Author Archives: twilightdawning

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About twilightdawning

Amongst other things, I write professionally. I've been published everywhere from the small (Barnsley Chronicle), to the large (London Sunday Times colour supplement). I primarily write about music, theatre and sport. Most of the articles here have been previously published. No copyright infringement intended I also work in the music world. I've worked as a producer, promoter and general ideas man and conceptualizer. At the moment I'm working with Sad Cafe among others. I'm building a theatre. It's almost done after three years of planning and trying to be kind to my architect and my builders. We open in October 2012. I run a theatrical production company called "The Shakespearience". We perform an introduction to William Shakespeare for young people. Most of all I work in the charitable and faith sphere. I'm senior pastor of an unusual church in central London. I'm a busy man.

New York Yankees – The Bombers in October / November. Part 2 of 4

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The Yankees last three games of the regular season saw their pitchers deliver a combined ERA of nearly 5. Time would show that in the ALDS most of the big bats would fall silently. In short, they needed their pitchers to wake up and quickly.

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – October (Regular season)
Name GP GS GF IP H RA ER BB SO W L Sv ERA OBA
Chamberlain, Joba 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Marte, Damaso 1 0 1 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Rivera, Mariano 1 0 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Coke, Phil 2 0 0 1.2 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0.00 .167
Bruney, Brian 1 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Aceves, Alfredo 1 0 0 2.1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Gaudin, Chad 1 0 1 1.1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0.00 .200
Burnett, AJ 1 1 0 5.0 7 2 1 1 3 1 0 0 1.80 .318
Robertson, David 2 0 0 2.0 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 4.50 .250
Pettitte, Andy 1 1 0 4.1 6 5 3 4 1 0 1 0 6.23 .316
Albaladejo, Jonathan 1 0 0 1.1 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 13.50 .429
Hughes, Phil 2 0 0 0.2 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 13.50 .600
Sabathia, CC 1 1 0 2.2 8 9 5 5 3 0 1 0 16.88 .500
16 3 3 25.0 31 20 13 11 21 1 2 0 4.68 .292

New York Yankees – Pitching – Month – October (American League Division Series)
Name GP GS GF IP H RA ER BB SO W L Sv ERA OBA
Robertson, David 1 0 1 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 .250
Rivera, Mariano 3 0 2 3.2 4 0 0 1 7 0 0 1 0.00 .267
Aceves, Alfredo 1 0 0 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0.00 .250
Chamberlain, Joba 3 0 0 1.2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 .286
Coke, Phil 2 0 0 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.00 .000
Sabathia, CC 1 1 0 6.2 8 2 1 0 8 1 0 0 1.35 .296
Pettitte, Andy 1 1 0 6.1 3 1 1 1 7 1 0 0 1.42 .136
Burnett, AJ 1 1 0 6.0 3 1 1 5 6 0 0 0 1.50 .150
Hughes, Phil 3 0 0 2.0 5 2 2 1 3 0 0 0 9.00 .500
16 3 3 29.0 27 6 5 9 34 3 0 1 1.55 .243

Positives

Joba Chamberlain. Chamberlain is a conundrum. Chamberlain is an  enigma, a riddle. Just a week earlier I’d sat in my seat at Yankee Stadium and wondered f this guy could throw a strike. In his last game of the regular season, he let no-one get on base. In 3 appearances in the 3 games of the ALDS, he wasn’t quite as dominating but no-one reached home. This is Chamberlain back in the bullpen where, of course, the Yankees brass will not leave him.

Mariano Rivera. He also played in one of the last games of the regular season and all three of the ALDS games. He also gave up no runs and let few get on base. The difference is that no-one, least of all this writer, was surprised.

Phil Coke. Coke has had a mixed second season in the pinstripes but there was nothing mixed about these performances. He played two of the last three games of the regular season. He gave up one hit and nobody scored. In the ALDS, the only difference was that in his two appearances he didn’t allow a hit.

Alfredo Aceves. Aceves achieved a lot of wins during the regular season (I can’t remember anybody who achieved nearly as many from a season spent mainly in relief since the days of Lee Guetterman – and that seems almost a lifetime ago in all kinds of ways). No wins during these two snapshots but two appearances, three and a third innings, four strikeouts, one walk, one hit, no runs. If he isn’t the long reliever in 2010, we are going to have to find someone truly special to stand in his stead.

AJ Burnett. Burnett only produced 11 innings across his last league appearance and his first post-season appearance but he did almost everything else right.

Negatives

Phil Hughes. You have to look pretty hard to find disappointing pitching for the Yankees during the ALDS but there is one obvious candidate. Hughes spent the post-season struggling and he looked just as bad during the last few days of the regular season. For most of the season he looked like he had finally found a role he could be consistent in at the Major League level (not that the Yankees were going to leave him there!) but at the last fences he fell apart completely. In less than 3 innings across 5 games, he allowed 9 men to get on base and he was depending on others to make sure only three of them scored.

Jonathan Albaladejo. Too often during the last two seasons, Albaladejo has lost his place on the Major League roster when everyone was available without doing anything wrong. If he had any chance of making the Division Series roster then he blew it completely with his last appearance, allowing 4 men to get on base (2 scoring) across 1.1 innings.

