In 2006 Knight starred in BBC1 music TV show, Just The Two Of Us, and is the host of the Radio 2 show Beverley's Gospel Nights, which explores the origins and impact of gospel music. Now in its second season, the show has featured interviews with stars such as Destiny's Child and Shirley Caesar.
Knight is an ambassador for many charities such Christian Aid and has travelled to areas affected by disease and poverty to help raise awareness. She is an active campaigner for anti-Aids organisations such as the Stop AIDS Campaign and The Terrence Higgins Trust and is also a vocal campaigner against homophobic lyrics in urban music. She became an MBE in 2006, the only musician to be granted such an honour in the Queen's eightieth birthday honours list.
In February 2006 Knight consolidated her move into the mainstream audience by appearing on BBC1 music show, Just The Two of Us. The show, featuring celebrities who duet with established singers, ran for two weeks and proved to be a relative disappointment in terms of audience figures – averaging between fifteen and twenty-five percent audience shares.[17] Nevertheless it provided a platform for Knight to reach out to a bigger audience and demonstrate her talent by performing a different array of songs than she would otherwise be known for. Reaching out to new audiences was also a driving force behind Knight’s decision to join Take That on their reunion arena tour. Take That - The Ultimate Tour 06, which ran from April to July 2006, sold 270,000 tickets in less than four hours on sale at the box office and featured Knight as a support act.
In March 2006 Beverley released her fifth album, a compilation set featuring the majority of her top forty UK singles entitled Voice - The Best Of Beverley Knight. The album, which was certified Gold less than a month after its release,[19] became her second highest charting of her career when it entered the UK albums chart at number ten and rose to number nine a month later. It was preceded by the single "Piece of my Heart" – a cover of the Erma Franklin classic made famous by Janis Joplin and entered the singles chart at number sixteen, spending eleven weeks inside the UK top 75 singles chart and becoming her longest-running chart single to date.
In October 2006, Knight recorded her fifth studio album, Music City Soul, in Nashville. Completed in less than five days, the album was released on 7 May 2007 and features collaborations with musicians such as Ronnie Wood and Scotty Moore. It has spawned three singles thus far, "No Man's Land", released on 16 April 2007, "After You", released on 2 July 2007 and "The Queen of Starting Over", released on 15 October 2007.
Beverley will be releasing her next album in spring 2009.
Sites: YouTube
Fairplay
Beverley Knight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you don't love me would it be fair well
Use my love and give yours to another
Would that be fair?
I can hide all the misery and pain
I am sure I'll never love this way again
Would that be fair?
Do you think she would care
Ooh fairplay
Ooh fairplay
Like the sun when it hits the urban sky at day
Lights and music take me higher yes
I would love to dance my life away
Would that be fair?
Baby, baby baby baby
I want I want want want you to be fair
Fairplay
Ooh fairplay
Ooh fairplay
Soul II soul is the place where you should be
Back in the day that UK Soul was heavenly
'Cause it's all about expression
I'll say it again
'Cause it's all about expression
Funky people express yourself tonight
It's UK soul, with ecstasy and pure delight
'Cause it's all about expression
Oh yeah yeah
'Cause it's all about expression
Baby, I think you should come down
And try to express yourself
Yourself baby baby baby baby
I want I want you want you want you to be fair
Ooh fairplay
Ooh fairplay
Ooh fairplay
Ooh fairplay
Baby baby I've got this feeling in my soul, well
If you don't love me would it be fair
To use my love and give yours to another
Would that
Would that
Would that be fair?
Ooh fairplay
Ooh fairplay
The lyrics to Beverley Knight's song "Fairplay" are about the dilemma of loving someone who may not love you back. The singer in the song asks whether it would be fair for her love interest to use her love and give theirs to another person. She contemplates whether she should hide her misery and pain and whether the other person would care about her feelings. The chorus repeats "fairplay" over and over again, almost as if she's trying to convince herself that she deserves to be treated fairly in the situation.
The second verse of the song references "Soul II Soul," a British R&B group known for their hit song "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)." It's clear that Knight is paying homage to the UK soul scene, which was an important part of British music in the '80s and '90s. She refers to the scene as "heavenly" and encourages people to express themselves through music and dance.
Overall, "Fairplay" is a song about the complexities of love and the importance of being treated fairly in relationships. Knight uses clever wordplay and references to R&B and soul music to create a catchy and memorable song.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby baby I've got this feeling in my soul
I have an intuition that is making me uneasy
If you don't love me would it be fair well
If you don't feel the same way about me, would it be honest to continue?
Use my love and give yours to another
Is it fair to take advantage of my love and give it to someone else?
Would that be fair?
Is it just to deceive someone in love?
I can hide all the misery and pain
It's possible to pretend that everything's okay
I am sure I'll never love this way again
It feels like an unforgettable love
Do you think she would care
Would it matter to the other person?
Like the sun when it hits the urban sky at day
Arousing, arousing sensation in the soul
Lights and music take me higher yes
Elevating the soul through music and lights
I would love to dance my life away
I would dance until the end of time
Would that be fair?
Would it be honest to spend time dancing when your partner is alone?
Baby, baby baby baby I want I want want want you to be fair Fairplay
I want honesty and justice in our relationship
Soul II soul is the place where you should be
Soul II Soul is a place where you can learn to feel and express love
Back in the day that UK Soul was heavenly
The UK Soul music of the past was divine
'Cause it's all about expression I'll say it again
It is about the ability to communicate and connect through music
Funky people express yourself tonight
Let yourself go and share your emotions through music
It's UK soul, with ecstasy and pure delight
UK soul music brings feelings of joy and pleasure
Oh yeah yeah 'Cause it's all about expression
The power of music is in its ability to convey emotions
Baby, I think you should come down And try to express yourself
You should let your emotions show, and share more
Yourself baby baby baby baby I want I want you want you want you to be fair
I want you to be honest and open about your feelings
Baby baby I've got this feeling in my soul, well
My gut tells me something isn't right
If you don't love me would it be fair
If you don't feel the same, we should let go of our relationship
To use my love and give yours to another
It's unfair to take advantage of love in such a way
Would that Would that Would that be fair?
Is it just to take advantage of someone's love?
Writer(s): Nellee Hooper Copyright: WB Music Corp.
Contributed by Connor D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Susan Williams
This woman doesn't get enough credit. Fantastic voice!
Harriart Harriart
I totally agree
Miriam Prado Durand
I listened this song for a million times when I was 16 yo, I'm now 24 yo, and I still listen it with the same excitement.
Beverly is one of the greatest voices of our generation 💜.
Karis Matic
Absolutely fantastic - I love this song 😭❣️🙌🏽
Damien Winchester
With a voice like that...Bev just wins at life!
BenBen808
I saw Beverley Knight last night and she was mesmerizing, I always was knew that could sing her little heart out, but to see her live is inspirational. She exhibits vocal control and range, which is rare within the UK and Europe. I’m happy that she's returned to her soul roots, as it is grueling to hold the British soul mantel.
Lisa Ann Sims
Amazing talent and from just down the road from me :) love it x
zaltos
it deserves many millions views !
JD Hunt
This sounds love & I'm loving that Brummie twang you still have Ms Knight. i can't wait to get this album!:-)!
jamiroquai01fan
This is incredible!!! Gotta love it!