Born in Blaby, Leicestershire, Knight was educated at Alderman Newton's Grammar School, Leicester, and the College of Law Guildford, qualifying as a solicitor in 1973.

However the 2003 Licensing Act ended standard permitted hours and provides for an unspecified drinking up time determined by the licensee's discretion.

He is in favour of bringing back capital punishment and spoke out against the apartheid government of South Africa during the 1980s.

[4] He rejoined the government in September 2012 as a senior whip and Vice Chamberlain of the Royal Household, a position he held until October 2013.

An avid motorist, he is critical of initiatives seen as 'anti-car', such as congestion charging, pedestrianisation schemes, speed humps and some 'park and ride' proposals.

[13] He has backed several other artists on the drums in live shows including George McCrae and Fergal Sharkey[14] and, in the studio, he played drums backing KT Tunstall, Steve Harley, Ricky Wilson and David Gray on the charity single "You Can't Always Get What You Want" released in December 2016 by Chrysalis Records.