PJ Harvey

PJ Harvey

PJ Harvey is the performing name of Polly Jean Harvey, an English singer-songwriter from Bridport, England. Born in 1969, she is known as a vocalist and guitarist and also plays multiple instruments.

Career

Harvey begins her music career in 1988 when she joins the local band Automatic Dlamini as a vocalist, guitarist and saxophonist. John Parish, the band’s frontman, remains a long-term collaborator. In 1991, she forms a trio also called PJ Harvey, which marks the start of her work under that name. That group releases the studio albums Dry and Rid of Me before disbanding.

She then continues as a solo artist, releasing ten further studio albums. Her solo work includes To Bring You My Love, Is This Desire?, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, Uh Huh Her, White Chalk, Let England Shake, The Hope Six Demolition Project and I Inside the Old Year Dying.

Collaborations and associated musicians

Harvey works with a number of musicians over her career, including John Parish, former bandmate Rob Ellis, Mick Harvey and Eric Drew Feldman. She also collaborates extensively with producer Flood. She has involvement with Automatic Dlamini and Desert Sessions.

Recognition

Harvey wins the Mercury Prize twice, for Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea and Let England Shake, and is the only artist to win the prize twice. She is also nominated for a BAFTA Award, eight Brit Awards, eight Grammy Awards and two further Mercury Prizes. Rolling Stone gives her awards for Best New Artist and Best Singer-Songwriter in 1992, and Artist of the Year in 1995. She receives the Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the NME Awards and is appointed MBE in 2013 for services to music.

Style

Her work is associated with alternative rock, art rock, chamber folk, folk rock and indie rock.