Joan Armatrading, in full Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading (born December 9, 1950, Basseterre, St. Kitts (now in St. Kitts and Nevis ), British singer-songwriter, the first black woman in the United Kingdom to make an impact performing her own compositions. First touted by the critics in the 1970s, she maintained a devoted audience into the 21st century.
As a child, Armatrading emigrated with her family from the West Indies to Birmingham, England. After studying piano and guitar as a youth, she won a role in a touring production of the musical Hair, through which she met Pam Nestor, another West Indian immigrant, with whom she began composing songs. After collaborating on a first album with Nestor in 1972, Armatrading began working solo, winning critical acclaim with Joan Armatrading (1976), which cracked the British top 20 and featured the top 10 single “Love and Affection.” Armatrading’s romantic, bittersweet lyrics conveyed in her rounded, expressive voice dominated a series of best-selling albums, namely Show Some Emotion (1977), To the Limit (1978), Me Myself I (1980), and Walk Under Ladders (1981). Such recordings featured a beguiling blend of folk, reggae, jazz, and rock, the latter of which prevailed on The Key (1983).
Although Armatrading’s sales dipped somewhat thereafter, she remained a critic’s darling, an unwavering favourite with her dedicated listeners in both the United Kingdom and the United States, and an important influence on other singer-songwriters. Notable later releases include Square the Circle (1992), Lovers Speak (2003), the Grammy Award-nominated Into the Blues (2007), and Starlight (2013), all of which she produced herself. She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2001.
In addition to her music career, in 2001, after five years of studying, Armatrading earned a BA degree in history from the Open University, of which she is now a trustee. Between 2005 and 2010, Armatrading served as president of the Women of the Year Lunches.
Armatrading entered into a civil partnership with artist Maggie Butler in the Shetland Islands in 2011.
As of 2012, Armatrading lived in Surrey, where she owns Bumpkin Studios, a purpose built recording facility in the grounds of her home where she has recorded most of her albums since Sleight of Hand.
A younger brother, Tony Armatrading, was a stage, screen, and television actor who lived in Los Angeles; he died of cancer on 10 May 2021, at age 59.
