Legendary singer, Gladys Knight started out with a performance on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour in 1952 at the age of just seven, for which she won first prize. Subsequently, Gladys, Bubba, sister Brenda and their cousins William and Eleanor Guest began performing together during Bubba's tenth birthday party after a record player malfunction, eventually forming the group Gladys Knight & The Pips, which shot the singer to fame.

Since then Gladys (& The Pips) have gone on to earn worldwide success and critical acclaim. Knight has won a total of seven Grammy Awards and triumphed across musical genres, in addition to earning success in film, TV and live performances.

Now she has announced she will play the Olympia Theatre on June 17, 2019, providing Irish fans with a rare opportunity to see the living legend perform live.

After a five year break from releasing new material, 2018 marked the release of Where My Heart Belongs, which went on to win an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Gospel Album".

No stranger to accolades, the 74-year-old singer has built up an impressive array of credits over her years singing and performing. In 1995, Knight earned her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the next year, Gladys Knight & The Pips were inducted into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame. Knight published an autobiography, Between Each Line of Pain and Glory (a line taken from her million-selling recording Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me), in 1997, and the next year, she and The Pips were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. In 2004, Knight received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the annual BET Awards ceremony. She is also an adamant philanthropist, having donated to many worthwhile causes throughout the years, recently receiving BET's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Gladys notably became the first African-American performer to have a venue named after her in Las Vegas when she returned to the famed Tropicana Hotel for a special performance in the newly named "Gladys Knight Theatre". This followed a successful four-year show run at The Flamingo, which the Las Vegas Review-Journal praised as “the number-one show on the Strip.”  Knight is an iconic supporter of the Boys & Girls Club of America, to which she donated a song titled, “The Dream.”

Her Irish concert will kick off a string of subsequent UK tour dates during the month of June/early July.

Full Irish/UK dates include:

June 17 - Olympia Theatre, Dublin

June 22 — Manchester 02 Apollo
June 23 — Leeds First Direct Arena
June 24 — Birmingham Symphony Hall
June 26 — London Royal Albert Hall
June 27 — London Royal Albert Hall
June 29 — Bournemouth International Centre
June 30 — Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
July 1 — Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Tickets priced from €64.50 go on sale at 9am this Friday, November 16^th