Joan Armatrading has praised breakout stars including “A Bar Song {Tipsy)” singer Shaboozey and Grammy-winning pop artist Sabrina Carpenter.
In a candid and wide-ranging live conversation with ITV presenter Julie Etchingham at Cadogan Hall in London, the legendary singer-songwriter discussed her 50-year career and reflected on her staggering catalogue of work.
Towards the end of the event, which was presented by the How To Academy, Armatrading, 74, answered questions from fans, including one who asked whether there were any younger artists she currently admires. The “Love and Affection” singer is known for the encouragement and support she has offered to emerging musicians over the years.
“Some of you might have seen some of these guys… I took 52 unknown artists around the country and they supported me [on tour],” Armatrading said.
“A lot of [them] had played to 100 people and then they were playing to thousands of people. And they were so good, and they’ve gone on to have good successes from it, which is really nice.”
“I'm not the only one that does that,” she continued. “All the artists, I think, try and help to support young artists.”
The noted country music fan namechecked breakout star Shaboozey as one of her favourite singers of the moment: “The country guy, love him”, she said.
“And I really like Sabrina Carpenter… she does a song with Dolly Parton, have you heard that? It’s fantastic! ‘Please Please Please’, it sounds great.”
“Sometimes I hear people say music has died,” Armatrading told the audience. “No, it hasn't. It hasn't died at all. It's just different, you know? And we've all gone through different changes [in] music… So we've just got to accept what's coming.”
Armatrading was born in St Kitts and moved to Antigua when she was three years old, before her parents raised enough money to bring her to Birmingham in the UK. She left school aged 15 to support the family, but was fired from her first job as a typist for bringing her guitar in and playing during tea breaks.
Today, she is the recipient of three Grammy nominations, an Ivor Novello Award, an MBE and a CBE. Her latest album, How Did This Happen And What Does It Now Mean, was released last year.
Elsewhere during the conversation, Armatrading admitted that she used to worry during live shows about whether her audience would applaud at the end of the song: “It sounds like a silly thing to say, but because somebody's come to see you and they've paid their money and got their ticket doesn't necessarily mean that [they’ll] enjoy it, but I've been very lucky.
“People have enjoyed it, and they've been coming back, been to many of my shows and written me some lovely messages,” she added. “Even now I get lots and lots of lovely messages. So it's really a privilege for me to have people be so connected to what I do. So thank you.”
You can read The Independent’s recent interview with Armatrading here.
