PJ Harvey

PJ Harvey
MBE
Harvey at the Glastonbury Festival, 2024
Harvey in 2024
Background information
Birth namePolly Jean Harvey
Born (1969-10-09) 9 October 1969 (age 55)
Bridport, Dorset, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • musician
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • saxophone
  • keyboards
  • autoharp
DiscographyPJ Harvey discography
Years active1988–present
Labels
Member of
Websitepjharvey.net

Polly Jean Harvey MBE (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments.[1]

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, is still her long-term collaborator.[2] In 1991, she formed a trio called PJ Harvey and this began her career as PJ Harvey. The trio released two acclaimed 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 ten 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.[3][4] She has also received eight Brit Award nominations, eight 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.[5][6][7] In 2011, she was awarded for Outstanding Contribution to Music at the NME Awards.[8] In the 2013 Birthday Honours, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to music.[9]

  1. ^ "PJ Harvey Enlists Autoharp for New Album, Song". TwentyFourBit. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Bio | PJ Harvey | Artists". Island Def Jam. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  3. ^ "Music | PJ Harvey wins Mercury Prize". BBC News, British Broadcasting Corporation. 11 September 2001. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  4. ^ "PJ Harvey wins Mercury Music Prize for the second time". BBC News. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference rolrid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference rolto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: PJ Harvey, 'Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea'". Rolling Stone. 31 May 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  8. ^ Nissim, Mayer (8 February 2011). "Harvey Wins 'Outstanding Contribution' gong". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  9. ^ "Birthday Honours: Adele joins Blackadder stars on list". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.