When the band make their way on stage, there is applause, more polite than rapturous, but when Beverley comes on stage a few seconds later, the fans seem to come to life, and the volume increases dramatically. Her slight frame belies someone who has never even contemplated children, and would make many mothers jealous, and she looks elegant without going over the top, in a nice gold hexagon covered dress.

As soon as she speaks, it is clear that she has no sign of nerves, and launches in to her first song, Woman to Woman. It soon becomes apparent, that this is a woman with an extraordinary voice, and talent, who has surrounded herself with a band of accomplished musicians. The crowd warms to her within seconds, and I see a lot of smiling faces. At the end of the song, as indeed every song, there is spontaneous applause Beverley gives a wry smile, almost as if asking the crowd 'did you miss me?' Before every song, she gives a short intro, telling us about who the songs are for, she tells us the next, Tick Tock, is about her sister, in fact she tells us that a lot of the new songs, are about her family, and friends.

The quality of the new songs seems to find extra depth with a live band, and Beverley's voice comes across as powerful and yet somehow soothing at the same time. We are treated to a few more songs from the new album namely Come home to me, Say you're sorry, She doesn't need saving, and the wonderful ballad, We found a place. It is surprising to note, that considering the short amount of time that the new album has been out the audience treat these tracks as if they are old familiar friends, they really do seem to know and love them all.

When Beverley sings Mollie's song (about her first born daughter), you can almost feel a change in the strength of her voice, for the first time in the evening, it seems as if she really believes in the words she is singing. She closes her eyes for brief periods and really pushes her voice to the point of almost faltering. When she opens her eyes, she gives knowing smiles to her band as she sings. It is also apparent on Afraid of letting go, a song she tells us about the pain of her Mother and Fathers divorce, and how it affected her family.

For the start of the second set she decides to start with Holding On, and then Love Scenes, a good choice. Immediately the crowd is hooked and some even appear to be in a trance like state. Beverley knows how to grab a crowd's attention, and like every good showman/woman, she knows how to keep it. The main thing that is apparent to me, is that despite the simplicity of some of the songs, that she works really hard on stage, pounding the piano relentlessly, almost trying to squeeze more from each song, and only at one point during the evening, at the very start of Look no Further, does she look a little uncomfortable. She looks to the drummer for re-assurance, but needn't have worried; she pulls it off amicably.

As the evening draws to a close, I start to think that it would be nice to hear, just Beverley and the piano, and almost as if she is reading my mind. As the band leave the stage, Beverley informs the audience that she hats the whole encore thing, where everyone goes and hides behind the curtain. So instead, she's just going to stay here. She ends the night, with a track from the first album, I Listen To the Rain, and I swear that I can hear the sound of tears falling in the crowd.

Beverley Craven is without doubt, one of the best British female artists to emerge in the nineties. She deserves more recognition then she currently receives. She just needs a few more hit singles under her belt, and then she should be unstoppable. If you are looking for a romantic night out, I can thoroughly recommend it.

© Martin McGregor 1999
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