Judie Tzuke

Biography

Judie Tzuke ( ZOOK; born Judie Myers, 3 April 1956) is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1979 hit "Stay with Me till Dawn×Stay With Me Till DawnJune 1979 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAStay With Me Till Dawn3:54BNew Friends Again2:42", which reached number 16 on the UK singles chart.

Early life

Tzuke's family relocated from Poland to England in the 1920s, and like many other Jewish families from Eastern Europe, changed their surname - from Tzuke to Myers. Her mother, Jean Silverside, was a television actress, and 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. Tzuke preferred the original family name, started using it at school and so, when Tzuke embarked on her singing career, she used it as her stage name.
Educated in the visual arts, performing arts, and music, Tzuke 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. Under the name Tzuke & Paxo, they eventually secured a recording contract and the duo released a single, "These are the Laws", produced by Tony Visconti.

Early success

Tzuke's career as a solo artist began in 1977, when she signed to Elton John's label The Rocket Record Company. Her first single on Rocket, "For You×For You16 June 1978 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAFor You2:40BSukarita3:15", was released in 1978. Her most notable success, "Stay with Me till Dawn×Stay With Me Till DawnJune 1979 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAStay With Me Till Dawn3:54BNew Friends Again2:42", was released in 1979. The song, which was co-written with Mike Paxman, became a top 20 hit on the UK Singles Chart in the summer of 1979 and a top 10 hit in Australia and was featured on Tzuke's 1979 debut album, Welcome to the Cruise×Welcome to the Cruise1979 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Welcome to the Cruise4:59A2Sukarita3:30A3For You2:42A4These Are the Laws4:45A5Bring the Rain5:07B1Southern Smiles3:51B2Katiera Island5:15B3Ladies Night4:02B4New Friends Again2:44B5Stay With Me Till Dawn3:56, which was also a top 20 hit on the UK Albums Chart. In 2002, "Stay with Me till Dawn" was chosen by the British public in a poll of the 50 Best British Songs 1952–2002 (ranking at number 39).
Tzuke's second album, Sports Car (1980), charted higher than her debut album (reaching No. 7 in the UK) and contained one single, "Living on the Coast", which failed to chart. Both albums were certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry in 1981. Tzuke became Elton John's support act for his North American tour, and she was the opening act in front of 400,000 people who turned out to watch his free concert at New York's Central Park on September 13, 1980. She went on to release one more album on Rocket, I Am the Phoenix×I Am the Phoenix1981 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Black Furs4:30A2Higher and Higher4:37A3Fate’s Wheels4:59A4Come Hell or Waters High3:14A5You Were the Place4:57B1City of Swimming Pools5:42B2You Are the Phoenix4:41B3The Flesh Is Weak5:09B4I Never Know Where My Heart Is5:18 (1981), which also made the UK top 20.

