I remember the first time I heard Joan Armatrading. It was the early days of MTV and Joan's 1983 album "The Key" had two videos in heavy rotation -- "Drop the Pilot"* and "I Love It When You Call Me Names." I was hooked on KajaGooGoo and Spandau Ballet at the time and then Joan appeared onscreen with that adorable big smile and I didn't know what to make of her. But when she started blurting out that infectious chant "Animal! Mineral! Physical! Spiritual! I'm the one you need, I'm the one you need," I knew I was witnessing something very special.
In the years since I have gotten to know a lot more of Joan's music and have become a devoted fan. If you haven't already discovered the St. Kitts-born Brit for yourself, the 2000 remastered "Best of" is a great place to start. It includes the video-hit songs, plus her U.K. singles "Love and Affection," "Me Myself I," "All the Way From America" and many other Armatrading classics.
Especially: "I'm Lucky," "The Weakness in Me," "Rosie" and "Show Some Emotion"
Visit Joan Armatrading's official site here.
Watch the "Drop the Pilot" video here.
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6 comments:
God, we must be exactly the same age....
Drop the Pilot has been in heavy rotation at my house since 1984. It's been on my treadmill playlist ever since I've had a treadmill playlist!
Mandy Moore's version of that song makes me ill. I love Mandy Moore but that whole Coverage album was sickeningly sweet. This from an avid Debbie Gibson fan, so I KNOW sweet pop. But even I have my limits.
Too funny. I was just playing Drop The Pilot in my car earlier this week. When it first came out, I thought the title was "DUMP THE PILOT" - lol.
Yes - must be same age - Love the blog. :)
Nuno
ARRRGHHHH...you beat me to a Joan post by two days! And here I already have a page and a half done. Should I do it anyhoo?
Do it anyway, John. I'm fascinated by her appeal to so many New Wavers of the time and would love to hear your take.
I always felt that she and Rosanne Cash had his crossover appeal to gay boys -- though I was never entirely sure why.
I first heard of Joan as a college freshman in 1982 when the girl across the hall kept blasting "The Weakness in Me." I think she had boy trouble. Beautiful song, but I kinda got sick of it!
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