Ruby Turner

Few British singers have carried soul and rhythm and blues across the Atlantic quite like Ruby Turner. Born in Montego Bay, she moved to Handsworth in Birmingham at nine, and her sound draws on both island and British traditions, including a gospel inheritance from a grandfather who sang lead in one of Jamaica's gospel groups. Her name carries most weight in Europe and North America, yet she is just as sought after behind the microphone, adding backing vocals for Bryan Ferry, UB40, Steve Winwood and Mick Jagger, while Lulu, Yazz and Maxi Priest have recorded songs she wrote.

Her breakthrough arrived with the 1986 album Women Hold Up Half the Sky, which included a cover of the Staple Singers' "If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)" and a version of Etta James's "I'd Rather Go Blind", a single that reached No. 24 in the UK in 1987. In February 1990 "It's Gonna Be Alright" gave her a No. 1 on the US R&B chart, a rare feat for a British singer. Her 2009 album I'm Travelling On marked a turn towards gospel, and in 2016 she was appointed an MBE for services to music.