SINGER-songwriter Beverley Craven is enjoying “a rebirth” almost 20 years after her first hit single Promise Me.

Beverley loves being back on tour again following a lengthy break to raise her family — and is once again delighting audiences with songs old and new, including chart successes Memories, Holding On, Woman to Woman and Love Scenes.

Her renaissance has been medical as much as musical after having to face the trauma of being diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago. Thankfully, though, following treatment, she will soon be five years clear.

Beverley is on an 18-date UK concert tour which brings her to the Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot, on Friday, April 16.

“Touring is a blast,” said Beverley, “I’m enjoying playing live more than I ever did. The best thing is looking out into the audience and seeing people singing along — that’s a real compliment.

“Obviously, I’m playing much smaller venues than I used to, but my songs are quite personal and they seem to suit more intimate surroundings.

“I always play Promise Me and all the old hits. I meet people after the show to sign albums and programmes and they often tell me which songs are special to them — usually Mollie’s Song or Memories— which is lovely except when they say they conceived a child to one of my songs. That’s a little too personal because it conjures up an image in your mind . . . well, let’s just not go there.”

She added: “The show is almost two hours long (with a bar break in the middle). I play songs from all four albums and tell everyone who or what they’re about. It’s great therapy for me, a good way to unload!”

Brit award winner Beverley lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband, musician Colin Campsie, and their three daughters, Mollie, Brenna and Connie, aged 18, 14 and 13 — “I live in a house full of hormonal teenagers and you wonder why I’m going back out on the road, “ she quipped.

Last year, Beverley brought out Close to Home, her first studio album in ten years.

“There are two songs on the new album which relate directly to my being diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2005,” she said. “One of them was written for my daughters and is called Without Me, which is quite dark and sad, about a time when I wasn't sure if I would be around for my kids, and the other is Rainbows, much more upbeat . . . there are no rainbows without the rain . . . without darkness you can’t shine a light etc.

“I kept everything under wraps when I was first diagnosed because I didn't want the girls to know. I didn’t want to worry them. I did the Moonwalk twice with my sisters, a couple of girlfriends and my mum, and went public then to try to help raise money for the charity.

“It took me two years to psychologically come to terms with all that I’d been through, but now I have a renewed enthusiasm for songwriting and playing live. It’s as if having a brush with death has made me feel more alive and put the urgency back into my life —or maybe I’m just having a midlife crisis . . .

“It’s funny, though, when you tell people you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, you then immediately find yourself reassuring them instead of the other way around. Ultimately, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, as they say. It’s roses and manure, isn’t it?”

Beverley became a household name in the early 1990s with the release of her debut album, which became a worldwide hit, selling more than two million copies, and she performed sell-out shows in the UK, mainland Europe and the United States. Her second album, Love Scenes, was released in 1993 and included the hit singles Love Scenes and Mollie’s Song.

Following the birth of her third child, Beverley took a break from the music scene before returning in 1999 with her third album, Mixed Emotions. Although critically well received, Beverley was disappointed with its promotion by the record company and, increasingly disillusioned with the music industry, went into semi-retirement and concentrated on raising her family.

She returned in 2004 with a handful of live concerts, but the following year received the devastating cancer diagnosis.

Finally back with Close to Home, perhaps her most personal album to date, Beverley said: “I recorded most of the new album at home in my own studio and produced it myself too.

“It's a rebirth in many ways. Only this time, there’s no record deal and no pressure. I’m doing things on my terms now and you know what, I’m really enjoying myself.”

Tickets for the Cornerstone concert, at 8pm, are £15, £13.50 (concessions) and £12.50 (members) and are available online at www.cornerstone-arts.org, by telephone on 01235 515144 or in person at the box office. Her tour also includes the Kenton Theatre, Henley, on Thursday, April 8, and the Corn Exchange, Newbury, on Friday, April 23