Judie Tzuke (pronounced 'Tzook'), not vary tall, fair-haired, friendly,
has something appealing about her. In one of the dressing rooms of the
NOS complex she tells her story:
'I still don't know why 15-year-old me decided to go to Rocket Records.
I was allowed an audition and I played them my two songs and the people
there were very impressed. One of the songs was about a friend of mine
who had died and the other one was about a festival in England. They meant
a lot to me at the time but I wouldn't like to hear them again now. I was
asked if I had written any more. I found it hard to admit they were the
only ones I had. I mean, you don't just go to a record company and say
'Here are my two songs, now give me a three-year contract', do you? I might
not have written any other songs. So I told them I had written twenty songs
altogether. An appointment was scheduled for the following week to record
eight songs and see what it would sound like. However, I was so embarrassed
that I didn't return. I couldn't possibly write six songs within one single
week. It takes us (Mike Paxman and me) perhaps two or three months to complete
three or four songs.'
Born in London, Judie was sent to ballet and drama school by her parents.
'I was interested in drama but not that much in ballet.' However, what
she does appreciate now is that she was taught how to control her nerves
before a performance.
Judie seriously considered becoming an artist when she was twelve years
old. 'All my uncles and aunts thought I could do it, so I thought 'Why
not start a career as a singer?'
Judie met Mike Paxman when she joined the band he was playing in. Mike:
'We found out we shared the same musical ideas. Funk was very popular in
those days. Motown was signing a lot of funk bands.' Judie: 'We wanted
to make Motown-style music, but my voice didn't sound like that of a black
singer, so we ended up sounding quite different.' Mike: 'When we finally
started writing together, it turned out we both had musical ideas that
had nothing to do whatsoever with the Motown sound. Actually, we're not
bound to any particular style at all. 'Welcome to the Cruise' therefore
is a collection of various styles we like playing, as will be our next
album, due to be recorded in August. We do have a number of surprises in
stall though.'
Judie: 'We didn't want to commit ourselves to one style only because
that would inevitably limit our possibilities.' Mike; 'We are interested
in medieval music, as well as in classical music, jazz, pop, rock and even
hard-rock.'
Judie: 'I believe that if you are able to sing, you can sing anything.
After all, a good voice is a good voice. I'm not saying I'm the best, but
I do have a good voice. I couldn't do anything else, so I simply must have
confidence in myself.'
Judie is quite satisfied with the record but believes the songs actually
work better on stage. Judie: 'The people that have been to our concerts
prefer the live versions because they get a better idea of what the songs
are about.' Mike: 'I think there is a big difference between what you record
in the studio and what you can do on stage. You can spend a lot of time
and attention on a recording, whereas a live-performance is quite a different
matter.' Judie: 'We do play the same songs, but with new arrangements.
The violins on the record are replaced by something else on stage. The
violins are not that important at all really. We added them to the recordings
as a kind of extra treat.' For Judie it was her first time in the studio.
Judie: 'We experimented a lot. The entire album is one big experiment.
Actually. I'm not even sure I like all these violins. You could say the
record has been slightly over-produced.
My second album will probably have a few flaws but the third one will
be about perfect'
Mike: 'The funny thing is that with most bands the first album is seldom
produced properly.
There simply isn't enough money to try things out. Fortunately we didn't
have that problem. The second album will be more of a group-project, now
that we have this excellent band. We really took the time to find the best
musicians. We found some people who are not yet famous, but will be in
the near future.' Judie: 'We wanted promising, young people, because we
consider ourselves to be just that. Some very famous people showed up for
the auditions, but it wasn't what we had in mind. This band is talented,
yet a little naïve, and that's just the way I like it.
I don't like working with people who have already experienced everything,
whereas I've just come out of the shell.' Mike: 'We have a talented
singer and keyboard player.' Judie: 'They are also very good at writing
lyrics. They used to have their own band, but they split up. I don't believe
they will stay with us forever, because I think they should be working
for themselves again. We agreed that if they are offered a favourable deal
by a record company they should seize the opportunity. They are simply
so brilliant it would be a terrible waste of talent. We won't have to be
afraid they will leave immediately because we agreed on a three-months'
notice, so we will have the time to find the right people to replace
them.'
Mike: 'It's really amazing how many good musicians there are nobody
has ever heard of, like our drummer and bass player. They're fantastic
but never had the chance to show what they can do.
Judie Tzuke and Mike Paxman don't foresee any difficulties when it
comes to changes in the group's line-up. Mike: 'The situation within the
band changes constantly. We travel to various countries and each member
of the band has different experiences. If anyone wants to leave, he's free
to do so. We will try to find somebody else then.' Judie: 'As long as they
tell us well in advance.'
Judie Tzuke and Mike Paxman perform with a band consisting of John
Edwards (bass), Jeff Rich (drums), Bob Noble (keyboards) and Paul Muggleton
(backing vocals).
Judie: 'Both the keyboard player and singer are friends of mine. I
already knew them when I had a contract with another company, before I
switched to Rocket Records. We held auditions for the drummer and bass
player.' Mike: 'We had kept an eye on the bass player for several years.
Me and Judie went down to see him a couple of times. We decided that if
we ever started our own band, we would ask him.' Judie: 'I do remember
you ran into him again. We had forgotten all about him really. The day
our record company told us they would provide us with the means to start
our own band Mike was invited to a party. There he met our bass player.
They got talking and John (Edwards) told Mike he was looking for a job.
Mike, a little drunk, called me in the middle of the night and told me
he'd found us a bass player. The next day, Mike had him play for us and
although we had already heard some good ones, we agreed he would be the
best choice.
Mike: 'We're really fortunate having such wonderful musicians in our
band.' Judie: 'Our backing vocalist, for example, has such an incredibly
clear and powerful voice, no other background vocalists are needed. Our
voices are so alike, sometimes you don't even realize it's a man's voice
at all. It was quite difficult finding the right singer because most men
use vibrato when they sing, and I don't.'
Judie's career as a singer really started in France. Judie: 'I was
on holiday there and I actually wanted to tour the whole of Europe, but
no sooner had I reached San Tropez than my purse was stolen. I had two
options: go home or try and make some money there. I chose the latter and
started singing in cafés. Singing in France then was quite different
from singing with my band now, I can tell you. In France all I had to do
was scream a lot.'
In May, the band did their first concert in Cambridge, but it was a
fiasco because the sound system proved to be far too big for such a small
venue. The second performance, however, was a lot better. Judie: 'I was
really nervous and I hardly said a word in between songs. The audience
were very enthusiastic though. They just kept on applauding, and I was
just singing.
Mike: 'We try to come across as naturally as possible. Judie doesn't
just stand there, posing like a model, she sings! A concert is something
real. There might be some mistakes but the right mood and atmosphere are
the main things.' Judie: 'Music is very much alive again and I think we
owe that to Punk and New Wave. You don't run the risk of falling asleep
during a concert anymore, which happened to me once during a Pink Floyd
concert.'
Judie is just telling me she is going to play almost all of the songs
on the album, as well as a great number of new songs when Phonogram's Radio-Promotor
comes in and announces the interview to be over. There is no more time
because Judie has to do a radio interview. It's very important for her
to get the attention of the Dutch audience.
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