Surprises

Brian Bruney. Bruney was another who didn’t make the roster for the Division Series but in his case the decision followed one of his best appearances of the season. He had a very patchy year and it was his own fault that his name wasn’t already pencilled in but he must have sensed at this point that he was unlikely to return to the Bronx in 2010.

CC Sabathia. There hasn’t been much that is negative to say about CC’s first season as a Yankee but his final regular season appearance was horrible. Those of us who could count had already calculated that the Yankees didn’t want any situations in the playoffs where they would need to call on more than 3 of their rotation. The thought that their no. 1 guy was going to fall apart at the last moment was too much to bear. Thankfully, Sabathia was "business as usual" by the time the first playoff series began.

David Robertson. Given the periods during the season when Robertson was out of the reckoning, there were those who were surprised to see him facing the Twins at all. That his first ever post-season appearance saw him come into the game with the scores tied and that (despite one wobble) he closed the game out with the win suggests that this guy has what it takes to be a fixture in the Yankees bullpen.

Andy Pettitte. Pettitte was another to step up to the mark and deliver the goods in the ALDS despite a poor performance in the last week of the season. Don’t know why I think this is surprising, he’s been doing it for years!!

New York Yankees – The Bombers in October / November. Part 1 of 4

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The Yankees last few games of the regular season were ones to be got through and hope for a minimum of injuries. The Division Series is tricky simply because being only five games long, it can be argued that the team who have had to play right down to the wire to qualify quite often go into game 1 with the highest level of momentum. However, this year despite the Yankees bats falling quiet , there were to be no upsets and the Twins were seen off in three games.

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – October (Regular Season)
Name G AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SH SF SB BA SLG OBP
Pena, Ramiro 3 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500
Rodriguez, Alex 2 7 2 3 7 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 .429 1.286 .429
Damon, Johnny 2 8 1 3 3 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .375 .625 .375
Cabrera, Melky 2 6 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .333 .333 .333
Miranda, Juan 3 3 2 1 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 .333 1.333 .333
Gardner, Brett 3 7 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 .286 .286 .375
Hairston Jr., Jerry 3 7 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 .286 .444
Jeter, Derek 2 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .286 .286 .286
Molina, Jose 2 8 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 .250 .375 .250
Guzman, Freddy 3 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .250 .250 .250
Cano, Robinson 3 9 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .222 .222 .222
Matsui, Hideki 2 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .167 .167 .167
Teixeira, Mark 3 6 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 .167 .167 .444
Hinske, Eric 3 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 .167 .167 .286
Posada, Jorge 2 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .143 .143 .143
Swisher, Nick 3 7 2 1 0 1 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 .143 .286 .455
Duncan, Shelley 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Cervelli, Francisco 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
106 17 27 16 4 0 3 8 23 0 0 4 .255 .377 .325

New York Yankees – Batting – Month – October (American League Division Series)
Name G AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SO SH SF SB BA SLG OBP
Rodriguez, Alex 3 11 4 5 6 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 .455 1.000 .500
Jeter, Derek 3 10 4 4 2 2 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 .400 .900 .538
Posada, Jorge 3 11 1 4 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 .364 .636 .364
Matsui, Hideki 3 9 1 2 2 0 0 1 3 3 0 0 0 .222 .556 .417
Cabrera, Melky 3 12 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 .167 .167 .167
Cano, Robinson 3 12 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .167 .167 .167
Teixeira, Mark 3 12 3 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 .167 .417 .231
Damon, Johnny 3 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 .083 .083 .154
Swisher, Nick 3 12 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 .083 .167 .083
Molina, Jose 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
102 15 23 15 3 0 6 9 22 0 0 0 .225 .431 .288


Positives

Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez has hardly had the easiest season although much of the damage has been self-inflicted in one way or another. It also needs to be noted that of all the Yankees’ big names, he is the one who has most often fallen flat when it comes to these big occasions. How delightful then to see him hitting for average in games 160, 161 and 162 when the outcome didn’t matter and adding some much needed power when the ALDS came along.

Derek Jeter. Jeter, on the other hand, has been just what the sport needed all season. A great sportsman who produces consistently and is concerned about character and appearance. 2 doubles, 1 home run, 3 walks. As the Yankees had to scratch out runs Jeter was just the guy to help them achieve that goal.

Jorge Posada. Posada was quiet in the latter days of the season but he did what needed to be done in the post-season albeit by sparking a little controversy along the way.

Juan Miranda. Miranda was never going to be on the post-season roster but he used the opportunities that he got at the end of the regular season to further his ambition of being part of that squad in 2010. Just as he did at the close of 2008, he was able to bring both hitting-for-average and power to some rather lacklustre team performances.

Negatives

Nick Swisher. Swisher is obviously a good clubhouse presence but he is also just about the streakiest player in the major leagues at this time and late October saw his bat fall very quiet once again.

Mark Teixeira. Teixeira has had a great season with the bat and defensively but in late October he went back to the form that he had shown in April.

