Born December 9, 1950 on Saint Kitts, singer and songwriter Joan Armatrading was
eight when she moved to Birmingham in the UK with her family, and started
writing and singing when she was 14. In the early 1970s she moved to London to
perform in a production of the stage musical Hair and met lyricist Pam Nestor,
who collaborated with her on her debut album, 1972’s Whatever's For Us.
Armatrading followed it with Back to the Night, but it was her self-titled third
album which turned her into a major star. Flying in the face of the 1976 punk
explosion, she had one of the biggest hits...