Is Joan Armatrading the most mysterious woman in British music?
Joan Armatrading occupies a very significant position in British music. When she rose to international acclaim in the mid-1970s with the breakout hit Love and Affection, she became the first British female singer-songwriter to achieve major success, and pretty much a lone black woman operating in a musical genre dominated by white male artists. And though she never spoke openly about it, she was a gay woman at a time when homophobia was prevalent in popular culture. None of this, however, is of interest to Armatrading herself. I havent got any hard-luck stories to tell, she insists, when I ask if she has encountered sexism and racism in the music business. I havent had to beat up and fight people to get my way. Im just doing what I want to do and being allowed to do it. I cant make up stuff for you. And dont make it up for me.  There is an unmistakable note of warning in that last comment, albeit lightened by laughter. Armatrading is so famously guarded that she has been dubbed Joan Armourplating by journalists unable to pierce her defences. Her private life is completely off-limits, but this wariness effectively extends to anything that might offer hints of her private views or inner life. The songs should be enough, she says, bluntly. At 70, she is releasing her 22nd studio album, Consequences, featuring 10 new original songs. It was recorded during Covid, which she says had no impact on her process. I write everything, arrange, engineer and produce it myself, and I play all the instruments. So not having other people around is really how I work. It made no difference to me. She has her own studio but is unwilling to even reveal where it is located. I think you need some privacy. You dont want to tell people every single thing youre doing.  We do know a few things about Armatradings life. She was born in 1950 on the Caribbean island of St Kitts. Her parents emigrated to Birmingham, and Joan was seven years old before she was able to join them. She is one of six children (her younger brother Tony Armatrading became a respected stage and TV actor and died of cancer in May this year, aged 59). Joan lives in Surrey and entered a civil partnership with artist Maggie Butler in 2011. All people really need to know is  are you writing songs that they can take to heart? she insists. All the other stuff is unnecessary.