Judie Tzuke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (April 2008) |
 |
The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.(April 2008) Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. |
 |
The neutrality or factuality of this article or section may be compromised by unattributed statements. You can help Wikipedia by removing weasel worded statements. |
| Judie Tzuke | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Judie Myers |
| Also known as | Judie Tzuke |
| Born | April 3, 1956 |
| Origin |  London, England |
| Years active | 1979-present |
| Website | tzuke.com |
Judie Tzuke (born Judie Myers, 3 April 1956 in London) is an English singer/songwriter. Her father, Sefton Myers, was a successful property developer who also managed artists and singers—most notably Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice during the writing of Jesus Christ Superstar. Her family relocated from Poland to England in the 1920s, and changed their surname from Tzuke to Myers. When Judie embarked on her singing career, she decided to reclaim the family's Polish name. Her mother, Jean Silverside, was a television actress famous for her roles in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin and The Goodies. Judie has two daughters, Bailey, also a singer-songwriter, and Tallula.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Beginnings
Educated in the visual arts, performing arts, and music, Judie performed in folk clubs from the age of 15. Her meeting with Mike Paxman in 1975 was a turning point and they began to collaborate. They eventually secured a recording contract and formed a band with Paul Muggleton. Under the name of "Tzuke and Paxo," the band released critically acclaimed singles, beginning with "These are the Laws" (1975). Judie and Paul later had two children together, Bailey and Tallula.
[edit] Early success
Judie's career proper began in 1977, when she signed to Elton John's label Rocket Records. Her first single on Rocket, "For You" (1978), was released under the name of Tzuke and Paxo. However, her first major success - the classic single "Stay with Me till Dawn", released in 1979 - was released simply under "Judie Tzuke." Judie's first album, Welcome to the Cruise, which featured "Stay with Me till Dawn" and some of the Tzuke and Paxo singles, achieved great critical and commercial success. In 2002, "Stay With Me Till Dawn" was chosen by the British public as one of the fifty best British songs 1952-2002 (ranking number 39)[1]. The song was also sampled by Mylo in the song "Need You Tonite", which is taken from his 2004 album Destroy Rock & Roll.
The singer's second album, Sportscar (1980), did not fare so well; part of the reason for this was that Elton John decided to change his label's distribution company part-way through his American tour (on which Judie was support act), meaning that all support for the tour, and for Judie's records in the USA, was pulled. Judie released one more record on Rocket, I Am the Phoenix (1982), but then decided to leave for Chrysalis Records.
[edit] Middle career
The singer never again found the level of commercial success she had enjoyed with her first two albums; she recorded a number of albums with a number of different record labels, but found that none was willing or able to promote her music to a wide audience.
In 1982 Judie joined a new label, Chrysalis, which promoted well in the UK music press her first album for them, "Shoot The Moon". The album gained good reviews and spawned three singles, including a picture disc 7", with the album faring well in the UK charts. Judie completed a tough 57-date tour of the UK, culminating as the headline act at that year's Glastonbury Festival. The performance was recorded for a TV special on UK commercial broadcaster ITV.
Several performances from the tour were recorded and released at the tail end of 1982 as a double album, "Road Noise: The Official Bootleg".
In Summer 1983 Rocket Records issued "The Best", an odd compilation album which left out two of her single releases. "Black Furs" was issued as a single using a different recording than that which featured on the album or previous issue "I Am The Phoenix".
September 1983 saw the release of the much anticipated "Ritmo" album (Italian for loud). The album was somewhat a departure from previous work with a much more electronic feel. The single "Jeanie No" preceded the album and was played heavily on radio, yet did not chart. An edit and extended remix of the track were issued on 7" and 12" (Judie's first). The subsequent single "How Do I Feel?" did not fare any better. Chrysalis did not release the album or singles outside of the UK.
A successful tour of the UK happened during autumn 1983, taking in larger (but fewer) venues.
Judie believed that Chrysalis was not interested in promoting her material and decided to take control of her releases, opting for an independent company release of material over the next two years.
"You" was released in October 1984; a cover of a lesser-known Marvin Gaye track, turning a rather sedate piece into a grinding electro production. Several different versions of the track were released on the 7" and 12" issues.
