PJ Harvey GB
Three albums listed on Rolling Stoneʼs 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, 8 nominations for Brit Awards, 6 nominations for Grammy, the first artist to receive the Mercury Prize twice. This is the list of accolades the singer-songwriter, composer, writer and multi-instrumentalist Polly Jean Harveyhas under her belt.
Weʼre pleased to announce that Pohoda is on the list of her tour dates.
Polly started her music career as a saxophonist in an eight-piece instrumental group. Gradually, she exchanged saxophone reed for guitar pick (although she did play the sax from time to time in John Parishʼs band Automatic Dlamini). In 1991, she formed a trio named after her. After uneasy start, with single “Dress” that caught BBC Radio DJ John Peelʼs attention, a breakthrough followed. After debut Dry came out, Rolling Stone magazine named Harvey as Songwriter of the Year (she was 23).
She released album Rid of Me on a major label. This record was something between blues and grunge. PJ Harvey started her solo career in 1993. On her third album, To Bring You My Love, she again collaborated with John Parish. NY Times, LA Times as well as Rolling Stone named it as the Album of the Year. The record also included a hit “Down by the Water” (successful especially in the US). Is This Desire? nominated for Grammy followed and at that time, she also recorded a world-famous duet with Nick Cave “Henry Lee”. PJ Harvey was awarded her first Mercury Prize for her album Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, which features Thom Yorke, on September 11th, 2001. Perhaps the best-known song from this album is “This Is Love” (Grammy nomination).
On her sixth album, Uh Huh Her, she played every instrument except for the drums. Her next release, White Chalk, marked a departure from her usual alternative rock: it features mainly piano ballads. She also began performing on autoharp. The eighth album Let England Shake won critical acclaim (10/10 from NME, etc.) and earned PJ Harvey her second Mercury Prize, which marked her as the first artist to win the award twice. In October this year, she released her first collection of poems The Hollow of the Hand. She started recording her ninth album in front of the audience in a custom built studio in Somerset House.
PJ Harvey has received a number of awards, has been listed in many prestigious charts and even got an honorary title at one of London universities. The element that outshines all the award statuettes and diplomas is her amazing music Doctor Polly Jean Harvey will play at Pohoda to heal our hearts and ears.