Sunday, June 29, 2008

Joan and Kirsty

Was kept up much later than planned this evening because BBC 4 showed the entire set of Joan Armatrading performing at Glastonbury earlier this afternoon. K and myself had a brief chat a couple of weeks ago about Ms Armatrading and how she seemed to have disappeared. Speak of the devil and she shall reappear...

Watching her for the first time for about 20 years (!) I was reminded what a wonderful quirky songwriting talent she has. For a few years in the late 70s and early 80s she even sort of made it into the mainstream. There's a wonderful subtle quality to a lot of the melodies and her lyrics can be surprisingly sharp and poignant.

That got me thinking of Kirsty MacColl and, if she were still alive, how perfect she'd be for an occasional Glastonbury gig. Of course her music was very different to Joan's but they both seemed uncomfortable with the mainstream; scuttling for cover should any song make the top 30.

I miss them both; it's nice to see Joan back, if only for an afternoon.

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