The voice of Rose Royce set to bring soul hits to Shrewsbury

Her concert was originally due to take place at the Frankwell Quay venue in May 2020 but has been postponed for more than two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gwen was one of the biggest soul stars of the '70s as frontwoman of the Grammy award winning nine-piece funk and soul band.

The group were created by American songwriter and producer Norman Whitfield in his first major project after he left the Motown organisation. Rose Royce proved an instant success with their funky theme tune to the hit 1976 movie Car Wash, which topped the US singles chart and went top ten in the UK.

Mississippi-born Gwen went on to provide the vocals for such hugely popular songs as Is It Love You're After, I Wanna Get Next To You, Wishing On A Star and Love Don't Live Here Anymore.

In 1980 she left the band for a solo career which has seen her work with KWS, Dutch group Romeo and rapper Jay-Z. She also performed at the Glastonbury Festival in 2004 and opened for soul superstar James Brown at the Grand Prix ball in Monte Carlo.

The singer made her home in the UK but tragedy struck when her spine was seriously injured in a fall from a ladder at her home. This means that she no longer stands to perform, although a TV appearance on Jane McDonald & Friends last year showed her vocal ability is undiminished.

Support at the Shrewsbury concert comes from British R&B singer and songwriter Junior Giscombe, best known for his 1982 hit Mama Used To Say.

Tickets are still available for the concert - see the website theatresevern.co.uk or call the box office on 01743 281281.

Report by Leon Burakowski