In early 1985 "I'll Be The One" was issued as the second single, released with an impressive video to promote the track. "The Cat Is Out" was released in spring 1985 charting at number 35. June 1985 saw the third single "Love Like Fire" released, again with several remixes on the 7" and 12" issues.
September 1985 saw the final single release from the album "This Side of Heaven" issued at the same time as an extensive tour. Ironically with little promotion and no backing from a major record label The Cat Is Out Tour proved to be Judie's most successful to date with capacity crowds at some of the UK's largest venues. The Croydon date was recorded for a TV special, which many years later was issued as a CD/DVD release.
"This Side of Heaven" began to be played by BBC Radio 1 DJ Gary Davis, who made it his record of the week in January 1985, helping Judie to make a small dent on the UK charts reaching number 100!
After the birth of her daughter Bailey, Judie took stock with a relatively quiet period. Fans were delighted by what appeared to be a triumphant return at the start of 1989 with news of a new record company, single, album and extensive tour of the UK. "We'll Go Dreaming" became Judie's first top 75 hit for ten years, gaining much air play. The track was the first issue on CD single by the artist. "Turning Stones" charted reasonably, but was quickly deleted by Polydor following a dispute over the 1989 tour, which was subsequently cancelled, enraging fans who turned up to venues.
In a hope of trying to promote her second Polydor single "Let Me Be The Pearl" Judie appeared on the Friday "Round Table" show reviewing that week's new releases. She was clearly embarrassed and was apologised to fans. It became clear Judie was unable to take openly about the situation for legal reasons, but told fans that the cancellation of the tour was out of her control and not her fault.
August 1990 saw another record company, CBS, issuing a new single "God Only Knows" a cover version of the Beach Boys classic. Judie's version featured a lush arrangement created simply from sampling her voice to create instrumentation. Despite the single issued in a myriad of versions (7", 7" poster wrap, limited edition numbered 10", 12" and CD single) plus a beautifully shot video, the song failed to gain any real air play or chart success.
Initial plans indicated an autumn 1990 release of her "Left Hand Talking" album, but fans had to wait until May 1991 to see the album's proper release. March 1991 saw a 3 track promo issued widely in independent record stores, and April 1991 two performances at London's Shaw Theatre. "Outlaws" was released in June 1991, this time on the Columbia label and readily available in independent retailers, but with no impact upon the charts. The album received no promotion.
It was during this period that Judie and Paul set up a studio in their home, giving Judie a measure of creative independence. Taking control of the copyright of her material, the 1992 album "Wonderland" was released on the Essential Label, with two single releases, "Wonderland" and "Fly". Neither album or singles charted, but the album gained good reviews and featured the talents of Brian May from Queen and Nigel Kennedy on violin. Judie stated in later interviews that Wonderland was the album she felt most proud of as a songwriter. Most of the album was co-written with Bob Noble. Autumn 1992 saw a small tour take place, this time playing at much smaller venues.
After a fallow period, 1st August 1995 saw the release of two albums. The BBC issued its recording of the September 1981 concert. Polygram issued a compilation album called "Stay With Me Till Dawn" which drew on Judie's first three albums released on Rocket with tracks from the "Turning Stones" Polydor release. The album included four single remixes which had not previously been available on CD.
The weekly British music industry bible "Music Week" announced in early 1996 that Judie had been signed to the small independent record label Permanent, with an imminent release planned. It is believed that this became "Under The Angels" which was issued on Big Moon Records in October 1996, Judie and Paul's own record label.
[edit] Big Moon period
With Big Moon Records, Judie's audience has grown steadily; Judie toured Under the Angels and released a live CD, Over the Moon (1997), and went on to record a second studio album, Secret Agent (1999). Judie's work with Big Moon has attracted a large amount of interest, not only from listeners, but also from industry figures: for example, Bob Harris of BBC Radio 2 included one of her songs, "Tonight" (from Secret Agent), on his compilation CD. In 2000 Elton John was persuaded to gave back to Judie the rights to her first three albums recorded under Rocket Records; Judie named her tour later that year the "Phoenix Tour," a reference to her last Rocket Records album, "I Am the Phoenix." Following this came a new live album (Six Days Before the Flood, 2000), a new studio album (Queen Secret Keeper, 2001) and a third live album (Drive Live, 2002).
