The Queen of British Soul celebrated twenty-five years of hustle, passion, and vocal excellence

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Ms Knight has kept the fire of a terrific music career burning for the past twenty-five years. Last night, to celebrate this milestone, Knight took to the stage at the Royal Festival Hall. The concert was filmed and recorded and, we were told, will be released as a live album later in the year.

Joined by the Leo Green Orchestra – who opened the night with a wonderful overture – Knight’s setlist surveyed her accomplished career. Touching base with her 1994 debut album The B-Funk, Knight picked highlights from her discography, gave a four-song nod to her musical theatre career, premiered new material, and paid homage to defining soul influences.

I vehemently refute the label ‘middle of the road’ which the press has occasionally attached to Ms Knight (albeit, not necessarily as a criticism). Yes, she was in Cats. Yes, she has plenty of multi-racial and multi-generational appeal. And yes, after closing the concert with Sam & Dave’s ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’ and her original ‘Come As You Are’, she mentioned needing to put the kettle on.

But be assured, there is nothing ‘middle of the road’ about Ms Knight – a performer who sings with an almost supernatural vocal stamina, performs with hair-raising fervour, and still seems shocked when her audience responds with multiple standing ovations. While her vocal ability is widely recognised, Knight’s energy as a performer is not given due credit. Comparisons to Tina Turner were muttered as audience members left the venue, referring to the incandescent physicality and raw abandon which Knight had on stage (particularly during performances of ‘Get Up’ and ‘Black Butta’).

After entering to a full standing-ovation, she blazed through a medley of ‘Made It Back’ (Prodigal Sista, 1998), ‘Greatest Day’ (Prodigal Sista), and ‘Keep This Fire Burning’ (Affirmation, 2005).

Knight’s earlier catalogue benefitted particularly from Leo Green’s sumptuous arrangements. ‘Sista Sista’, from Knight’s sophomore album Prodigal Sista, was layered with extra weight and gravitas. ‘Gold’, inspired by a dark period of self-doubt in Knight’s life, was given the big ballad treatment by the orchestra. The thumping self-empowerment anthem ‘Get Up!’ (Who Am I, 2002) was livelier and richer.

Knight closed her first set with the musical theatre portion of the evening. While the audience responded most effusively to ‘Memory’ from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, her performance of ‘Love Will Stand Where All Else Falls’ from Memphis (a soul-tinged score written by Bon Jovi’s David Bryan) stood out to this writer for the gentle ebb-and-flow of the verses before its impassioned climax.

The second set featured masterclass vocal performances of Prince’s ‘The Cross’, Stevie Wonder’s ‘Lately’ (aided by nuanced backing vocals), and Erma Franklin’s ‘Piece of My Heart’. On the latter, she raised a finger to silence the audience before unleashing a Janis Joplin-inspired wail. Scaling the heights of her vocal range from the very first song to the last, Knight seemed to never tire.

Of the promising new material that was premiered, ‘The Beat Of You’ was the highlight. Written with the late Rod Temperton, it carries all the hallmarks of a lustrous soul ballad.

See the full setlist here

(Image copyright: Senbla)