NORTH-EAST soul singer Beth Macari’s first single of the year has entered the UK Soul Chart Top 30.

The Newcastle-based artist is currently placed at number 15 on the chart as Gotta Get Back continues to rack up plays on streaming services and earn acclaim from music critics.

The songwriter’s latest track takes a deep dive into 90’s soul and R&B and tells a story about ‘losing yourself’ in a bad relationship.

Ms Macari said: “My song writing is usually very honest and based on what I have experienced, but I wanted to try and write a song with a fictional story behind it.

“I started rolling with the idea of a bad relationship coming to an end and realising how much of yourself you’d lost, but as the song developed, I realised I was also writing it because of how I was feeling during lockdown. I felt like I was losing myself a little, with not being able to gig or even rehearse with my band. I guess the song has two meanings behind it.”

Gotta Get Back is the first of many songs that Ms Macari penned during lockdown and sees her working solely ‘in-house’ with her long-time band member and collaborator Phil The Beat, working on music from home and meeting at their studio in Newcastle when lockdown restrictions allowed.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the past year did not see things slow down for Ms Macari, with dates already lined up to support Alexandra Burke on her 2021 UK tour and Will Young at South Tyneside’s summer music festival.

The Newcastle-based soul artist also managed to finish her latest EP I Am Everything just before the pandemic hit at the start of 2020 and she released the first single I Promise (That I Got You) last April.

I Promise was picked up by US soul radio stations and quickly entered the Official Soul Chart, breaking into the Top 20 after she was featured as Artist of the Week.

The song then went on to win the Presidents Choice Award, as voted by thousands of listeners worldwide.

She said: “It felt surreal to have my music reach people in the US, let alone win an award for it. I’m so grateful to everyone who made it happen.”

Three more singles followed in 2020, including the empowering soulful ballad I Am. Accompanied by a star-studded music video which also featured some of Ms Macari’s fans submitting videos from home, the track was used in a campaign by mental health charity If U Care Share, raising money and awareness for the cause.

Ms Macari said: “It’s been both scary and exciting, I feel like I’ve always thought I’m not good enough to create something in full and be proud of it without us having to get other people to tweak it and make it better, so it was rewarding to prove myself wrong. I loved really taking my time with it and working with my best friend.”

Although live music ground to a halt for most of 2020, Ms Macari did manage to perform twice at the UK’s first socially distanced venue, the Virgin Money Unity Arena, supporting Fleetwood Mac tribute Rumours and Les Misérables star Alfie Boe.