MANY artists have a ritual before they get on stage.

Rihanna is said to join hands with dancers and yell out a rallying cry, Bon Jovi goes to the venue at 5pm to ‘taste the air’ and Alice Cooper watches kung fu movies.

But Joan Armatrading gets her ironing board out.

“Just the ironing my clothes lets me know that I’m about to do my thing,” she told Weekend.

“That’s quite important for me. That’s become a big part of me getting myself ready to go stage.”

That is just one of the ways that has helped Joan conquer her nerves after more than 40 years in the music business.

The 63-year-old added: “When I started I was very shy so it was quite awkward for the audience and for me because I wasn’t able to communicate as well as I should have “But over the years you get the audience telling you they enjoy what you do, they turn up in masses, you sell out lots of shows, you sell lots of records and all of that builds your confidence.

“Immediately before going on stage I’m still incredibly nervous as it’s quite a big deal to stand up in front of all these people.

“But once I’m on and play the first song I’m fine.”

Now the Ivor Novello award-winner is embarking on her last major tour which she is doing solo for the first time in four decades.

She will be performing at Parr Hall on Friday, October 10.

Joan said: “The first time I went to America in 1973 or 1974 I did that on my own with just me on the guitar and the piano.

“Anything I’ve done since then has always been with a band.

“I’ve never done a world tour on my own so it’s quite exciting for me to do this and I have the feeling the audience will like it. I’ve had requests from people to do something like this.

“I’ve chosen to do smaller venues just to get an intimacy and to give myself a special little memory.”

Joan’s Warrington show is set to cover her whole career from her first album Whatever’s For Us to 2012’s Starlight – like a journey through her life.

She added: “I’m going to start with something from the first album from 1972 and I’m going to play something from each of the albums if I can.

“I haven’t played piano on stage since the mid 70s. I can’t even remember the last time.

“So that will be very different for me as you have to get into a different mindset.”

Joan’s favourite song to sing live is Kissin’ and a Huggin’.

She said: “The reason I love playing it is it’s so rhythmic that I can sing it differently every single night. You can play around with it in so many ways.”

But does she still enjoy singing her signature hit, Love and Affection, after all this time?

“Absolutely,” she added.

“I love singing it. I look forward to it as much as the audience looks forward to it. That’s the song that got me known me all over the world.

“It is only song in my repertoire that I have sung on every single tour without fail.”

Many artists are inspired to make music by their heroes but Joan felt it was her calling.

“I was born to be a musician,” she said.

“That’s the simple answer. Sometimes you hear people pose the question: ‘Why am I here? What is it all about?’ Well I know why I’m here. It’s nice to know – it’s very calming.

“So when I started to write and play it was a natural thing. I just fell into it. Nobody taught me.

“I started ballad writing when I was about 14 and started playing guitar and piano about that age.

“I knew it was something I was going to do for the rest of my life.”

Joan played the piano that her mum had originally bought as a piece of furniture.

Then her mum bought her a guitar from a pawn shop in exchange for two prams.

“I still have that guitar,” Joan added.

“Thinking back to the size I would have been, I think how on earth did I play that thing?

“It has a very broad, wide shape. Guitars these days have got more narrow necks and are more ergonomic. That was just a lump of wood but I was determined.”

- Joan plays at the Parr Hall on October 10. It is likely to be her last performance in Warrington. Tickets are £27.50. Visit pyramidparrhall.com or call 442345