The Betty Black Revue

Be enthralled with the powerful Betty Black - the enigmatic, almost fantastical, metamorphosis of Elisabeth Troy (UK garage queen). Many roads, many miles, many tales and many lives.

Betty’s love of 1950’s and 60’s R&B, coupled with her intelligent yet sassy homage and inspirations she’s taken from the greats, culminates in a high-energy, top-quality, super-stylish performance that leaves you wanting more.

Backed with the best musicians, Betty’s band are equally as joyful with their energy, talent and precision. A show that gives your eyes as much of a delicious feast as your ears.

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 (Primal Scream, Tom Jones, Anastasia, Incognito,) and is now reborn as the enigmatic and powerful performer, Betty Black.

You may recognise her as Elisabeth Troy, the writer and phenomenal voice of MJ Cole's “Crazy Love”, a top ten UK chart hit which, alongside other tracks on the gold selling album, “Sincere”, now considered a classic. But it’s not just her voice she’s known for, equally compelling are her theatrical costumes and bold sense of style.

Her fabulous costumes and dynamic performance wowed the audience at last year’s BBC Disco at The Proms. The televised event was described as “the most successful Proms to date”. The current V&A exhibition, ‘The Music is Black – a British Story’ features an outfit she wore on ‘Top of the Pops’ in 2000.

So WHY, with such an enduring career, does she present Betty Black?

In her own words, “With Betty Black I get to go back to my roots as a soul singer. She’s an alter-ego, a fresh new page, with no expectations, and that excites me.”

With this newfound freedom, Betty writes her very own ear-gripping, music. There’s no one genre that defines her music. It’s a journey, full of stories, wittily written, stemming from her re-imaginings of her parents’ music - jazz, R&B, soul, rare grooves; music of the 50's, 60's and early 70’s - Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway and James Brown all being amongst them.

To date, she has released four phenomenal singles (Cry Me a River, Sweet Dreams, Lonely Man, Gypsy Heart) on Skyline Recordings, all supported by BBC2, BBC6 Music, Jazz FM, Mi-Soul. Craig Charles crowned ‘Cry me a river’, “The Funk Song of ’22”.

The forth coming album, ‘JOURNEYS THROUGH SOUL - Vol One’ mixes modern production technique with retro aesthetic and contemporary lyrics. For sure there's a sense of nostalgia but also present is the hope of adventure, mystery, romance and excitement. Sometimes serious, sometimes playful, Betty's style is always bold, dramatic and soulful.

"“I always expect excellence from her, and she's delivered again!”
 " - Craig Charles