1982–1995

In 1982, Tzuke signed to Chrysalis Records and released her fourth album, Shoot the Moon×Shoot the Moon1982 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Heaven Can Wait4:342Love on the Border3:183Information3:084Beacon Hill3:595Don’t Let Me Sleep3:396I’m Not a Loser3:307Now There Is No Love at All4:148Late Again3:169Liggers at Your Funeral5:3210Water in Motion3:3711Shoot the Moon0:38. Although the album reached the UK top 20, it was Tzuke's last album to do so. Three singles were taken from the album (including a 7" picture disc release for "I'm Not a Loser"), but none were chart hits. Tzuke completed a 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 by ITV. Several performances from the tour were recorded and released at the end of 1982 as a double album, Road Noise: The Official Bootleg×Road Noise: The Official Bootleg1984 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 18 tracks · 2 discsDisc 1A1Heaven Can Wait4:55A2Chinatown4:03A3I’m Not a Loser3:49A4Information3:21B1You Are the Phoenix4:14B2The Flesh Is Weak4:15B3Sportscar6:08B4For You4:32B5Come Hell or Waters High3:40Disc 2C1Southern Smiles3:52C2Katiera Island9:39C3Love on the Border3:19C4Black Furs4:31D1City of Swimming Pools5:08D2Bring the Rain3:45D3Sukarita3:36D4Stay With Me Till Dawn4:12D5The Hunter4:19.
In 1983, Rocket issued a compilation album, The Best of Judie Tzuke×The Best of Judie Tzuke1983 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1New Friends Again2:432Black Furs4:303Sukarita3:244Sports Car5:465For You2:426These Are the Laws4:407Welcome to the Cruise4:598Come Hell or Waters High3:129Higher and Higher4:3410Chinatown4:4411Stay With Me Till Dawn3:51, and released the track "Black Furs" as a single (the original version of which was on Tzuke's 1981 album I Am the Phoenix×I Am the Phoenix1981 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Black Furs4:30A2Higher and Higher4:37A3Fate’s Wheels4:59A4Come Hell or Waters High3:14A5You Were the Place4:57B1City of Swimming Pools5:42B2You Are the Phoenix4:41B3The Flesh Is Weak5:09B4I Never Know Where My Heart Is5:18). September 1983 saw the release of Tzuke's fifth studio album, Ritmo×Ritmo1983 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Jeannie No4:302She Don’t Live Here Anymore4:223Shoot From the Heart4:274Face to Face5:155Another Country2:576Nighthawks5:047Walk Don’t Walk4:388Push Push, Pull Pull3:249How Do I Feel3:48 (Spanish for "rhythm"). The album was somewhat of a departure from her previous work, with a more electronic feel. The album peaked at No. 26 in the UK.
After two albums, Tzuke left Chrysalis Records. She signed with the small independent Legacy Records for the release of her next album. A new single, "You", was released in October 1984. A cover of a lesser-known Marvin Gaye track, her version peaked at No. 92 in the UK. In March 1985, "I'll Be the One×I'll Be the One25 March 1985 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksA1I’ll Be the One5:01B1Falling3:36" was issued as a new single from Tzuke's forthcoming sixth album, The Cat Is Out×The Cat Is Out1985 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1How Sweet It Is4:462Who Do You Really Love?4:423Love Like Fire4:184I’ll Be the One5:065Girl Without a Name4:016This Side of Heaven5:367Harbour Lights5:468You4:119Falling3:4010Racing Against Time3:25, which was mainly recorded at her home studio and released in June 1985. The single peaked at No. 97, while the album peaked at No. 35 on the UK Albums Chart.
Following the muted reception of The Cat Is Out, Tzuke signed with another major label, Polydor Records, in 1987. She began working on her seventh album, though took some time off in June 1987 when she gave birth to her first daughter, Bailey. The album, Turning Stones×Turning Stones3 April 1989 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1We’ll Go Dreaming4:482Let Me Be the Pearl5:423Dominique5:084Take It All5:235Sound of My Sister’s Tears4:466Run to Win4:397Don’t Go4:558Everything Will Come4:239Modern Killers5:1410Turning Stones3:0711All They Can Do Is Talk4:34, was released in April 1989, peaking at No. 57 on the UK Albums Chart. It was preceded by the single "We'll Go Dreaming", which had peaked at No. 96 several weeks earlier.
In 1990, she switched to Columbia Records (CBS). In August, she released a new single, a cover version of the Beach Boys song "God Only Knows×God Only Knows1990 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1God Only Knows3:142Safe House3:403Calling Me Back". However, the song failed to gain chart success. The song featured in an ITV documentary series about recording techniques, where Tzuke and her producers Mike Paxman and Paul Muggleton showed how the song had been constructed using samples of her voice which were transposed into a synthesizer range. Her eighth album, Left Hand Talking×Left Hand Talking1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1One Day I Will Live in France4:252I Could Feel You3:593Liam3:504Left Hand Talking4:385Jesus Was a Cross Maker3:356Stay With Me Till Dawn3:497God Only Knows2:498Bailey's Song3:419Calling Me Back4:2110Outlaws3:59, was released by Columbia in May 1991. "Outlaws×Outlaws17 June 1991 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Outlaws4:012Dog Rose4:333Outlaws (12″ version)5:35" was released as a single by Columbia in June 1991, but neither the album nor single made an impact upon the charts. Her tenure with Columbia ended after only one album.
Tzuke signed with another small independent label for the release of her ninth album, Wonderland×Wonderland1992 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Wonderland4:452I Can Read Books4:193Swimming4:144Fly3:285She Loves His Hands5:146Sara’s Gone4:087Vivien4:198On a Ship4:599Keep Control4:5610Man and a Gun3:14, which was released in September 1992 by Essential Records (a subsidiary of the now-defunct Castle Communications). Two singles from the album, "Wonderland" and "Fly", were performed on the BBC1 lunchtime programme Pebble Mill at One in November 1992. The album, which featured musician Brian May and violinist Nigel Kennedy, did not chart.
August 1995 saw the release of two albums. The BBC issued its recording of Tzuke's "Radio 1 in Concert" performance from 1981, and Polygram issued a compilation album titled Stay with Me till Dawn×Stay With Me Till DawnJune 1979 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAStay With Me Till Dawn3:54BNew Friends Again2:42, which drew on Tzuke's first three albums released on Rocket Records with tracks from the Turning Stones album on Polydor Records.

