Congratulations to PJ Harvey

Congratulations to PJ Harvey, on becoming an MBE. Twenty-five year career. A fitting reward.

On this basis, Adele should probably expect to get a letter inviting her to pick up an MBE in 2031.

What? What?

Mercury Prize 2011: Very little to add

So, now we've got a second truth to add to "winning the Mercury curses your career": PJ Harvey always wins in a year which ends in a 1.

It was a bit of an odd show on BBC Two. Not least, there was Jools Holland twice confusing "album" and "envelope", which isn't great for an album award prizegiving. Maybe he was nipping up the road to do the Stationery Suppliers Awards afterwards.

Polly's acceptance speech reference to September 11th 2001 seemed surprisingly ill-judged; like a thought that truncated itself for fear of accidentally turning into a funny anecdote about mass murder.

But: in a strong field Let England Shake is a worthy winner. See you at the 2021 awards, Polly.

Nothing but show tunes

PJ Harvey's musical version of Hedda Gabler comes to the stage in New York this week.

A musical Hedda Gabler? Probably not going to be too many break out pop hits in that one, I'd guess.

PJ Harvey weekend: Grow Grow Grow

From a "pseudo-intellectual" show on French TV, September 2007:



[Part of the PJ Harvey weekend]

PJ Harvey weekend: Taut

With former Chesterfield John Parish, in the Later With Jools studio, from 1996:



[Part of the PJ Harvey weekend]

PJ Harvey weekend: Broken Homes

The comments complain about the addition of a choir, but judge for yourselves: Tricky and PJ Harvey on Late Night With Letterman, knocking out Broken Homes:



[Part of PJ Harvey weekend]

PJ Harvey weekend: Henry Lee

Back now to Channel 4's short-lived minimalist show The White Room, and a 'surprise' appearance by Polly to help out Nick Cave with Henry Lee:



[Part of the PJ Harvey weekend]

PJ Harvey weekend: Down By The Water

Continuing the PJ celebration, this is from her concert in Moscow on June 5th this year. Big Fish, Little Fish...



[Part of the PJ Harvey weekend]

PJ Harvey weekend: When Under Ether

A visit to the Norwegian State Broadcaster NRK, from September last year:



[Part of PJ Harvey weekend]

PJ Harvey weekend: Send His Love To Me

From Channel 4's coverage of the 1995 Glastonbury Festival - and a performance that, I suspect, you'll remember if you saw it - here's Ms H doing Send His Love To Me:



[Part of the PJ Harvey weekend]

Embed and breakfast man: PJ Harvey

Frankly, there's no good reason why every weekend shouldn't be crammed with video action from Polly Jean Harvey and her confusingly-titled PJ Harvey band, is there? She was doing topless NME covers while Beth Ditto was still eating squirrel fricassee - and with an actual point to make, too. She was sat in Washington on September 11th, 2001, being told by phone that the judges had decided she was the winner of the Mercury Music Prize. She's even worked with one of the Chesterfields. More than this, though, she's one of the most consistently interesting and engaging British musicians of the last forty years. This weekend, then, it's all about the Harvey.

I wish I could pretend the timing was intentional, to celebrate her birthday coming up this week. But it isn't. That's just a coincidence.

Let's start out with Rid Of Me, captured at the Sydney leg of the Big Day Out in 2001:



Research
Official site
Wikpedia
MySpace
Last FM
Fan site
Island Records site

Buy
4 Track Demos
Rid Of Me
Rid Of Me: The 33 1/3 series guide to the album
Dry
Please Leave Quietly - Live DVD

More videos across the weekend
C'mon Billy on Top Of The Pops
Shame on Jonathan Ross
Send His Love To Me live at Glastonbury, 1995
Down By The Water live in Moscow, 2008
Henry Lee with Nick Cave on The White Room
Broken Homes with Tricky on Letterman
Taut with John Parish on Later With Jools Holland
Grow Grow Grow live on French TV

Polly returns in September

Island Records have confirmed to Spinner.com that Polly Jean Harvey is preparing an album for September - it might be called White Chalk. But that's not, obviously, inked in yet.