‘The best place in the entire universe’ – Voices of South London: Katy B

This weekend, it’s both Katy B and Crystal Palace who are On a Mission.

The Peckham-born singer will be one of tens of thousands of Eagles supporters in attendance at Wembley to lend her voice to Oliver Glasner’s side.

It’s a voice which shot to prominence with her aforementioned debut album, peaking at number two in the UK Albums Chart and spawning two top-five hits: Katy on a Mission and Lights On, both classics of the UK dance scene. Since, she has released three further UK top-ten singles, hitting number one in 2015 with Turn the Music Louder (Rumble) alongside KDA and Tinie Tempah.

Real name Katy Brien, but known worldwide as Katy B, epitomises the Palace mantra ‘South London and Proud’.

An alumna of the BRIT School in Croydon, the dance-pop star’s sound draws inspiration from the many gigs she attended.

“Obviously South London is the best place in the entire universe,” Katy tells cpfc.co.uk. “There’s just such pride that us South Londoners have. If you're in a nightclub and someone shouts out the different areas of London, we're always the loudest and the proudest and bringing the most energy.

“Growing up in South London massively influenced my music. I would yeah sing on all my friends’ older brothers tracks and stuff, and that would get played on pirate radio, and I’d just be singing at all the clubs in South London and Croydon. That’s how I got my start, really.”

Katy admits that – growing up in the 1990s – her family were obsessed with Arsenal, but for her, there was only one London football club who caught her eye.

“Growing up in Peckham, Crystal Palace used to run ‘football in the community’ events in Camberwell which I used to go to,” she recalls. “I think it was every Tuesday at the Flaxman Sports Centre in Brixton.

“We’d do all the projects that Palace put on in Ruskin Park too – my auntie runs the café there.

“They were some of my most amazing and cherished memories from my childhood, doing those programmes, and then we'd get tickets at the end and we'd all go and watch the Palace matches.

“Obviously my cousins and my brothers at the time, in the 90s, supported Arsenal or Manchester United or whatever – but one of my cousins basically lives in a flat near to Selhurst Park, so everything in his flat is Crystal Palace!

“I remember the vibe of being at the stadium with my family. My first game will have been when I was even or eight, so I was quite young, but being that small and being in a stadium that big, being a part of a crowd like that… it’s just so exciting.”

Katy nowadays resides not too far from Palace’s home ground – “on matchdays, the area is just transformed – it’s so buzzing!” she beams.

Buzzing it is indeed, particularly ahead of an FA Cup Final, which Katy looks forward to: “The team are doing great. They just seem to be so much more confident, playing in harmony together, and everyone looks like they’re really enjoying themselves on the pitch – it’s a joy to see.

“We’ve beaten some big teams to get here and that can give us confidence. I just think Saturday’s game, being the underdogs… I feel like we’re gonna have that edge and fight even harder because of that.

“When we were at Wembley the other day, it was the most electrifying atmosphere afterwards. Everyone was just smiling from ear to ear! This season’s been great for us.

“When I used to go and watch my brother play football when I was younger, I’d have to go and sit in the car because I just couldn’t deal with the tension! There’s obviously so much riding on tomorrow, I don’t know what I’m going to do… I’m going to have to go and take toilet breaks or something!

“I’m just hoping that we keep in that magical stride, score lots of goals and don’t let any in… for my nerves, I’m hoping it’ll be another 3-0 situation, but we’ll see – I think it might be a bit tougher than that!”

Katy B’s new single, Avalanche, launches later this month, before performances at festivals include BBC Big Weekend in Liverpool and this summer’s Glastonbury Festival. Follow her on Instagram here for updates.

Match Details

Crystal Palace v Manchester City

• Saturday, 17th May
• 16:30 BST
• FA Cup Final
• Wembley Stadium
• Live audio commentary on Palace TV+