Many roads. Many miles. Many tales. Many lives. This Londoner was raised in Africa, schooled in Toronto, cut her teeth on the UK dance scene, made her bones working for every big name in the business (Incognito, Primal Scream, Anastasia, Tom Jones) and is now reborn as Betty Black the enigmatic and powerful performer presented to you here and now.
Betty Black is sure to thrill fans of Gabriels, Mayer Hawthorne, Sharon Jones (for whom Black sang backup) and all things Soul, R&B and Jazz. Her combination of sophistication, glamour and grit is an intoxicating mix so have a sip…have two and take a seat as the house lights dim and Betty takes the stage….
UPCOMING RELEASE - GYPSY HEART - 28 JUNE '24
“Gypsy Heart” will be released on 7" 45rpm vinyl from Skyline Recordings UK on Bandcamp. Digital available on Betty's Bandcamp.
Betty goes back to the beginning when Rhythm met the Blues under the watchful eye of Gospel and the African-American Spiritual. “Gypsy Heart” sounds as though it was penned by Ray Charles for Eartha Kitt. You'd swear you heard it on an old Disney animated feature film. It’s mystical and cinematic but gutsy, and funky to boot! Roots Revival Soul with a sophisticated twist.
“I always expect excellence from her and she's delivered again” - Craig Charles, The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show, BBC Radio6, 01.06.24
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“I always expect excellence from her and she's delivered again” - Craig Charles
MUSIC
To date Betty has released 3 singles. The first 2 “Cry Me A River” and “Sweet Dreams” were both in collaboration with The Family Fortune, another of the artists featured on Skyline Recordings UK, the label specialising in “funky 45’s” on 7" vinyl. Her most recent single “Lonely Man” is her first as a solo artist and song writer.
Betty’s sassy vocals on the Jazz standard “Cry Me A River” won the attention of Craig Charles who in December 2022 crowned it his Funk Record Of The Year on his BBC 6 Music radio show.
Her 2023 follow up “Sweet Dreams” is a reverse-engineered cover of the 80’s Eurythmics classic, made to sound like the 1964 “original” in the way that Gloria Jones’ “Tainted Love” relates to the Soft Cell 1981 version of the same song. Betty’s hi-energy “Northern Soul” approach to the tune has once again been a hit on BBC 6 Music and is still a firm favourite on the playlist some 8 months post-release. With vinyl 45's already selling in the thousands and in it's in it's 3rd re-run, “Sweet Dreams” has attracted an ever-growing fanbase worldwide.
“Lonely Man” is typical of what Betty calls “Retro-Futurism Soul”. It's an uptempo boogaloo unleashing congos, bongos, flute and a funky underscore onto the dance floor. It's got all the vintage crunch and echo Betty loves but with a contemporary approach. “Great energy, full of nostalgia…also…new fresh and modern” says YolanDa Brown on Jazz FM.
Betty's records have received high praise from many DJ’s on the funk and soul scene, notably, Keb Darge, Bluey, Snowboy and Gilles Peterson.
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photos
Photo: Sandro Hyams