1996–present

Tzuke released her tenth studio album, Under the Angels×Under the Angels1996 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Two Mountains4:512Parallel Lives4:023I Never Liked the Way You Looked3:554Under the Angels5:595Bad Dream4:396Life in a Bottle4:067Shouting at the Big Wall4:458Don’t Let Me Sleep3:399Without Love4:2710Joan of Arc6:17, in October 1996 on her own label, Big Moon Records. Recordings from a tour to promote the album culminated in another live album, Over the Moon×Over the Moon1997 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Wonderland5:362Under the Angels6:003Man and a Gun3:144Let Me Be the Pearl6:515Fly3:496One Day I Will Live in France4:237Higher and Higher5:088Left Hand Talking4:589Two Mountains5:2010Vivien4:0511Joan of Arc5:3812Stay With Me Till Dawn4:0413For You4:09 (1997).
In 1998, Tzuke released her eleventh studio album, Secret Agent×Secret Agent1998 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Tonight5:172Swallowing4:253Both Alone3:574That’s Where My Heart Used to Be4:375The Girl I Want to Be4:526Secret Agent4:197Little Cloud5:208Dancing on Charcoal4:159Fuel Injection4:1910Bully5:5511Move On4:3612Mother5:13, again on her own label, Big Moon. Bob Harris of BBC Radio 2 included one of the album's tracks, "Tonight", on his compilation CD Bob Harris Presents... (Vol.1). In 2000, Tzuke gained the rights to her first three albums recorded for Rocket Records and reissued them on CD via Big Moon. She named her tour later that year the "Phoenix Tour", a reference to her last Rocket Records album, I Am the Phoenix×I Am the Phoenix1981 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Black Furs4:30A2Higher and Higher4:37A3Fate’s Wheels4:59A4Come Hell or Waters High3:14A5You Were the Place4:57B1City of Swimming Pools5:42B2You Are the Phoenix4:41B3The Flesh Is Weak5:09B4I Never Know Where My Heart Is5:18. Following this came a live album, Six Days Before the Flood×Six Days Before the Flood2000 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Welcome to the Cruise5:012Living on the Coast4:413On Days Like These5:284The One That Got Away4:275Secret Agent4:366That’s Where My Heart Used to Be4:237I Don’t Believe in Miracles3:298All of Me4:209Bully4:3110Understanding3:5011Sports Car6:2612One Minute4:52 (2000), and a studio album, Queen Secret Keeper×Queen Secret Keeper2001 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Don’t Look Behind You5:342The One That Got Away4:363Do You4:3341235:375Drive7:526Indian Giver4:377Days Like These7:168All of Me4:329One Minute5:3910Little Diva4:5211Breathless4:0412Lion6:47 (2001). Another live album, Drive Live×Drive Live2002 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1We’ll Go Dreaming1:502Don’t Look Behind You4:083Parallel Lives4:344The One That Got Away4:325Left Hand Talking4:006Two Mountains4:367Bring the Rain7:038Late Again3:399On Days Like These6:3310Indian Giver4:3811Molly2:5612Drive5:3313Sukarita4:3014Lion6:0415One Minute5:3016The Choices You’ve Made3:49, was released in 2002.
Tzuke then released an album of covers, The Beauty of Hindsight, in September 2003. A self-promoted tour in September ended with two nights at London's Bush Hall. Two dates in March 2004 were played at London's Cabot Hall in Canary Wharf as part of the Docklands Music Festival and the following night at Dartford's Mick Jagger Centre.
In 2007, Tzuke released her fifteenth album, Songs×Songs2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Cup of Tea Song4:052All at Sea2:463Oh My Dayz4:444Dark Days3:455Spin3:066Jewel3:557We Don’t3:448This Time3:069Temporary4:2110That Kinda Love4:5111The Last Bus3:05 1. It was accompanied by a tour, with her daughter Bailey Tzuke on backing vocals, and collaborations with other musicians such as Gareth Gates on piano.
June 2008 saw the release of Tzuke's sixteenth studio album, Songs 2×Songs 22008 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1While She Sleeps4:342Break Your Skin3:243Wise Up4:014Modified3:305After the Crash3:456Boots2:577Pot of Gold4:158Won’t Do It Twice4:149Faith4:0710What’s It All For?4:4411You Know Who You Are4:39. The same year, she co-wrote four tracks with the band Morcheeba, and featured as a vocalist on two tracks from their Dive Deep album.
In 2010, Tzuke released a thirty-year celebratory double-album titled Moon On a Mirrorball, via a new deal with Wrasse Records. Wrasse also re-released all of Tzuke's Big Moon back catalogue as downloads, and reissued her debut album Welcome to the Cruise×Welcome to the Cruise1979 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Welcome to the Cruise4:59A2Sukarita3:30A3For You2:42A4These Are the Laws4:45A5Bring the Rain5:07B1Southern Smiles3:51B2Katiera Island5:15B3Ladies Night4:02B4New Friends Again2:44B5Stay With Me Till Dawn3:56 on CD. A live album, October Road, was recorded from the tour and was released in March 2011 via Tzuke's official website. In 2011, she contributed to John Martyn's tribute album, Johnny Boy Would Have Loved This, with a recording of Martyn's "Hurt in Your Heart".
Tzuke announced in early 2013 that work had commenced on a new album titled Woman Overboard. Due to Tzuke being diagnosed with cancer, work on the album was halted.
In 2018, Tzuke joined with Beverley Craven and Julia Fordham to record "Safe", a song that she had written with Beth Nielsen Chapman, whilst on a Chris Difford songwriting retreat. An album was released titled Woman to Woman, together with a tour of the same name in late 2018. Several dates at larger venues included orchestras.