Armatrading performs on both six- and twelve-string acoustic and electric guitars. [55] She has played on Ovation acoustic instruments since 1973, and said this about them in an interview with the magazine Guitar Player: "I'm a bit of a hitter, you see – I bash – and I like to have everything going at once: bass, harmony, and melody. This is why I love Ovations. They are very powerful-sounding guitars, and when I hit those strings, they ring with a nice, clear, percussive – but not overly bright – sound that highlights the rhythms I like to play." [55] [56] She has played Fender Stratocaster and Gibson electric guitars. [55] For her 2012–13 tour, she performed on six- and 12-string Ovations, Stratocasters, and customised Tom Anderson guitars, while for her 2014–2015 Me Myself I Tour, she performed on Ovation and Variax instruments. [34] [57] Personal life [ edit ]

Joan Armatrading has come a long way since her birth in the West Indies and her upbringing in Birmingham. Joan: It’s [about a] person who’s… I don’t know if they’re having an affair. But they’re in love with two people. They have strong feelings for both of [them] and can’t figure out a way of giving up one of them. You very often — I mean, I’ve known people in that situation! I’ve seen how it’s kind of gone for one of them. And I’m probably romanticizing it more than what I’ve witnessed. It’s hard for people when they’re in that situation. It seems hard to give up the thing that you probably know you should give up. So the song is kind of expressing that. Armatrading performed as a cameo vocalist for the song "Don't Lose Your Head" on the 1986 Queen album A Kind of Magic.Of course! And I appreciate my friends, the Johnsons, who turned me on to your music when I was younger.

UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved 11 June 2022.Smith, Andrea (14 October 2012). "Joan's music tells the story". Irish Independent . Retrieved 9 December 2020. Joan: (Laughs) But this is a different prediction. You know, there’s loads of people who made that kind of prediction. But there wasn’t anybody who made this particular prediction. There were people who were saying that someday we’ll have a pandemic. But nobody said, “In 2020, we’re gonna [have one].” You can’t know something until you know it. a b c d Brown, Helen (27 August 2005). "Don't drop the pilot!". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022 . Retrieved 29 April 2011. Joan Armatrading’s revered songbook will be celebrated with Thursday’s (3) publication by Faber of The Weakness In Me: Selected Lyrics. The book features an introduction by the storied singer-songwriter herself, as well as annotations for some of her songs, and handwritten lyrics and scores that give a rare insight into her creative process.

Selected and arranged by the author, and featuring a foreword by revered record producer Glyn Johns, The Weakness In Mepresents the lyrics of Armatrading for the first time in one unique volume. It also contains an introduction by Armatrading alongside annotations to a number of songs, giving a rare, personal glimpse into the creative process of a true pioneer. For access to the Queen Elizabeth Hall auditorium seating rows A to C and wheelchair spaces in the Front Stalls, please enter via the Artists' Entrance in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Slip Road (Level 1). Walsh, John (27 July 2009). "Guitar hero – the radio tour". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022 . Retrieved 1 January 2013.I’ve had people say to me that they’ve used that at their wedding. And that may be a bit — I’m not sure that it’s a wedding song! But I suppose it says, “the weakness in me,” which is quite nice.

And there’s the refusal to do the thing that a lot of artists in Armatrading’s position – nearing the 50th anniversary of her debut album, with a loyal and longstanding fanbase – would do, namely comfortingly revisit her past. Instead, Consequences essays pop head on, without for a second sounding like a heritage artist trying to glom on to current trends. Natural Rhythm, Already There and Like sparkle because they’ve got the kind of melodies that people pay teams of Nordic songwriters fortunes to painstakingly devise: moreover, they fit her voice, always more strident and powerful than you might expect given the sensitive singer-songwriter tag.In 2007 Armatrading appeared in Episode 3 of the second series of Live from Abbey Road performing "Tall in the Saddle" from her 1976 self-titled album, and "Woman in Love" from the album Into The Blues. She also appeared on Later... with Jools Holland where she performed "Love and Affection", as well as "Woman in Love" and "My Baby's Gone" both from her 2007 Into The Blues album. [ citation needed] a b "Joan Armatrading is looking for new talent". Birmingham Mail. 15 July 2011 . Retrieved 15 August 2020.