Where did the name come from? "There is a 70s cop show called Police Woman that starred Angie Dickinson. She played an undercover cop. It was not like Charlie’s Angels; it was gritty, serious and really cool. I used to dye my hair blonde and was wearing a particularly 70s outfit and my friend said ‘you are Angie from Police Woman’. It just stuck. "I needed a name that was not my name, because I was a violin player and now I was doing something else, so I needed a name to go with my songs." Real Life has been out nearly a year now and it’s just starting to take off. Why do you think that is?
 | | Joan at Night and Day last year |
"Probably because I’ve been working my ass off! There’s nothing that replaces doing the work, but also it’s about luck and having the right people getting behind it, which there were from the very beginning." It’s a deeply emotional album. Do you worry about giving yourself away too much? "I used to keep a lot of stuff in and it used to come out as anger, and that doesn’t feel good. So when I started singing, I tried to learn to emote honestly, because I don’t think you can give anything away – you don’t own anything anyway. "If you’re honest enough, other people can relate to that, rather than posing as something. You’re not going to feel that emotion if it’s not real. I just to say it the way I felt it. I don’t know how anyone else feels, just how I feel. If I’m thinking, please don’t leave me, I try to sing just that and not, say, please don’t leave me baby, you look like pink tulips or whatever!" Is it hard to play the songs every night?
 | | The indie Dusty Springfield anyone? |
"I’m an American and I love therapy! When I come off tour, I’m uncomfortable, I need to express myself. If I’m feeling emotional for some other reason, it’s hard, but I love that because I love challenge." You’ve worked with some huge names. Is there anyone you’d like to work with in the future? "Really, the people I’m looking forward to working with are the people I already know, who helped make my last record." Do you find it easy to collaborate? "I find it easy to say ‘here’s this song, will you write a horn arrangement that sounds like Roberta Flack’s?’ I am in control of my music. I finish the song so I can play it solo and then I give it out. The collaboration happens after the base is already there. "But I love that other role, being the other person, the role I was in for a long time. I like being on the other side now, but it’s fun. Music is my life so all the parts of it are pretty thrilling." How’s the follow-up to Real Life coming? | "I’m an American and I love therapy!" | | Joan on what it means to play her songs every night |
"I recorded a little bit already and I’ve been writing a lot, but I’m going to be recording at the end of this year to come out in the middle of 2008. I look forward to doing a lot more writing because I like to have two records worth of material so I can choose the best record." People talk about second albums being difficult. Do you think yours will be? "I certainly have worried about it. I goes like this – ‘oh my God, how am I going to make another record like Real Life?’ and then I’ll say ‘Joan, listen. It doesn’t have to be anything like Real Life. It just has to be more musical output!’ "The thing about songwriting in general is learning not to judge yourself and allowing yourself to follow the creative path and decide when it’s done whether to change it later." You’re a New Yorker here in Manchester. There’s many musical links between the cities. Is it a place you like to come and play? "I do. There’s so many music lovers here and such a tradition, that whenever I come and play here, I think about all the music that the people at the show must have seen. In England, people love music in a different way to anywhere else in the world, so it’s nice for that as a musician." Joan As Police Woman plays Club Academy on Wednesday 11 April. The show is sold out. | 
