Polly Jean "PJ" Harvey Is An English Singer Songwriter And Musician. Primarily Known As A Vocalist And Guitarist She Is Also Proficient With A Wide Range Of Instruments.
Harvey Began Her Career In 1988 When She Joined Local Band Automatic Dlamini As A Vocalist Guitarist And Saxophonist. The Band's Frontman John Parish Became Her Long-Term Collaborator. In 1991 She Formed An Eponymous Trio Called PJ Harvey And Subsequently Began Her Career As PJ Harvey. The Trio Released Two Studio Albums Called Dry 1992 And Rid Of Me 1993 Before Disbanding After Which Harvey Continued As A Solo Artist. Since 1995 She Has Released A Further Nine Studio Albums With Collaborations From Various Musicians Including Parish Former Bandmate Rob Ellis Mick Harvey And Eric Drew Feldman And Has Also Worked Extensively With Record Producer Flood.
Among The Accolades Harvey Has Received Are Both The 2001 And 2011 Mercury Prize For Stories From The City Stories From The Sea 2000 And Let England Shake 2011 Respectively Making Her The Only Artist To Have Been Awarded The Prize Twice. She Has Also Garnered Eight Brit Award Nominations Seven Grammy Award Nominations And Two Further Mercury Prize Nominations. Rolling Stone Awarded Her Three Accolades 1992's Best New Artist And Best Singer Songwriter And 1995's Artist Of The Year. Rolling Stone Also Listed Rid Of Me To Bring You My Love And Stories From The City Stories From The Sea On Its List Of Their 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. In 2011 She Was Awarded For Outstanding Contribution To Music At The NME Awards. In The 2013 Birthday Honours She Was Appointed A Member Of The Order Of The British Empire MBE For Services To Music. . User-Contributed Text Is Available Under The Creative Commons By-SA License Additional Terms May Apply.
"C'mon Billy" Is The Second Single Released From PJ Harvey's 1995 Solo Album "To Bring You My Love". Produced Engineered And Mixed By Flood With Harvey As Co-Producer And Engineer It Features The Artist On Vocals And Guitar John Parish On Drums And Percussion Joe Gore On Guitar Sonia Slany On Violin Jocelyn Pook And Jules Singleton On Viola And Sian Bell On Cello. The String Arrangement Is By Pete Thomas. The Song Is Cited As Being A Clear Example Of Harvey's Sound Change Since Breaking From The PJ Harvey Trio. The Lyrics Talk About A Woman Begging For 'Billy' To Come Home And Meet His Son. Harvey's Singing Style Has Been Described As "frantic Purrs”. The Single Has Been Described As A Clear Example Of Harvey's Sound Change Critics Have Stated That It Was Possibly A "glimpse Of The Blues Explosion And Portishead." It Peaked At No. 29 On The UK Chart And Had Moderate Airplay There. The Accompanying Music Video Shows PJ Harvey As An Old-Time Performer In An Old Theater-Dining Setting Described By One Scholar As "surreal". There She Attempts To Seduce A Bald Man In The Setting While Singing The Song. The Video Switches To A Version Of Her In A Modern Red Dress Her Face Stained With Tears. There Is A Scene With Her Apparently In Her Bedroom On A Mattress On A Twin-Sized Bed Without Sheets Shot From The Ceiling. The Video Eventually Shows A Home Movie Of Billy Harvey Minus Her Previous Make-Up And A Baby Boy Playing Together Outdoors In Happier Times. The Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot Described Harvey In The Video As A "sadomasochistic Dominatrix In Blood-Red Dress". Although The Video Impressed VH1 Executives They Refused To Air It Because The Video Was Seen As Scary And Off-Putting. Kot Wrote That It "blew Away Everyone In The Room And Every Video Aired That Day But Was Rejected. 'She's Amazing ' One VH1 Executive Remarked 'and Way Too Good For Us.'"