On the first occasion in Europe when that happened, they sang the chorus 4 times and each successive audience sang it more and more times. By the time it got to Denver, which you see as a bonus track on this DVD, they sang the chorus 21 times. The eventual winners of the Best Dress On League Table in North America, sang the song 27 times. You can see the league table on Joan‘s website at www.joanarmatrading.com For her 2010 tour, Joan was joined on stage by bassist John Giblin, Gary Foote drums & sax and Spencer Cozens on keyboards. This is the first time John has recorded with Joan. Gary and Spencer have both played on two previous live concert DVDs with Joan. All The Way From America in 2003 and on the 2007 Into The Blues live concert DVD.
A ll the
while , no matter the accolade ,
Joan A rmatrading
‘I
has focused on the music.
write , because
I
love it ’
Three times Grammy nominated singer-songwriter, JOAN ARMATRADING is known as a true craftsman. Her distinctive vocals and consummate musicianship (she arranged as well as played every instrument, with the exception of drums on her current album THIS CHARMING LIFE) has led to unanimous, widespread and, perhaps most importantly, consistent critical acclaim. Effortlessly eclectic, her sound has ranged from true soul to sophisticated pop and jazz, always driven by her passionate guitar work. Born in St. Kitts in the West Indies on December 9 th 1950 and moving to England when she was seven, she took her first musical steps on a piano bought by her mother as a piece of furniture. Although her father had a guitar it was
strictly out of bounds, so when Joan saw one for £3 in a pawn shop window she pestered her mother to barter two old prams they no longer used, taught herself to play and began writing songs at the age of fourteen. Joan Armatrading has received countless gold, platinum and silver discs, she has been nominated for the prestigious Brit Awards, has been the recipient of a highly coveted Ivor Novello Award, and figured large in VH1‘s Top 100 voted poll The Most Influential Women In Rock. Joan has been honoured by the Queen and is one of the few female artists to receive an MBE. On top of all this Joan is also a long time Ambassador and performer for the Prince‘s Trust. One month from her 58 th birthday, Joan ran her first marathon, the New York marathon, a race distance of 26.24 miles and helped to raise £76,000 for charity. In addition, she has performed for Nelson Mandela, been given the keys to Sydney and is Patron of various charities. Joan has presented and continues to present, radio programs on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 2. As one of the foremost guitarists today, one of the series Joan presented
was a set of five programmes of interviews where she discussed styles and influences with other guitarists. These included Mark Knopfler, Bonnie Raitt, Bert Jansch and Russell Lissack, the twenty-something, floppy-fringed Essex vegetarian from indie faves Bloc Party. As well as five Honorary degrees, from the John Moores University of Liverpool, the University of Birmingham, Northampton University, Aston University and an Honorary Degree from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Joan achieved a goal she had held since childhood, she gained her BA Honours in History from the Open University. This was a challenge very few other working artists would attempt, let alone while on tour (she took her final exam the day after the last gig of her 2000 tour). Joan released her first album in 1972 entitled WHATEVER’S FOR US but it was her single in 1976 entitled Love and Affection that propelled her to stardom. INTO THE BLUES, the Grammy nominated blues album that Joan had always wanted to record, debuted at number 1
in USA Billboards Blues Chart in 2007 making Joan the first UK female artist ever to do this. INTO THE BLUES stayed number 1 for twelve consecutive weeks. Joan’s current release THIS CHARMING LIFE debuted at number 1 in the USA Amazon download chart during 2010. Of all the dates on the UK leg of the world tour, one in particular stood out, Monday April 12 th 2010, a sold out performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Captured here on this DVD / 2CD live set these recordings are testament to the continued life and work of the UK’s leading female singer, songwriter and guitarist. James Soars
This performance is as it was on the evening of the recording in April 2010. There are no overdubs or additions whatsoever. All songs written and arranged by Joan Armatrading Live R ecording
Live concert recorded by Neil Pickles Studio Engineer Mixed CD Mastered
Live media (DVD)
Produced Film Footage Produced Director and Edited Bonus Track Produced Film Footage produced Director and Edited
Alan Hopkinson ProCap Ltd Pro Tools engineer Graham Dickson Graham Dickson and Joan Armatrading Tim Young at Metropolis Studios
Joan Armatrading Clockwise Media Dan Higginson and Joan Armatrading Best Dress On recorded in Denver USA Joan Armatrading Cero Productions Rich Raney and Joan Armatrading
Photographer: Alan Barrow Artwork: September Gestaltungskunst
Musicians
Electric / Acoustic Guitars Drums / Sax Keyboards Bass
Joan’s Crew
Stewart Grant Roy Corkill Mike Hogg Ashley Day Paul Myers Paul Coates Allison Gerrard Quinn
A dditional Crew Nick Askew Huw Richards Bill Laing Dan Meakin Neal Sellers Ian Staveley Gordon Gillett
Concert Promoter
Joan Armatrading Gary Foote Spencer Cozens John Giblin
Tour Coordinator Production Manager Front of House Sound Engineer Lighting Engineer On Stage Sound Engineer Stage Manager/Guitar Tech Joan’s Driver
LED Screen / Blitz Communications Ltd Relief FOH Engineer
CMP Entertainment and Andrew Miller