Songwriting Spotlight: Ricky Ross in conversation with Fiona Bevan

Fiona Bevan (Artist)

"Absolutely brilliant" TOM ROBINSON, BBC6Music

“...a stunning debut album...it’s time for this dreamy, offbeat beauty, and her halo of blonde curls, to take centre stage.” – MAIL ON SUNDAY, You Mag

Fiona Bevan is a British-Canadian songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist from Suffolk, UK with a sweet, fiery voice and a soulful folk-pop sound creating ​"startling odysseys that suggest Erykah Badu, Joanna Newsom and Kate Bush spine-tinglingly joined" (The Guardian)​.  Her new EP, Wild Angels Sweet Demons, was produced by Grammy award-winning engineer Robin Baynton (Mumford And Sons, Laura Marling, Isaac Gracie) and went straight to number 3 in the iTunes singer-songwriter chart in November 2018. The EP was an eagerly awaited follow up to Fiona’s debut studio album, 'Talk To Strangers' in 2014, which was released in UK, Europe, Australia and Japan and in USA and Canada in conjunction with Universal Canada.  In between releases Fiona has been working as a multi-platinum songwriter, writing hit songs for other artists including the award-winning number one song 'Little Things' for One Direction, plus singles for Aurora, Andy Brown (Lawson), Lewis Capaldi, Tom Walker, Lights, Hey Violet, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Mika, Backstreet Boys, Natalie Prass and Matthew E. White. She has also recently been writing with Lennon Stella, Lukas Nelson and Treetop Flyers, and has just returned from touring the UK supporting Ruston Kelly and The Wandering Hearts, after they met onstage playing at The Bluebird in Nashville in June.  Fiona has also toured in the UK and Europe with Ed Sheeran, Nick Mulvey, Billie Marten, Ingrid Michaelson, Gwyneth Herbert and Adam Ant, and in Canada with Hawksley Workman. Her song 'Slo Mo Tiger Glo' has been used in commercials and has recently been the theme music of BBC drama 'Age Before Beauty'.

Ricky Ross (Artist/BBC Scotland)

Ricky Ross formed Deacon Blue in Glasgow in 1985, they went on to become one of Scotland’s most famous and successful bands. From debut album Raintown and follow-up, the chart-topping When The World Knows Your Name, through to 2016’s The Believers, Deacon Blue are one of the most respected and best loved bands of their generation. In 2018 they took to the road again, their sell out ‘To Be Here Someday’ tour was their biggest in 25 years.  During the band’s down time Ricky has established himself as a successful solo artist and songwriter releasing seven solo albums, his most recent the critically acclaimed 2017’s Short Stories Vol. 1, as well as writing for and with artists including James Blunt, Ronan Keating, Jamie Cullum and Nanci Griffith amongst many others.  He also has an accomplished broadcasting career, Another Country, his BBC Radio Scotland show has won two Sony awards and in 2014 Ricky was the proud recipient of the CMA International Country Broadcaster Award. He also presents Sunday Morning With... for BBC Radio Scotland and Ricky Ross’s New Tradition for BBC Radio 2.