In Celebration of Joan Armatrading
With a career spanning more than 50 years, read about Joan Armatrading's life and legacy by writer Stephanie Phillips
An Artist Playing Acoustic Guitar (2021) by Cottonbro StudioTRENCH
As one of the first Black British female singer-songwriters to achieve international success armed with little more than a guitar and self-belief, Joan Armatrading has cut a unique path in the music world for over 50 years.
Cadbury Cocoa and Chocolate Works, Bournville, Birmingham (1928-08-07) by Aerofilms LtdHistoric England
Born on the island of St Kitts in 1950, Armatrading moved to Birmingham with her family at seven years old where she began writing songs and limericks as a teenager on the piano her mother bought to decorate the living room.
After leaving school at 15, she met songwriter Pam Nestor at a production of the musical Hair and began collaborating. Their album, Whatever’s For Us, was released in 1972, although the duo disbanded quickly after.
Joan Armatrading’s breakthrough, self-titled third album came in 1976, spawning one of her most defining hits, the open-hearted "Love and Affection".
An Early Cassette Tape and Tape Player (2021) by BackdatedTRENCH
Her style melded the genres of folk, pop, blues, rock, funk and pop, creating a feel-good, soft-rock blend that allowed her to appeal as much to middle American truck drivers as she did to Greenham Common feminists.
Armatrading's hold on the music world did not let up throughout the '70 and '80s, where she continued to enjoy critical and commercial success, going on to work with Blondie producer Richard Gottehrer on 1980's Me Myself and I.
An Early Cassette Tape and Tape Player (2021) by BackdatedTRENCH
While in 1983's The Key gave the world the powerpop singalong number "Drop The Pilot".
A Classic Electronic Piano (2021) by Hendrik BTRENCH
Later in the decade, she strove to expand beyond the guitar sound she was known for, experimenting with synths and eventually producing all of her own records.
Producer Jae 5's equipment in his music studio by Laura BrosnanTRENCH
A prolific songwriter, Armatrading never slowed down over the decades and recently brought out her twentieth studio album, 2021's Consequences.
A Symbol of LGBTQ+ Love (2021) by Anna ShvetsTRENCH
Looking back on her career, her influence on later generations is clear to see. Although she rarely spoke about her sexuality (she celebrated a civil partnership with partner Maggie Butler in 2011)...
...her confessional songs about love and desire opened the door for other alternative artists like Melissa Etheridge and Tracey Chapman to break through in the '90s.
Now 50 years into her career, Joan Armatrading is viewed as an iconic emblem of British artistry, someone that defeated who and what Black women in rock and pop could be, to create new rules for later generations to follow—or break—just like she did.
This digital work has been produced in collaboration with PRS Foundation and POWER UP. The article first featured in TRENCH x Union Black's Chapter One: Game Changers zine.
Words by Stephanie Phillips
Videos by Slydogmania, Fritz51329, VH1, KeeFHiDefVideos, Tracy Chapman, BAFTA.
Commissioned by TRENCH