[edit] Recent career
The level of Judie's success under Big Moon has been such that she has been approached by a number of well-known artists to work as a songwriter. Fans were given the first hints of this during the Queen Secret Keeper tour of 2001; more and more news of Judie's songwriting collaborations has arrived each year since then. Judie has worked with artists such as Lucie Silvas (resulting in a publishing deal with Universal Records), Phixx "Strange Love" (a UK and South African top 20 hit)and Alex Parks, as well as expanding her own label to manage new artists. Judie went on to release a covers album, The Beauty of Hindsight (2003), and a new studio album, The End of the Beginning (2004), supported by Lia Sáile 's art work.
Over the last few years, Judie has contributed vocals and co-written with a varied selection of artists, including several dance-oriented projects: 6th Sense, B.E.D. Ver 1.0 & 1.5 (BMG Japan & Australia 2003 & 2004), Freemasons (2007), Morcheeba (2007) Kirsty Hawkshaw (2006) and Hybrid "I Choose Noise" (2006). In 2004 Judie provided guest vocals on Freddie Liquiant dance track "Vacancies" which was issued only as a 12" DJ promo only. The track was later reworked by Freemasons as "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" on the Freemasons album from 2007 "Unmixed". Judie's classic song "Stay With Me Till Dawn" was sampled on the dance track on Mylo's album from 2005 and renamed "Need You Tonight".
Judie has a new album Songs 1, released during her biggest tour in almost a decade, with her daughter Bailey Tzuke on backing vocals and collaborations with other musicians (such as Gareth Gates on piano). The album is a collection of songs Tzuke has written recently for or with other artists, and is composed principally of quieter songs (Tzuke mentioned in her latest tour that the next 'Songs' album would probably be a collection of 'loud ones'). A single release ("The Cup of Tea Song") was released as a download on 5th March on iTunes.
Also released on 5 March 2007 was a Judie penned number with David P Goodes by Laura Michelle Kelly (Sweeney Todd movie and Lord of the Rings and Oliver Award nominated role in Mary Poppins musical fame) "What's It All For?" Both the song and video are available on iTunes. The video was heavily rotated on UK music channels.
[edit] Future Plans
Summer 2007 saw Judie entering new territory by writing 2 songs with Ben Mark for the National Youth Theatre's production of the play "Silence" which was performed in Brierly, Ulverston and for a season at London's historic Wilton's Music Hall (until 1st September). Tracks included "Faith (Don't Let Me Down)" and "The Other Side".
August 2007 saw Judie appear alongside Morcheeba at the Guildfest Music Festival.
Work has begun on her Songs 2 album with a provisional release date for later 2007, as well as co-writing material for the second James Morrison album.
Judie performed alongside friends Mia Silvas (sister of Lucie) at the Beford Bandstand concert at IndigO2 on Tuesday 4th September.
A provisional recording of one of her concerts is planned for a DVD release in the near future.
The Kosheen DJs Remix of "Falling Down" featuring vocals and co-written with Hybrid appeared on their Ocotber 2007 Re_Mixed double CD issue.
Autumn 2007 saw 2 Judie penned tracks feature on the number 7 charting debut self titled album by Canadian duo RyanDan who are identical twins. The lead single "Like The Sun" was heavily promoted on UK TV and was a minor chart hit, faring better in Germany, the far east and Australia, and was a cover taken from Judie's 2004 "The End of the Beginning" album. Both Judie and her daughter provided backing vocals on the track. The second UK single released in December 2007 "High" is also a song written by Judie and David P Goodes.
On 29th October 2007 The Freemasons album "Unmixed" (Loaded Records) included an edit of "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" plus her daughters number 8 hit "Uninvited".
Other provisional plans (according to the Freemasons Myspace website) is a planned album co-written between Judie and the Freemasons. Apparently several tracks have already been written and recorded. Tracks already recorded and debuted on Judie's Myspace web page include "Venus Is Alive", Submarine Boy", "Guilty" and "Me And My Demons".
