British singer Joan Armatrading has a career spanning almost 50 years. She has released 19 studio albums along with live albums and compilations.
Over the years she has received many accolades, including Grammy nominations and an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection. She took home honorary degrees from the Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Birmingham and the University of Northampton, among others. She was even made a member of the Order of the British Empire and was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Acoustic Festival of Britain. After all of that, she tackled her first marathon in New York at age 58.
Armatrading is extremely private about her life but it was reported that she entered into a civil partnership with girlfriend Maggie Butler back in 2011.
She brings her new album Not Too Far Away to town for five nights of performances before eventually playing the United Kingdom.
Windy City Times: Hi, Joan. Where in the world are you?
Joan Armatrading: I am in New York. I am in the middle of a tour.
WCT: How do you decide on a set list after being so long in the music business?
JA: It is very difficult to come up with a set list, actually. There are lots of songs and it is just hard. [Laughs]
WCT: Is the trick balancing the older material with the new music?
JA: Yes and that is what I have always done throughout my career. I wouldn't want to tour if all I did was old songs.
I am very lucky and my audience knows that I always play new songs. People must remember that an old song at some point was a brand new song. They had never heard it before. The first time they heard it was the first time. You must always give new things an opportunity to become a favorite. You can't only want to hear the old stuff, because that was brand new when you heard it.
WCT: Do you always have to play "Love and Affection?"
JA: I love playing it and have played it every single concert that I have done since it was written. That song got me attention from all over the world. I would be a complete idiot if I didn't want to play it.
I don't understand when people don't want to play a song that made them known.
WCT: Has a fan said something to you over the years that means a lot personally?
JA: Just someone saying they love my music means a lot. I started my career in 1972 and it is 2018 now. Without people coming to my shows and buying the albums, there would be no long career. I am not having this long career in a vacuum. I am not doing this on my own!
Fans are very important. For example one fan told me they met their partner through my music, got married, and now come to my show to celebrate their relationship decades later. That is some great stuff.
Some people name their children after my songs. I have met a lot of "Willows" and "Rosies."
WCT: How did you go about making the album Not Too Far Away?
JA: When I started writing I would write whatever came into my head. I would write a blues song, followed by a jazz song, followed by a pop song. I would write the words first, then music or both together, whatever happens happened. I have always played everything myself on my demos. In 2003, I decided to play everything myself on the album, apart from drums.
I decided to do a trilogy of blues, rock and jazz. Into the Blues had me playing blues, This Charming Life was rock and Starlight was jazz.
This album I decided to write all of the words first before any of the music. The order of the album is exactly how I wrote it. The first song is the first one I wrote and the last one is last song I wrote.
WCT: This album seems personal. Is it?
JA: I don't generally write about myself all the time. This is a lot of albums to be writing about Joan. That is too weird. Nobody needs that!
There are lots of things happening in the songs. I would be some kind of messed up person if they were all about me.
So, in general, I am writing about things I am looking at, people I see, people I know, people I don't know, something I have read, something on television, or something at a restaurant, among other things.
I want people to relate to what I am writing. The things I write are from something real and I can make it more real.
I am trying not to say "he" and "she." I wrote something called "The Weakness in Me." The same amount of men as women would come to me and say that was what they were going through. This happened with other songs as well. When you put a gender on it then it excludes the other gender. That's a shame.
WCT: I bet many artists don't think about cutting off listeners by stating genders.
JA: Yes, and lots of men go through what women go through and the other way around. It is nice to describe it for everyone.
WCT: The gender topic has grown since when you first started in the business.�
JA: Yes, it has. I wrote a song called "Rosie" about a transvestite [Editor's note: her word]; these days it would be about a transgender person.
WCT: Did you know someone like Rosie?
JA: I didn't know them, but I saw them on the street. I was taken to 42nd Street and there were a lot of Rosie's on that street. That is where I got the song from.
WCT: What is the new song "No More Pain" about?
JA: It is about being in a bad situation and being determined to come out of that situation. It is taking charge of one's life now because they have been through so much upset.
WCT: Would you ever want a documentary about you made?
JA: Maybe one day, but it depends on how it's done. I don't have a salacious life, so it might be quite boring.
WCT: How do you connect with an audience when playing live?
JA: I don't know. I talk to them.
WCT: Do you tell stories?
JA: No. I am not a storyteller like that. I don't have good stories, but people seem to like it.
WCT: After all of your awards, what one meant the most?
JA: That would be my BA honors degree that I got after taking all the exams and passing them. I am very proud of that.
WCT: Is there something you would say to your LGBT fans who have followed your career over these years?
JA: Well, thank you for following my career all of these years. My songs are for everybody. I have been asked do I mind that my LGBT fans take my songs to heart or be offended by that. I would be offended if they didn't take them to heart.
My songs are for people. We are all going through very similar things, whether it is heartbreak, falling in love, falling out of love, getting married, or getting divorced. The planet is going through very similar things, no matter the gender, or sexual orientation is. Everyone wants to have this thing to express what they are going through.
What I try to do is write what people are feeling and have the emotion expressed, so thank you, guys!
Armatrading plays City Winery, 1200 W. Randolph St., on June 9-10 and 12-14. Visit CityWinery.com and JoanArmatrading.com for details.
