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This Friday, Cherry Red’s 90/9 imprint is bringing the funk…The B-Funk, to be precise, with a new 2CD deluxe reissue of Beverley Knight’s electrifying debut album.  Originally released on Dome Records – which Cherry Red acquired last year – The B-Funk launched the career of the vocalist who went on to soar in not just music but television (mentoring on BBC One’s reality show Just the Two of Us), radio (Beverley’s Gospel Nights on Radio 2), and stage (The Bodyguard, Memphis, The Drifters Girl, Marie and Rosetta, and her Olivier Award-winning turn in Sylvia) while maintaining a high profile in various arenas of philanthropy.

The Wolverhampton native born Beverley Anne Smith was spotted in her hometown by Dome’s A&R man Marc Sher while still pursuing her studies. Dome snapped her up and linked her with production duo 2B3, a.k.a. Neville Thomas and Pule Pheto.  Neville acknowledges in reissue producer Adam Mattera’s definitive sleeve notes, “Right off the bat it was obvious she could compete with the Americans vocally.  They had all these great vocalists coming in at the time – Mary J. [Blige], Faith Evans – and Beverley could stand her ground with all of them.  I’ve always said this to Beverley; she could go on stage with Whitney Houston and hold her own.”  (When Sher discovered Beverley, she was singing Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You,” a song which she would later reprise onstage to thunderous ovations in the musical adaptation of The Bodyguard.)

The young singer’s abundant, beyond-her-years vocal chops are in evidence on every track of The B-Funk.  2B3’s “Flavour of the Old School,” initially sent to tastemakers as a mysterious white label promo with little information, put quickly her on the map. (Dome’s Peter Robinson suggested the name change from Smith to Knight, too, with inspiration from soul queen Gladys.)  The new jack swing-flavored track lived up to its own title with a swooning, club-friendly blend of classic and contemporary soul sensibilities.  It was shortlisted for Radio 1 airplay and reached No. 5 in the U.K. R&B Chart, placing respectably on the Singles Chart (No. 50).

2B3 were enlisted to co-write with Beverley and produce most of the album that would become The B-Funk, including the Prince-influenced “Down for the One.”  While “Down for the One” again stalled on the Pop chart, it made No. 8 R&B.  Dome pressed on with “Flavour” and commissioned new remixes; soon, it soared to No. 33 on the Pop side in October 1995.  The next month, the full album arrived with its array of soul grooves encompassing swing, funk, gospel, hip-hop, and beyond.  Despite its original fourteen cuts sailing from strength to strength, it failed to make the top 100 of the U.K. Albums Chart. Dome continued to press on with the bright “Moving on Up (On the Right Side)” – an outlier in the sense that it was neither co-written by Knight or produced by 2B3.  The Ethnic Boyz’ production of Westley Jones’ song incorporated a Curtis Mayfield sample into its gleaming groove.

Though “Moving on Up” just missed the top 40 of the Singles Chart, it scored another top ten R&B placement.   Beverley’s fourth single “Mutual Feeling” (issued in October 1996) would make the top 20 of the R&B survey.  Co-written and co-produced by U.K. rapper Blak Twang, it was an irresistible melding of soul and hip-hop which, in 2025, was sampled by U.S. artist Playboi Carti for “Backd00r,” featuring Kendrick Lamar and Jhene Aiko.

Yet the release of The B-Funk itself was affected by a case of bad timing.  As Knight recounts to Mattera, “I was the antithesis of what the music industry wanted to see, hear, and promote at the time.  I was not Britpop.  And that’s why the album, commercially, didn’t do anything.  If critical acclaim was the yardstick, I would have been number one everywhere.  But that’s not how it works.”  Yet The B-Funk remains an auspicious start to the career of Beverley Knight, MBE.  The album was named by Blues & Soul as the year’s best, and she received the R&B Act of the Year recognition at the 1996 Black Music Awards.  Mattera, writing in Echoes, named it the best British soul album “ever.”  While he notes “in hindsight, that may have been a tad overblown,” he nonetheless shares, “Listening back to the album today, I can hear more clearly what I was reacting to.  Rarely, if ever, had there been a British soul singer who was not only so naturally gifted in terms of range, tone, and power, but moreover, had an innate understanding of how to craft and arrange her sound to maximum effect in the studio.”

Mattera’s passion for Knight’s output is evident in the care expended upon this reissue of The B-Funk.  In addition to the refreshed artwork and his comprehensive essay drawing on new interviews with Knight and her collaborators, the expanded edition (housed in a 6-panel digipak) adds a whopping eighteen bonus tracks (three on Disc One, fifteen on Disc Two).  This deep-dive selection of the album’s many remixes remind listeners of why Knight became a club superstar.  Elsewhere in the 28-page booklet, Beverley has supplied detailed track-by-track annotations which offer insight into each song, and a discography helpfully breaks down the many associated single releases.  The attention to detail extends, of course, to the audio, which has been remastered for this edition by Simon Murphy.

The B-Funk was Beverley Knight’s lone album for Dome; she moved to Parlophone for 1998’s Prodigal Sista and has since recorded for Hurricane, EastWest, and BMG.  Though Knight has concentrated in recent years more on stage work than on recordings, this album is a powerful reminder of her raw talent and vocal artistry.  Look for it on Friday, May 15, from Cherry Red.  You’ll find the track listing and pre-order links below.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Beverley Knight, The B-Funk: Deluxe Edition (DOMECD6, 1995 – reissued 90/9/Cherry Red NTND011, 2026) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. The B-Funk
2. Moving On Up (On the Right Side)
3. Mutual Feeling
4. Flavour of the Old School
5. Remedy
6. Down for the One
7. Steppin’ on My Shoes
8. Promise You Forever
9. It’s Your Time
10. So Happy
11. Cast All Your Cares
12. U’ve Got It
13. In Time
14. Goodbye Innocence

Bonus Tracks

15. Down for the One (Radio Version) (from CDDOME 102, 1995)
16. Moving on Up (On the Right Side) (Radio Version) (from CDDOME 107, 1996)
17. Goodbye Innocence (Early Version) (previously unreleased)

CD 2

1. Flavour of the Old School (Full Flava Remix) (from 12DOME 101, 1995)
2. Down for the One (2B3 Retro Mix) (from 12DOME 102, 1995)
3. Moving On Up (On the Right Side) (Ethnic Boyz Remix) (from 12DOME 107, 1996)
4. Mutual Feeling (feat. Blak Twang) (from 12DOME 111, 1996)
5. So Happy (Summertime Mix) (previously unreleased)
6. Flavour of the Old School (Club Remix) (from 12DOME 101, 1995)
7. Moving On Up (On the Right Side) (D-Lux Remix) (from 12DOME 107, 1996)
8. Mutual Feeling (D-Lux Remix) (from 12DOME 111, 1996)
9. Flavour of the Old School (2B3 New Flava) (from 12DOME 105, 1995)
10. Down for the One (Marcapella Mix) (from 12DOME 102, 1995)
11. So Happy (Quiet Storm Mix) (previously unreleased)
12. Flavour of the Old School (Hip-Hop Mix feat. Rapro) (from 12DOME 105, 1995)
13. Moving on Up (On the Right Side) (Full Crew/Wayne Lawes Remix) (from 12DOME 107, 1996)
14. Mutual Feeling (Minnx Remix) (from CDDOME 111, 1996)
15. Flavour of the Old School (Hoff’s Groove Factory Mix) (from Groove Society/Dome (Germany) MS 050 33675, 1996)