P.P. Arnold

Sending Signals

Pat Arnold has had quite a life. Born in 1946 she grew up in LA, and was in an abusive marriage with two kids while still a teenager. In 1965 she got a chance to audition for Ike and Tina Turner’s band as an “Ikette”. She got the gig and left her children in the care of her parents. This eventually took her to London where she fell into the orbit of The Rolling Stones, and she decided to stay behind there to establish herself as a solo artist, signing to Stones’ manager Andrew Loog Oldham’s label Immediate Records, home of the Small Faces, members of whom ended up writing songs for her and backing her on some of her recordings. She also toured with them, and is the backing vocalist on Itchycoo Park and Tin Soldier, two of their biggest hits.

She had hits under her own name too, including her recordings of Angel Of The Morning and The First Cut Is The Deepest. She also recorded with Rod Stewart.

In the 70s she appeared on recordings by the likes of Nick Drake, Graham Nash, and Nils Lofgren. She toured with Eric Clapton and recorded with Barry Gibb although most of these recordings remained unreleased for decades. She sadly lost a daughter in a car accident in the mid-70s, and along with not being able to further her career as a solo artist, she seems to view this as somewhat of a lost decade.

As well as being cast in Starlight Express, the 80s saw her work with Steel Pulse, The Beatmasters and Roger Waters, as well appearing on Peter Gabriel’s smash hit Sledgehammer.

She first came into my orbit in the late 90s through her collaboration with Ocean Colour Scene, and the early 2000s saw her tour extensively with Roger Waters.

In recent years she finally completed the album she started with Barry Gibb and Eric Clapton decades earlier, as well as a brand new studio album recorded and produced by former podcast guest Steve Craddock of Ocean Colour Scene and Paul Weller fame.

She has a new career spanning box set entitled “Soul Survivor - A Life In Song” and I had a fantastic time talking to Pat about her life and career.

Instagram: @sendingsignalspodcast