Dee Moore

Dee More, a gospel singer-songwriter from Birmingham, England, details a musical journey shaped by her Caribbean background and strict Pentecostal upbringing.

Due to her minister father’s prohibition of secular music, her early exposure was almost entirely church-based, with the sole exception of a country and western tape played on Sundays.

Dee’s musical involvement began early, leading children’s choir worship at age eight or nine. Around the same age, she began songwriting, penning and performing her first complete song, “Heaven,” in church. As she matured, she sought out diverse sounds, finding key inspiration in The Clark Sisters, whose album Conqueror became a favourite. Concerts were crucial to her development; she attended every gospel performance possible, recalling the “amazing” experience of seeing Commissioned for her first professional concert at age nine.

A significant turning point came when an American minister prophesied that God wanted her to sing. This led her to join the Birmingham Mass Choir, where she eventually performed her first lead vocal. She recalls vividly singing her favourite hymn, “My Jesus, I Love Thee,” in a tiny Welsh church, having to project her voice without a PA system.

In her mid-teens, her songwriting evolved, leading to “Don’t Wait,” her first single at age seventeen. She later formed Eve (Evangelic Vocals for the Earth) with her husband, Roger, performing original material and covers.

Despite initially preferring group dynamics, Dee made the brave decision to pursue a solo career. She assembled a band and backing vocalists, debuting in October nineteen ninety-eight. The band quickly gained momentum, touring and appearing at festivals, including the Birmingham Arts Fest. Encouraged by her husband, she released “Don’t Wait” as a single in February two thousand.

Dee highlights impactful experiences such as ministering in Nigeria and performing at a Leicester festival where her music drew a crowd into a Christian tent. She cites local vocalists Divine Wesley, Priscilla Jones, Godfrey Gayle, and Delroy Hutchinson, along with the Small Heath and Aberdeen Street Choirs, as significant inspirations.

Her strict upbringing initially gave her a “narrow view” of Christianity. However, attending college and experiencing “Shekinah Gems”—a movement integrating reggae and dancehall into worship—challenged this perspective.