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.
Given That All The Songs On Is This Desire? Are Reflections Of Yourself Was There One Particular Reflection That Made You Realise You Needed Help? "Yeeeeessss. It Was 'My Beautiful Leah'." The Fourth Track On The Album "Leah" Starts With A Very Simple Casio Rhythm Track. After Four Bars The Nastiest Blackest Bass Comes In Whale-Like And Distorted It Vies With A Very Unhappy Church Organ And A Mashed-Up Brass Cymbal For The Most Disturbing And Compulsive Sound On The Song And Indeed The Album. Harvey Sings As If She Has Been Shot And Is Trying To Spring The Bullets Back Out Of Her Body By Force Of Will." "I Listened Back To That Song And I Thought 'No! This Is Enough! No More Of This! I Don't Want To Be Like This.' Because It Was All So Black And White And Life Just Isn't Black And White. I Knew I Needed To Get Help. I Wanted To Get Help." It Was Harvey's Bandmate John Parrish And Video And Art Director Maria Mochnacz Who Offered Help. They Moved Her Into The Basement Of Their House In Bristol. "They Basically Saved Me " She Says. "I Needed To Be Rescued And I Was." * Jan 1999 The Guardian