Joan Armatrading

Joan Armatrading was born in 1950 in Basseterre on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts, the third of six children. She left school at the age of 15 to support her family. Her mom bought her an inexpensive guitar and Joan taught herself how to play. In a career spanning 50 years she has many awards and is an MBE. In addition to her music career, in 2001, after five years of studying, Armatrading gained a BA (Hons) degree in History from the Open University, of which she is now a trustee. Here is one of her hits from 1976.

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