PJ Harvey biography
In 1996, following the international success of To Bring You My Love and other collaborations, Harvey began composing material that would end up on her fourth studio album, during what she referred to as "an incredibly low patch." The material diverged significantly from her former work and introduced electronica elements into her song-writing. During recording sessions in 1997, original PJ Harvey Trio drummer Rob Ellis rejoined Harvey's band and Flood was hired again as producer. The sessions, which continued into April the following year, resulted in Is This Desire? (1998). Though originally released to mixed reviews in September 1998, the album was a success and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Alternative Music Performance. The album's lead single, "A Perfect Day Elise," was moderately successful in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 25 on the UK Single Chart, her most successful single to date.
In early 2000, Harvey began work on her fifth studio album, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea with Rob Ellis and Mick Harvey. Written in her native Dorset, Paris and New York, the album showcased a more mainstream indie rock and pop rock sound to her previous albums and the lyrics followed on themes of love that tied into Harvey's affection for New York City. The album also featured Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke on three tracks and performed lead vocals on "This Mess We're in." Upon its release in October 2000, the album was a critical and commercial success, selling over one million copies worldwide and charted in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The album's four singles-"Good Fortune," "A Place Called Home," "This is Love" and "You Said Something"- were moderately successful. The album also received a number of accolades including a BRIT Award nomination for Best Female Artist and two Grammy Award nominations for Best Rock Album and Best Female Rock Performance for the album's third single, "This Is Love." However, most notably, Harvey was nominated for, and won, the 2001 Mercury Music Prize. The awards ceremony was held on the same day as the September 11 attacks on the United States and Harvey was on tour in Washington, D.C., one of the affected cities, when she won the prize. Reflecting on the win in 2011, she said: "quite naturally I look back at that and only remember the events that were taking place across the world and to win the prize on that day - it didn't have much importance in the grand scheme of things" and noted "it was a very surreal day." The same year, Harvey also topped a readers' poll conducted by Q Magazine of the 100 Greatest Women in Rock Music.
During three years of various collaborations with other artists, Harvey was also working on her sixth studio album, Uh Huh Her, which was released in May 2004. For the first time since 4-Track Demos (1993), Harvey played every instrument-with the exception drums provided by Rob Ellis-and was the sole producer. The album was received "generally favourable reviews" by critics, though its production was often criticized. It was also a commercial success, debuting and peaking at number 12 in the UK Albums Chart and being certified Silver by the BPI within a month of its release. Harvey also did an extensive world tour in promotion of the album, lasting seven months in total. For the tour, she formed a backing band consisting of Rob Ellis, bassist Dingo and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and performed at various European summer festivals, including Glastonbury, and opened two shows for Morrissey. Selected recordings from the tour were included on Harvey's first live DVD, On Tour: Please Leave Quietly, directed by Maria Mochnacz, released in 2006.
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