Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading (born December 9, 1950) is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. She was born in Basseterre, on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts, and joined her parents in Birmingham, England, in 1958, when she was seven. She taught herself guitar as a teenager and released her debut album, Whatever's for Us, in 1972. Her 1976 album Joan Armatrading, produced by Glyn Johns, reached the UK Top 20 and included the Top 10 single "Love and Affection." She received Grammy nominations for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "How Cruel" in 1980 and again for The Key in 1983. Her 2007 album Into the Blues topped the US Billboard Blues chart and was nominated for the Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album. She was appointed MBE in 2001 and CBE in 2020, and she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2016.
In the newsletter
- No. 6 Winter 1996