Polly Jean “PJ” Harvey MBE is an English singer-songwriter and musician. She is best known as a vocalist and guitarist, but she can also play a variety of instruments. Harvey started her career as a vocalist, guitarist, and saxophonist with the local band Automatic Dlamini in 1988. John Parish, the band’s guitarist, became a long-term collaborator for her. She started her career as PJ Harvey in 1991, when she formed an eponymous trio called PJ Harvey.
Before disbanding, the trio released two studio albums, Dry (1992) and Rid of Me (1993), after which Harvey went on to pursue a solo career. Since 1995, she has released nine more studio albums with contributions from musicians such as Parish, former bandmate Rob Ellis, Mick Harvey, and Eric Drew Feldman, as well as extensive collaborations with record producer Flood. The 2001 and 2011 Mercury Prizes for Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000), and Let England Shake (2011), respectively, are among her many honours.
Harvey is the only artist who has won the award twice. She’s also been nominated for eight Brit Awards, seven Grammy Awards, and two further Mercury Prizes. Rolling Stone named her Best New Artist in 1992, Best Singer Songwriter in 1993, and Artist of the Year in 1995; the magazine also named Rid of Me, To Bring You My Love (1995) and Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea to its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. She received the NME Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 2011. She received an MBE for services to music in June 2013.
