Joan Armatrading

Joan Armatrading

Joan Armatrading is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. Born in Saint Kitts in 1950 and brought up in Birmingham, England, she performs as a solo artist and is also associated with Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes. She works across folk, folk rock, rock and singer-songwriter styles, and is also identified with pop, blues and jazz, with occasional reggae influences.

Career

Armatrading records and performs in an eclectic style that changes across her career. She is best known for her work as an album artist rather than for singles alone, although she has several British hit singles. Among her best-known songs are “Love & Affection”, “Me Myself I” and “Drop the Pilot”.

She first performs in public at a concert at Birmingham University for her brother when she is about 16. At that stage she knows only her own songs, but she also performs “The Sound of Silence” for an audience request. She later performs her own songs locally with a school friend and plays bass and rhythm guitar in clubs.

Notable songs and wider recognition

One of her songs, “The Flight of the Wild Geese”, brings her a wider audience when it is used for the opening and closing titles of the 1978 film The Wild Geese. Her work continues to be associated with a broad range of styles, especially pop, rock and folk.