Early 2008 will see Judie feature on co-writing and vocals on 3 tracks on the next Morcheeba album "Dive Deep" (released 4th February) with the album's opening track "Enjoy The Ride" released as a single release on January 28th 2008. She also features as co-writer on 2 tracks on Tom Baxter's album "Skybound" (released 7th January on Charisma Records) which charted at number 12, and has co-written Croydon based singer Claire Toomey's debut single "Found" released on 28 January 2008 on itunes.
Judie played live on Radio 2 singing "Enjoy The Ride" with Morcheeba on the Johnny Walker show on Sunday 20th January 2008 and on Radio 4 on Saturday 26th January on the "Loose Ends" show.
Judie is also heavily involved in her daughter Bailey Tzuke's debut album and features a co-writer on many of the tracks, slated for a 2008 release.
Early 2008 has already seen another of Judie's older compositions being sampled and becoming a club hit as well as being on Radio 1's playlist by DJ Judge Jules (who made a Club Remix back in 1990 of Judie's single "God Only Knows"). The track is a sample of her song "We'll Go Dreaming" which was reworked by pal Kirsty Hawkshaw with legendary American DJ BT back in 2000.
Several remixes of a reworking of "Don't Look Behind You" from Judie's 2001 album "Keep Secret Keeper" are planned for release in early 2008. Seattle based trance DJ Seth Hutton reworked (with additional vocals by Kirsty Hawkshaw) the track, which has subsequently been remixed by Dutch remix duo Lemonsoul (check out www.darkterritory.nl for a sound clip) and legendary Swedish remixer Mike Shiver released on the "Captured" label. 6 remixes are available on itunes now.
There are currently tentative plans for Judie to join Morcheeba on the March 2008 American stretch of their world tour.
Morcheeba & Judie recorded a session for Radio 2's Bob Harris show on March 15th 2008.
14 April saw the re-issue of Judie's 1991 album "Left Hand Talking" with bonus tracks, this time on the Cherry Red label.
May 2008 saw the inclusion of a co-write from Judie with Kipper and James Morrison "Everthing I Don't Need" on American Idol winner Clay Aikin's album. Judie had previously provided vocals for this on Kipper's 2007 album via Bang and Olufson.
June 2008 saw the release of Judie sixteenth studio album Songs 2, which is available only from her own website.
[edit] Trivia
|
|
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
On the release of her first album the advertising tag line was "Learn to pronounce her name because you'll soon be asking for her records"
According to Record Mirror in their 1985 end of year review of artists and sales, by the end of 1985 Judie was the 5th best selling British female singer for the first half of the 1980s.
In 1991 Judie contributed vocals on Thomas Anders' (of Modern Talking fame) solo-album Whispers (album).
Back in 1992 Judie was unhappy when a PR company representing her and promoting her "Wonderland" album and tour decided to generate some press coverage by claiming Brian May (who played guitar on the track "I Can Read Books") had had his priceless guitar stolen from her home studio whilst recording the album.
Judie is known to suffer from severe stage fright which has caused her to fear live performances. By the end of her last concert tour, she was believed to have started to overcome this phobia.[citation needed]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Welcome to the Cruise | Rocket Records |
| 1980 | Sportscar | Rocket Records |
| 1981 | I Am the Phoenix | Rocket Records |
| 1982 | Shoot the Moon | Chrysalis Records |
| 1982 | Road Noise | Chrysalis Records |
| 1983 | Ritmo | Chrysalis Records |
| 1984 | The Cat Is Out | Castle Records |
| 1989 | Turning Stones | Polydor Records |
| 1991 | Left Hand Talking | Columbia Records |
| 1992 | Wonderland | Essential Records |
| 1996 | Under the Angels | Big Moon Records |
| 1997 | Over the Moon | Big Moon Records |
| 1998 | Secret Agent | Big Moon Records |
| 2000 | Six Days Before the Flood | Big Moon Records |
| 2001 | Queen Secret Keeper | Big Moon Records |
| 2002 | Drive Live | Big Moon Records |
| 2003 | The Beauty of Hindsight | Big Moon Records |
| 2004 | The End of the Beginning | Big Moon Records |
| 2007 | Songs 1 | Big Moon Records |
| 2008 | Songs 2 | Big Moon Records |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- tzuke.com (official website)
- Judie Tzuke on MySpace
