Beverley Craven - Beverley Craven (1990)

Beverley Craven (born 28 July 1963 in Colombo, Sri Lanka) is a British singer-songwriter best known for her 1991 UK Top 5 hit single "Promise Me". Her most recent album, Close To Home, was released in 2009. Craven has sold over 4 million records in her career.

In November 1988 she was sent to Los Angeles to work with some established songwriters and to ‘learn her craft’ playing in bars and restaurants. The experience was ‘unproductive’ she confesses, preferring even now to write alone. Soon afterwards, again in Los Angeles, she made her first attempt to record her debut album with Stewart Levine of Simply Red fame. However she felt the professionalism of the recordings failed to capture the naivete of her work and was relieved when Epic agreed. She went on to record with Paul Samwell-Smith, whose other production credits included Cat Stevens, Carly Simon and All About Eve.

The album, Beverley Craven was eventually released in July 1990 and, although it initially failed to attract attention in the United Kingdom it found acceptance in Europe.

It was not until April 1991 that she found success in her homeland. A re-released "Promise Me" was heavily promoted and eventually peaked at #3 in the UK singles chart, becoming her biggest hit. This success helped her debut album also chart at #3 in the UK, staying charted for over a year in the UK and eventually going double platinum in that country. The album sold in excess of 1,2 million copies worldwide. Other singles released to promote the album, including "Holding On" and "Woman To Woman" were less successful, but helped maintain the momentum.

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

In February 1992, Craven performed at the Brit Awards show (following her nomination in three categories), winning the Best British Newcomer Award. She was eight months pregnant when she sang at the Brits and she gave birth to her first child, Mollie, less than a month later. wikipedia