‘Passion is what fuels success’…
Today on This Morning, Beyoncé’s dad Mathew Knowles joined Craig Doyle and Josie Gibson in the studio as he launched a new music scholarship at the London College of Contemporary Music – and said that he’s most proud of his daughters Beyoncé and Solange for being “good people”.
Opening the interview, Mathew told Josie he remembered previously meeting her: “I’ll just say I remember Josie from back in the day and she was surprised that I remember her!” He told Craig: “Call me Mathew, please. I’m not in a classroom today!”
Asked if he was the one that had inspired Beyoncé’s impressive work ethic, her dad said: “Yeah, it was but you can’t have those work ethics unless you have the passion because they coexist together. So, you find someone who is extremely passionate about what they do. They organically have these work ethics, because passion is what fuels success.”
On keeping his kids focused during their teen years, Mathew revealed his tactic for making sure boys weren’t a distraction: “Well, you know, I’ve worked with a lot of girl groups, and a lot of females… the boys can become a problem. But you know, when I first met them [the guys] – I would squeeze their hands so hard and look them in the eye. They’d be like, ‘He’s crazy!’.”
Opening up on when he realised Beyoncé and Solange could be stars, Mathew said: “Well they were young. I mean, if you look at the great ones, even Taylor Swift, they were six, seven, eight years old. Even Michael Jackson, they were very young when they felt this fire and passion. It wasn’t about what I wanted our kids to be, it was what their passion was. And so, the role of a parent is just to support your kids with their passion, give them the tools, not for you to decide what they want to be.”
Telling Josie and Craig how proud he is of both Beyoncé and Solange’s success, Mathew explained: “I pinch myself. Again, to see what they’ve accomplished. You know, Solange and Beyoncé are the only female siblings that had a number one record in the history of music in the same year. You know, Beyoncé has the most Grammys of any artist.”
He continued: “I just pinch myself, being very proud to see how hard they work and how they give back. Most people ask me, ‘What are you most proud of?’ I’m most proud that Beyonce and Solange, Kelly lived with us most of her young life, they’re just good people. That’s what makes me proud, that they’re just good people.”
Discussing his teaching career and new scholarship, he said: “It’s an amazing, amazing programme…. It’s really remarkable because this is my twenty second year in a classroom. Most people don’t realise that I’ve been teaching that long, even when I was managing Destiny’s Child, I was in the classroom. So it’s a privilege for me to give back and to give back the knowledge.
“I share my mistakes. That’s how we learn, right? Failure is the opportunity to grow, not a reason to quit. So, I’m really excited about the opportunity of teaching here in London at LCCM and to work with those students is a real privilege.”
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