Judie Tzuke - Press Cuttings.
The following review was from Kerrang! magazine in 1983.
JUDIE TZUKE
City Hall, Sheffield
If I'd needed confirmation in my belief that Judie Tzuke was very much Kerrang!'s concern then Sheffield offered that endorsement in a manner that amply quelled any lingering doubts. The audience was easilly 70-80 per cent ROCK fans, including a liberal sprinkling of headbangers! Up North, obviously, they know a good thing when they see it and aren't afraid to admit it.
And as a reward for this massive display of support, Judie Tzuke gave a magical, heart warming performance of style, grace and finesse. We were in the presence of an extraordinary artist reaching an outstanding peak in her career.
With over half the present set consisting of material from her last two (and undoubtly best) LPs, some of the older favourites were dumped alongside 'Ritmo's best track, 'Walk, Don't Walk', but the show doesn't lack for climaxes. The heavier moments, 'I Am The Phoenix', 'Face To Face', 'I'm Not A Loser', 'Another Country', each have Mike Paxman moving into the spotlight, thrashing out some frentic lead guitar and then retiring to the shadows again before you've quite grasped the point: This is Heavy!
Despite this, the centre of attention remains Judie Tzuke and her quite exquisite voice. I cannot think of a singer, save perhaps for Jon Anderson, who uses his/her voice as an instrument to the extent that Ms Tzuke does. She is a chronically shy performer, almost painfully retiring with a sense of desperate vulnerability, and yet, given a vehicle like the beautiful 'Don't Let Me Sleep' where she sings over a muted backing of keyboards and drums, she can unleash that emotion to particularly moving effect. Brilliant.
Three numbers were delivered in the courses of two ecstatically demanded encores, the perennial 'Stay With Me Till Dawn', another heavy guitar piece in 'Black Furs' and the rather hauting 'How Do I Feel?', a curious choice to close proceedings. And with that, Judie Tzuke retreated for the night to sign a stream of autographs before disappearing into the cold, autumnal air bound fir bound for Manchester and wearing my Kerrang! sweatshirt(!)
If Judie Tzuke would only open up her eyes she would see just how much she is loved by her fans. She could then ignore the abuse hurled at her by an ingracious press. She is too rare and precious a commodity for us to lose now.
DAVE DICKSON
Return !!!