(BMG)The 70-year-old Brit may cut an unassuming figure, but she refuses to trade on comfort, essaying pop head-on without ever sounding like a trend-chasing heritage act
It seems a strange thing to say about someone who was awarded a CBE last October, is still in possession of a major label contract at 70 and clearly has no problem selling out venues whenever she chooses to tour, but Joan Armatrading still feels like a weirdly under-sung figure in pop history. It’s not just that she was a genuinely groundbreaking artist, although she undoubtedly was: the world of
British mainstream rock wasn’t exactly awash with Black gay female singer-songwriters in the 1970s, particularly ones who achieved success on the scale Armatrading did. It’s that the quality of what she did doesn’t feel fully reflected in her contemporary status.