not happy with being told what to do by the songwriter and artist... especially when he was the one who walked out of the session. I wasn't having that at all," she said.

"I got my own way and so I was happy."

Beyond her own experiences, Knight responded to a listener who said the theatre industry was still failing to cater for the hair and make-up of black women performers.

"It's such a crazy thing that in 2021 we still have an issue with make-up and hair for black women. The darker you are the issues are magnified. It's ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous," said Knight.

It followed a Guardian investigation earlier this year in which multiple top stylists and black actors recounted discriminatory treatment and ignorance.

She said that while she "understood the thinking" behind wanting to remove gender, she was worried the change could "fall for men".

Knight pointed to the greatest songwriter awards she was involved with at the turn of the millennium as evidence, adding there "wasn't a woman among them", despite the influence of Kate Bush and Carole King among others.

"It'll be interesting to see how that works," she said.