‘Music is my calling’: soul singer Ruby Turner is coming to Warwick Arts Centre

The 55-year-old Jamaican-born and Birmingham-raised performer will be playing old and new material at Warwick Arts Centre tomorrow (February 2).

Speaking to the Courier, Ruby - who also plays regularly with Jools Holland and has sung with Bryan Ferry, UB40 and Mick Jagger - said: “When you’re still in the business after all these years, it’s nice to have an audience and to have people interested in your music.

“If you have a passion, it’s what you do. It must be my calling. As long as people are happy with it, then I will keep going. Music is inherent.”

Having played with Jools Holland’s Hootenanny on New Year’s eve for the past six years, Ruby says she feels “fortuitous” to have been asked each time. She said: “I don’t plan anything, I just do. If I’m asked, then great. I roll with it.

“I have known Jools since 1993. He is a wonderful boss. I love the music we make together. We have the same kind of mind to do the thing we love and get paid for it.”

Tickets to Sunday’s gig (7.30pm) cost £19. Call 024 7652 4524 or visit www.warwickartscentre.co.uk