PJ Harvey Biography

PJ Harvey (Polly Jean Harvey) is an accomplished British singer-songwriter, musician, composer and poet. She’s currently the only artist to have received a Mercury Prize twice, for Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea and Let England Shake. Since 1995, she released a total of 9 solo studio albums and reached several “best of” lists.

Early Life, Trio & Solo Breakthrough

Harvey was born in 1969 in Bridport, Dorset. She grew up with the music that later influenced hers. During her teen years, Harvey learned to play both the saxophone and the guitar. In 1988 she joined a Bristol-based band, Automatic Dlamini, with whom she toured massively.

In 1991, the artist left to star her own band, a trio called PJ Harvey, where she provided lead vocals and guitar. The group released their debut album in 1992, Dry. The record peaked at number 11 in the UK and spawned a well-known single titled Sheela-Na-Gig. Next up, the trio moved to Island Records, marking their commercial breakthrough with the major-label release, Rid of Me. After some internal tension, PJ Harvey disbanded, in the summer of 1993. Furthermore, Polly pursued a solo career, using the same name as the former trio.

Success & Recent Years

Throughout her career, Harvey collaborated with numerous major artists. In 1995, she released her first solo album, To Bring You My Love, reaching Gold in the UK and top 40 on the Billboard 200. “Harvey sings the blues like Nick Cave sings gospel: with more distortion, sex and murder than you remember”, commented Rolling Stone. In 1998, Is This Desire? came out to similar success, spawning the iconic hit A Perfect Day Elise. Additionally, it received a Grammy nomination.

The artist’s next album, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, came out in 2000. The record gained two platinum certifications and spawned two successful singles, This is Love and Good Fortune. Though it didn’t chart as good as the others, it represents Harvey’s best-selling album to date. In the mid to late-2000s, she released two more albums, Uh Huh Her (2004), respectively, White Chalk (2007). Four years later, Let England Shake came out to the top 10 in the UK and top 40 in the US. Most recently, The Hope Six Demolition Project (2016) topped the UK albums chart. 

Photo credit: FLOOD Magazine