Ahead of her appearance in Surrey this month, Joan Armatrading tells Jane McGowan how she continues to be inspired to compose
In these days of disposable, X-Factor-fodder pop, the survival rate for would-be artists in the cut-throat world of pop is understandably low. So with a career spanning 40 years, 20 gold discs under her belt and a sell-out UK tour on the horizon (she arrives in Guildford this month), Joan Armatrading’s accomplishments can be seen as even more of a feat.
Born in St Kitts in 1950, Joan moved to the suburbs of Birmingham in 1958. Her love of music was apparent from a very early age and by the age of 14, Joan had taught herself how to play the guitar and the piano and was writing all her own songs. Her brother who was studying at Birmingham University asked her to play a gig there and, despite being asked to perform a few covers, 16-year-old Joan filled her set with her own songs, and secured numerous local bookings. By 1970 she had her first record deal.
“I know it’s not the normal thing, but I landed a record deal very quickly. It was actually very easy for me,” she laughs. “Once you have the contract, then you have to work very hard. The pressure is on to keep touring and writing.”
Joan released her 24th album – Not Too Far Away - earlier this year, and immediately embarked on a whistle-stop tour of the US to promote it. But with so many hits in the back catalogue, Joan is mindful that fans want to hear the hits as well as her new material.
“I’ve always liked to mix it up and play what people know but also I am keen to share what I’ve just created. What people forget is that the song they have loved since nineteen-whatever, they heard for the first time back in nineteen-whatever and have grown to love. You must give artists the opportunity to give you new music. Songs aren’t born old.”
For Joan, writing music is as important now as it was back in the 1970s. “I write because I’m alive,” she says. “I’m still here. I am observant, I travel, I hear different things and I think just being present is kind of all you need and if you have a talent for songwriting, then that’s where your talents will go.”
Aside from her phenomenally successful career as singer/songwriter, Joan is also a keen historian gaining a degree in the subject from the Open University.
“I’ve always wanted a degree and I did it while I was on tour,” she says. “I figured it had to be now or never – I’ve been on tour since 1972, so I thought, ‘Just get on with it’. Everyone is into history whether they think so or not because everyone likes to know what people did before – where people come from – and that’s history.”
And while Joan may have a passion for the past, her future is definitely rooted in her first love.
“Music has been exciting forever and it hasn’t lost that excitement. I was born to write, that is why I’m here.”
Joan Armatrading plays G Live on Oct 15. Visit: glive.co.uk for details and tickets
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