Born on July 28: Beverley Craven, a golden voice from elsewhere

Beverley Craven was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1963, but her family moved to the UK when she was just 18 months old.

A classical violinist herself, her mother encouraged her from a young age to take piano lessons alongside her other passion, swimming. Moving to London at 18, however, she turned to music without regret. In the 1980s, she began her career as a backing singer, notably for Bobby Womack, American soul legend and composer of "Woman's Gotta Have It."

Her self-titled debut album in 1990, certified double platinum in her country after a faltering debut, remains her most resounding success to this day. Even today, songs like "Promise Me" and "Missing You" characterize the style—between easy jazz and classical—of this pianist, singer-songwriter, and ultimately quite unprolific, having released only five studio albums in her 35-year career.

Hard hit by breast cancer, first diagnosed in 2006 and a painful recurrence eight years later, Beverley Craven kept a low profile before, in 2018, gathering Judie Tzuke and Julia Fordham, her musical twin sisters, for a UK tour and then a self-described album, "Woman To Woman." Together, they shared a positive message in the face of life's ups and downs, and also recorded the single "Safe" that same year.

Since then, Beverley and Judie have regularly shared the stage for a few select appearances...

(MH with Stéphane Soupart / © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Beverley Craven performs "Promise Me" at the Diamonds Awards at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp on October 24, 1991