HAS Britain’s queen of soul, Beverley Knight MBE, ever performed in York? “You’d have to do a lot of research to find the answer because I’ve never played there. But I’m very proud to be playing this time; if it was up to me, I’d have played the four corners of the globe by now,” says Beverley, her sentiment in keeping with title of her sixth studio album, 100%.

Judging by tickets sales – fewer than 100 were still available at the time of going to press – Sunday’s debut at the Grand Opera House is long overdue for the 37-year-old triple Mobo award winner.

“Often you’re told that you don’t have a strong support in this or that area, and the way to change that is to get yourself there, play the venue,” says Beverley. “I love playing to an audience that may be sceptical about me and then get them to turn. I love that challenge.”

Her strategy is straightforward.

“I rise to the challenge by being bloody good and enjoying making the audience engage with me and knowing what they’re looking for,” she says. “I’ve seen the good and the not so good, and I’ve absorbed the good and been mindful of the not so good over many years of performing.”

And she does mean many years. “The first time I sang was on my mother’s shoulder at the age of four in church in the heart of Wolverhampton. I think it was Jesus Loves Me, This I Know, For The Bible Tells Me So.

“For me, gospel was the best grounding I ever had because I was doing what I loved to do and didn’t think twice about it. It was training for me, but not overtly so: it’s an organic way of learning to sing – and because it’s very organic and not planned or thought about, the way you develop is natural and at your own pace.”

Yet the path to success can lead to ultimate frustration at the hands of record companies focused solely on sales. “Increasingly in my career it became frustrating for me because I found it was a limiting sound that they wanted me to do,” says Beverley.

“Being a female and a black artist stereotyped me as far many were concerned, and anything that deviated from that was inconceivable, but I grew up not only with R&B and soul but, thank God, I also liked indie and Bowie and Sonic Youth: the stuff that the average young girl in Wolverhampton is not exposed to.

“So I knew the only way to bring all those different facets together was if I took the reins myself and I’m glad I did.”

In taking those reins, Beverley has signed to Hurricane Records, breaking free from the major-label manacles but still carrying the pulling power to work with Guy Chambers, Jam & Lewis and Ivor Novello Award-winning songwriter Amanda Ghost.

Even better, she has teamed up with soul heavyweight Chaka Khan on the new album’s stomping signature tune and current single, Soul Survivor. “When me and Guy first wrote this song I recorded it alone initially, but I knew there was another dimension to it – and Chaka was that dimension! She’s incredible,” says Beverley.

Soul Survivor encapsulates Beverley’s spirit today, just as her first Top 40 hit, Moving On Up (On The Right Side) announced a talent on the rise in 1996.

“Everyone knows there are ebbs and flows in a career in the music industry,” she says. “People fall in and out of favour all the time. The thing that gets you through is the love of what you do.

“I’m really content with what has happened previously and the fact that I can now work with people I choose to work with is great.

“With me being a typical Aries driven woman, once one thing has been achieved, the goal posts move, and the focus for me now is to branch out and see my music go global. I’ve always wanted my music to flourish outside these shores and see how people react to it elsewhere.”

This Soul Survivor remains ambitious to move on up still further, but she is grateful too for her success so far: “I haven’t had the dizzy heights of Whitney Houston but I know that I’m respected for what I’ve achieved and that I’ve given it everything.” 100% Beverley Knight, you might say.

• Beverley Knight plays Grand Opera House, York on Sunday, doors 7pm. Box office: 0844 847 2322.