Beverley Craven’s hit 1991 song Promise Me launched her to a Brit Best Newcomer award and 4 million album sales, writes Louis Dore.

She is now set to play the Epsom Playhouse in February.

Interestingly, she doesn’t cite any influences for her new material: "I don’t want to listen to any music, I like silence.

“When I put on the radio in the car I hear a few bars and then I’m done, I just turn it off.

“My daughter introduced me to Spotify to make a new years’ party playlist, it took me about four hours to make it.

"I’ll probably only get it out again next year.”

Craven has recently moved to a new house where she lives with her three daughters, aged 18, 19 and 22, following a long 2014 tour to promote her new album, Change of Heart.

She says: “It’s probably classed as easy listening.

"They use these terms and they always seem to be derogatory terms but there’s a lot of songs around at the moment which don’t actually seem to be songs.”

Craven cites a “very painful divorce" to her ex-husband in 2005 and surviving breast cancer as emotional influences as well as “a few relationships since I divorced my ex-husband, so they’re great songwriting fodder.”

Her favourite part of her job currently is live performances: “I’m really looking forward to Epsom, Mike Armstrong is supporting, he writes fantastic lyrics.

“He’s got such a great grasp of the English language. When I heard his voice he sounded very Bob Dylan-esque in his vocal delivery.

“It’s going to be two completely different sets, great for the audience.”

Michael Armstrong says "Beverley’s a singer songwriter who writes about her own experiences, as we both do.

“We both try to sell the stories behind the songs onstage.

“I’m hugely looking forward to playing with Beverley. My wife, when she was growing up in the 90s as a young woman, she absolutely loved Beverley’s debut album at a very formative time of her life.”

Change of Heart in Concert 2015; Epsom Playhouse, Ashley Avenue. Epsom; February 7; £18.50; visit epsomplayhouse.com; call 01372 742555