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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZHARVEY, PJ(b Polly Jean Harvey, 9 October 1970; the family had a farm at Corscombe, Dorset) Rock singer and songwriter; plays violin and guitar. Her parents were sculptors and stonemasons; making things came naturally and there were always musicians around the house. She played saxophone in teenage bands but was already writing, formed PJ Harvey Trio with Steve Vaughan on bass, Robert Ellis on drums. Singles 'Dress' and 'Sheela Na Gig' '91 on fashionable indie label Too Pure established the persona of a schizoid modern woman, proud in herself but seeking male approval; first album Dry '92 (on Indigo in USA) nailed down her powerful words and stripped-down music. She signed with Island; her went to Minnesota, where her second album Rid Of Me '93 was harshly produced without dynamics by Steve Albini, who liked only loud and soft; it reached the top 200 albums in the USA. She said she had been a virgin until she was 21, then had a relationship that went bad within six months; the naked fury of Rid Of Me must have been cathartic, but she was not writing and singing about feminism but was a vessel for something outside herself, describing the world with passionate imagery. She released 4 Track Demos '93, revealing the working methods that resulted in songs like 'Rid Of Me' and 'Rub 'Til It Bleeds'; she also began playing with her image, from asexual skinny to trying on ball-gowns and mascara. Her third album To Bring You My Love '95 had lusher production, a new five-piece band, more coherence and confidence; it reached the top 40 USA, where she had toured supporting the quartet Live (who had a no. 1 album Throwing Copper '94). She might have gone back to art school and become a sculptor like her mother; she didn't know what she was going to do, but she was going to do it her way. Her Wikipedia entry is very full. She has won two Mercury awards and Brit and Grammy nominations. She was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth in 2013 for her services to music. |