Joan Armatrading was born in Basseterre, on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts, in 1950, as the third of six children. When she was three, her parents moved to Birmingham, England, where she joined them in 1958. Her father had played in a band in his youth, but he forbade his children from touching his guitar. She began writing lyrics and music at the age of 14 on a piano that her mother had bought. Shortly after that her mother bought her a £3 guitar from a pawn shop in exchange for two prams, and the younger Armatrading began teaching herself that instrument. As a teenager she began her career playing small sets of her own music at local clubs. She left school at the age of 15 to support her family, and her first job was at Rabone Chesterman, an engineering tool manufacturer in Hockley, Birmingham. She was released from this job because of her insistence on bringing her guitar to work and playing it during tea breaks.
In the early 1970s, Armatrading moved to London to perform in a repertory production of the stage musical Hair. There she met the lyricist Pam Nestor, and they worked together on Armatrading's debut album Whatever's for Us, released by Cube Records in 1972. Armatrading wrote the lyrics, performed all of the vocals, wrote all of the music and played an array of instruments on the album. Nestor was credited as co-lyricist, however Cube considered Armatrading to be the more likely star material. These events produced a tension which broke up the partnership. In 1973 Armatrading's first single "Lonely Lady", a song which had not been included on the album, was released by Cube on the Fly Label (catalogue: Bug 31). It was unsuccessful in the charts. A period of inactivity for Armatrading followed, while she extricated herself from her contract with Cube Records. The single was subsequently withdrawn by Cube and re-released as a promotional single in the US by Armatrading's new label A&M Records, the same year, as A&M1452.
In January 1974 she appeared on the BBC Radio 1 John Peel Show performing "Show Some Sort Of Love Song", "Lonely Lady" and "Freedom". Armatrading sang and played acoustic guitar and piano. Supporting musicians were Snowy White (guitar), Mike Tomich (bass) and Brian Glassock (drums).
In 1975, Armatrading was free to sign with A&M Records, and issued the album Back to the Night,[6] which was promoted on tour with a six-piece jazz-pop group called The Movies. Armatrading credited English singer Elkie Brooks on the sleeve notes as she had cooked for Armatrading and the band in the studio while they had been making the album, which was produced by Brooks' then-husband Pete Gage. A major publicity relaunch in 1976 and the involvement of producer Glyn Johns propelled her next album, Joan Armatrading, into the Top 20 and spawned the Top 10 hit single "Love and Affection". The album mixed acoustic work with jazz-influenced material, and this style was retained for the 1977 follow-up Show Some Emotion, also produced by Glyn Johns, as was 1978's To the Limit. These albums included songs which continue to be staples of Armatrading's live shows, including "Willow", "Down To Zero", "Tall in the Saddle", and "Kissin' and a Huggin". Also at this time, Armatrading wrote and performed "The Flight of the Wild Geese", which was used during the opening and end titles for the 1978 war film The Wild Geese. The song was included on the soundtrack album for the film, originally released by A&M Records, later released under licence as a Cinephile DVD. A live album entitled Steppin' Out was released in 1979.
In the 1970s Armatrading became the first Black British female singer/songwriter to enjoy international success.
In 1980, Armatrading radically revised her playing style and released Me Myself I, a harder pop-oriented album produced by Richard Gottehrer, who had previously produced albums for Blondie. The album became Armatrading's highest ever charting album both in the UK and the US, while the title track became her second UK Top 40 hit single. The same pop style, now coupled with synthesisers, was also evident on the 1981 album Walk Under Ladders and 1983's The Key. All three of these albums were Top 10 successes in the UK, with The Key also producing the hit single "Drop the Pilot", Armatrading's third UK Top 40 hit single. To capitalise on her success, A&M released the best of compilation album, Track Record in 1983.
Armatrading's next studio album was 1985's Secret Secrets. The album was a top 20 hit but failed to yield any hit singles, cementing Armatrading's status as an "album artist". Taking over production responsibilities herself, she continued to record the albums Sleight of Hand (1986), The Shouting Stage (1988) and Hearts and Flowers (1990) for A&M Records, which all made the UK Top 40 but failed to achieve the level of success of her earlier works despite successful national tours (a show from her 1988 "Shouting Stage" tour was also filmed for television).
In 1989 she was the guest of Sue Lawley on the BBC 4 radio programme Desert Island Discs where her favourite choice was Van Morrison's "Madame George". Armatrading’s full list included Ella Fitzgerald and Gustav Mahler. Her luxury item was a guitar, while her castaway's book was Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie.
In 1991, A&M released the compilation The Very Best of Joan Armatrading which returned her to the Top 10. However, her following studio album for A&M, 1992's Square The Circle did not replicate this success and would be her final recording for the label. Following her departure from A&M, a label she had been with for almost 20 years, Armatrading signed with RCA for her 1995 album What's Inside. Despite various television appearances and a full tour (which included a string quartet in addition to her stage band), the album was not a commercial success, becoming her lowest charting studio album in 20 years.
In 2003, no longer attached to a major label, she released the album Lovers Speak. Though it was her first album in eight years, it met with little commercial success.
Armatrading's music is considered to be mostly pop with forays into rock, folk, jazz, blues, soul and even reggae.
Armatrading has been nominated twice for a Brit Award as best female vocalist and has received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection in 1996 and in 2006 received an honorary degree from Aston University, Birmingham. In 2008 she was part of Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Tour 2008.
In 2007 Armatrading appeared in Episode 3 of the second series of Live from Abbey Road performing "Tall In The Saddle" from her 1976 self-titled album, and "Woman In Love" from the album Into The Blues. She also appeared on Later... with Jools Holland where she performed "Love and Affection", as well as "Woman In Love" and "My Baby's Gone" both from her 2007 Into The Blues album.
On 29 March 2010, she released This Charming Life, widely viewed as a return to her guitar-based singer-songwriter pop-rock. The album debuted atop the Amazon.com mp3 download charts, and reached the top of the U.S. Blues chart.[citation needed] She embarked on an international tour to promote it; a concert from this tour in April 2010 at the Royal Albert Hall in London was released on the CD/DVD album Live at the Royal Albert Hall, along with two tracks from a concert in Denver, Colorado, U.S., in February 2011.
In addition to recording, Armatrading has toured extensively and appeared in high profile concerts such as "The Picnic at Blackbushe" in 1978 (alongside Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton) and The Prince’s Trust Rock Gala in 1983. She also appeared in the film The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball in 1987. Several films have also used classic Joan Armatrading songs on their soundtracks, and these include Whoopi Goldberg’s 1995 Boys on the Side (the song "Willow") and Goldberg’s 1995 Moonlight and Valentino (the song "The Weakness in Me"). She has also made many appearances on television, including The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1975, “Joan Armatrading: Rock Over Europe” in 1980, “Joan Armatrading in Concert” in 1982, “Late Night in Concert” in 1984 and “Joan Armatrading” in 1985.
On 30 November 2010, "This Charming Life" was played on the season finale of Sons of Anarchy, the hit television show on FX.
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