Polly Jean Harvey - Born 1969
British Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Composer and Actress
Added to the album by Gemma, A Wonderful Woman
I love her cos she's a zeitgeist defying, individual who has the confidence to change her voice, sound, image on her own terms and still sounds (and looks) amazing! She does whatever she wants and I love her for it!
Gemma
I have written many times in this blog about the wonderfulness of being unique, of not yielding to conformity, of remaining true to your own identity. I think Gemma's addition of PJ Harvey is another fine example of a true individual. And, of course, a great talent.
Polly's love of music stemmed from her parents. She began learning to play the saxophone as a teenager and went on to master playing guitar, piano, bass, harmonica and autoharp. Whilst still an adolescent, she played in a number of bands.
From 1988 to 1991, Polly was a member of the band Automatic Dlamini before leaving to form the PJ Harvey Trio (with Rob Ellis and Ian Olliver, also formally of Automatic Dlamini). The band's debut single Dress, released in October 1991, was championed by BBC Radio One's John Peel. The band released two studio albums, which received acceptional critical acclaim and praise from the likes of Kurt Cobain. They disbanded in 1993, shortly before Polly began her career as a solo artist.
She's not, quite honestly, that interested in success. She's not driven in any way by commercial imperatives. Really she's working to satisfy herself.
Paul McGuinness, Manager
Interested in success or not, Polly has released twelve albums and collaborated with some of the world's most respected artists. Her latest album, Let England Shake won this year's Ivor Novello award for best album. She is also twice a Mercury Prize winner and last year received an NME Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.
Her musical style continues to evolve and change, not with fashion but with her own life's passage of time.
Ever the artist, Polly has worked on numerous other projects away from the music charts. In 2009, she made her mark as a composer, creating the music for a theatre production Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. She has also appeared as an actress in a number of films.
PJ Harvey is a true creative artist, an individual and a real musician with a real passion for music. She is into the fourth decade of her career but showing no signs of sitting back on her back-catalogue... she is almost certain to be someone who continues to create, every single day of her life. A raw talent, an individual, a Wonderful Woman.
Making me into a role model is placing too much importance on what I see as a work in progress.
P J Harvey
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