Joan Armatrading

Originally from the British West Indies (born in Saint Christophe et Niévès on December 9, 1950), Joan Armatrading grew up in England, where she learned to play guitar and wrote her first songs. In 1972, her debut album Whatever's for Us propelled her to the forefront of new folk-rock talent. This framework was too narrow for Joan Armatrading, who infused her subsequent albums with pop, rock and reggae arrangements. After the success of "Love and Affection" (1976), the singer experimented with a variety of styles on To the Limit (1978) and Me, Myself, I (1980), recorded with Bruce Springsteen's band. Increasingly rock-oriented (the 1983 hit "Drop the Pilot" ), her albums retain her trademark songwriting quality, notably on The Shouting Stage (1988). Despite her influence on new generations, Joan Armatrading left her long-standing label A&M Records. After What's Inside (1995), she pursued her career as an independent artist with the album Lovers Speak (2003), then signed with German label Hypertension for Into the Blues (2007), This Charming Life and Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2010), followed by a foray into jazz pop on Starlight (2013). Always a live presence, she made her return to the studio, recording the albums Not Too Far Away (2018) and Consequences (2021) for BMG, which reached number 10 in the UK. A live album recorded in a church, Live at Asylum Chapel (2022), precedes her return to the studio for How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean (2024).