When this ageing reporter first fell in love at the tender age of 14 way back in the summer of 1976, there was a song around that time that tugged at the emotional heart strings – and still does. Joan Armatrading’s Love and Affection became a classic and is still the song that majority of her fans most want to hear when she performs live.
The great news for her fans in Edinburgh is that one of the best singer/songwriters this country has produced will be in Scotland’s capital city at the end of September performing in concert at the Usher Hall. It’s part of a much-anticipated UK tour which is sure to prove a sell-out.
Commenting on the tour Joan says, “I was never going to quit live work completely, and I’ll certainly never retire.”
This tour will be a solo effort with Joan talking, playing and taking her audience on a musical journey through her back catalogue of songs to her latest album ‘Not Too Far Away’ And she will, of course, be performing ‘Love and Affection’, ‘Drop the Pilot’, ‘Down to Zero’ and many other classic songs.
“I always play that song. Why wouldn’t I?” she says. “My fans want to hear it and if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be where I am today so, of course, it’ll always be in my set. I’m very grateful to them. But I’m on stage for a good while so I’ll be playing some of the other hits as well, along with material from the recent albums.”
“I want whatever I say to sound good” she states, and her May released album, ‘Not Too Far Away’, does just that. She has a gift of using words to convey meaning and empathy, her music to drive home the point.
‘Loving What You Hate’ is Joan’s latest release and is the second single to be taken from the new album. The first, ‘I Like It When We’re Together’ is, in my opinion, Joan Armatrading at her best.
Joan Armatrading will be performing at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on Tuesday 25th September 2018. Tickets here.
Author of The Team for Me - 50 Years of Following Hearts. Runs Mind Generating Success, a successful therapy practice in Edinburgh. Contact me if you want rid of any unwanted habits. Twitter @Mike1874
