Pat Benatar

Back in the eighties, there was a market for music that struck a balance between rock and pop, especially in terms of female performers; for those who found Joan Jett a bit much and Kim Wilde a little too soft, Pat Benatar - Patricia Mae Andrzejewski, to give her her birth name - was there to fill the gap. The sheer scale of her commercial viability, too, was proven beyond doubt by no fewer than five platinum records throughout that decade; they spawned some hit singles, too, in the shape of the likes of ‘Hit Me with Your Best Shot’, ‘Love Is a Battlefield’ and ‘Invincible’. Perhaps more impressive still, though, is the fact that Benatar - now sixty-one - has never stopped touring, lining up dates almost every year since she began her career. That continues to this day, with her most recent shows - in celebration of thirty-five years in the business - seeing her play with Cheap Trick and Rick Springfield. It’s been some years, though, since she brought her irrepressibly-energetic band over the pond to the UK; perhaps she doesn’t have the same kind of following over here, but for now, British fans are likely going to have to make do with extensive YouTube footage of recent shows - if she does make it over, expect it to be as part of an all-star eighties lineup in big venues rather than out and out solo gigs.