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27 Facts About Beverley Craven

1.

Beverley Craven was born on 28 July 1963 and is a British singer-songwriter best known for her 1991 UK hit single "Promise Me".

2.

Beverley Craven has recorded six studio albums, including the collaborative album Woman to Woman with Judie Tzuke and Julia Fordham.

3.

Beverley Craven began taking piano lessons at the age of seven, encouraged by her music teacher mother who was a classical violinist and who had performed at the Royal Albert Hall.

4.

Beverley Craven performed with various bands in London pubs and was writing songs.

5.

Beverley Craven was an accomplished swimmer during her teens and competed in several national swimming competitions around the UK.

6.

Beverley Craven did not buy her first pop record until she was 15, when she started buying records by artists such as Kate Bush, the Electric Light Orchestra and Stevie Wonder.

7.

At 18, Beverley Craven left school and home and worked in various jobs, living in a south London bedsit.

8.

Beverley Craven helped to secure her a major music publishing deal with Warner Brothers and a development contract with Epic Records followed.

9.

In November 1988, Beverley Craven was sent to Los Angeles to work with some established songwriters and to 'learn her craft' playing in bars and restaurants.

10.

Beverley Craven believed the professionalism of the recordings failed to capture the naivete of her work and was relieved when Epic agreed.

11.

Beverley Craven went on to record with Paul Samwell-Smith, whose other production credits included Cat Stevens, Carly Simon and All About Eve.

12.

In 1992 Beverley Craven released a videotape, titled Memories, recorded live at the Birmingham Symphony Hall.

13.

In February 1992, Beverley Craven performed at the Brit Awards show, winning the Best British Newcomer Award.

14.

Beverley Craven was eight months pregnant when she sang at the Brits and she gave birth to her first child, Mollie, less than a month later.

15.

Beverley Craven spent much of 1992 enjoying motherhood and recording her second album.

16.

Beverley Craven was nominated again in the Best British Female Artist category at the 1994 Brit Awards.

17.

Beverley Craven took a five-year hiatus after giving birth to two more daughters and it was not until 1999 that she released her third album, Mixed Emotions.

18.

Beverley Craven recorded the album in her home studio and for the first time produced the record herself.

19.

Also in 1999, Beverley Craven contributed lead vocals on the song "The Very Last Time", included on the album The Time Machine, by Alan Parsons.

20.

In March 2009, Beverley Craven released her first album in ten years, Close To Home, fully written and produced by herself.

21.

Beverley Craven released it on her own record label and sold it initially through her website and at concerts, although later in the year she made it available for purchase on online retailers and on digital outlets.

22.

Beverley Craven released a live DVD, titled Live in Concert, in August 2010, as well as a songbook later in the year featuring songs from her four albums.

23.

Beverley Craven published her autobiography, Truth Be Told, in 2012, selling it exclusively on her website.

24.

Beverley Craven toured with fellow British singer-songwriters Judie Tzuke and Julia Fordham, starting in November 2018.

25.

Beverley Craven herself was diagnosed for a second time; her breast cancer treatment meant she underwent a double mastectomy and lymph node surgery followed by five months of intense chemotherapy treatment.

26.

Beverley Craven released her updated autobiography, Truth Be Told, on 1 June 2019.

27.

Beverley Craven met her partner, Mike, a businessman in 2019, on the Internet through Guardian Soulmates.