Robinson Cano. Cano was one more who began to slumber as the season drew to a close and couldn’t be woken by the crowds of the ALDS.

Shelley Duncan. Another who was never going to play a part in the post-season but who had once last stab to make it as a Yankee after a good season at AAA. Expect his two at-bats against Tampa to be his last as a Yankee.

Surprises

Ramiro Pena. Pena’s reward for the two hits in his last four at-bats of the season was to be left off the post-season roster just as his continually impressive play in the regular season so him demoted to AAA. Go figure……

Eric Hinske. Hinske on the other hand who looked over-matched most of the season would be included in the roster to face the Twins but never got off the bench. Useful selection.

Francisco Cervelli. And whilst I’m moaning at the Yankees failure to give opportunities to youth, let’s not forget Cervelli who has a future with the Yankees and …….

Jose Molina. ……..who does not. Cashman and Girardi went with Molina. No disrespect to Jose who has done a very good job backing up Posada during his time with the Yankees but that time is over and Cervelli needs to be tested in the big situation.

Trying to catch up

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I still haven’t got my baseball analyses for October and the post-season up on the site. They have appeared elsewhere but I’m going to try and get them transcribed and up on the blog prior to New Year.

Meanwhile, it seems like the Yankees are not content to sit on their laurels. They’ve re-signed Andy Pettitte and failed to re-sign their World Series MVP Hideki Matsui (now with the Angels). They’ve brought in Curtis Granderson for centrefield and starting pitcher Javier Vazquez is going to be given a second go around. Meanwhile, relief pitchers, Phil Coke, Ian Kennedy and Mike Dunn are gone as part of those trades as are prospects Austin Jackson and Arodys Vizcaino. Brian Bruney has gone from last season’s strongest team (Yankees) to last season’s weakest (Nationals). Most significantly, for my money, the Vazquez trade sees Melky Cabrera heading in the opposite direction and preparing to pull on a Braves shirt next year. Cabrera bounced back from a horrible 2008 campaign and I think the Yankees are significantly under-rating him.

Along Came…… Alice

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Alice Cooper

The Theatre of Death Tour 2009

Hammersmith Apollo

6th December 2009

A couple of years ago I did an interview with Alice Cooper when he was touring the UK promoting an autobiographical volume “Golf Monster” which taught me more about that game with the stick, the little ball and the hole than I’ll ever need to know. As a consequence, I was invited to write a little promotional material for his SPV release “Along Came A Spider” which is for my money the best album he has made for several years and one of the best of his career. After that there was talk of touring the album which came to nothing and in its place, Alice has been touring a show called “Theatre of Death” which finally reached London this weekend.

“Theatre of Death” is essentially a Greatest Hits show with the added visual attraction that Alice dies five times during the course of the show. Support for the tour is Manraze. Manraze feature Phil Collen from Def Leppard and Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols and certainly have the fire and panache to carry off a great visual show but on this evidence, they just don’t have the songs. If you were going to return home after the show with memories of any of the choruses, they were certainly going to come from Alice’s portion of the night and not from Manraze.

Alice’s set was being filmed for a prospective future DVD release and he showed that, like him or hate him, he is still the consummate showman. Tonight he was given a lethal injection from a huge comedy syringe, he was hung by the neck until dead, he was executed by guillotine and died in a magician’s sword trick or two but still came back to thrill the audience with a full-blooded encore of “Schools Out”.

The songs ran the whole gamut of his career from his first group of albums through his commercial rebirth with “Poison” to “Vengeance is Mine” from the recent “Along Came A Spider” record I mentioned.

However, that song aside the set was light on songs from his most recent albums and this is the downside of playing the hits. The commercial market for singles from someone like Alice is dead and so while the albums continue to sell well you’re unlikely to see him locking horns with Lady GaGa in the UK Top 40 singles chart anytime soon. If I was selecting Alice’s set I would choose more material from the new album, from “Last Temptation”, from “Brutal Planet” but it is a small complaint when we have just a rich smorgasbord in front of us.

And it is the visuals with Alice that will keep you coming back for more. He goes through more costume changes than anyone in the rock world this side of Stevie Nicks. He waves a sabre at the crowd, unloads “Alice” dollars in their direction and throws out necklaces of “Dirty Diamonds”. That he manages to do all this without hardly missing a beat is truly a feat of energy and stagecraft. Alice is not going to see 50 again but he is lean and has enough momentum to carry him for the beginning of the show to the end and then some.

Vincent Furnier with his golf club and his Bible has, thankfully, cleaned up his act, but Alice is still the reprobate villain of the stage we know and love and long may he run.

Past or Present…… Tense

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Gary Numan

The Pleasure Principle Tour 2009

The Junction, Cambridge

1st December 2009

Numan has decided to perform “The Pleasure Principle” album as it was, back in the day, in 1979. Out comes the skinny tie and digital synthesizers with patches to emulate the sounds produced by the analog models that were used on an album that has become highly esteemed in recent years. In 1979, Gary Numan was disparaged by the critics. Now they love him.

When Numan toured two previous classic albums – Telekon and Replicas – he updated the sound of those albums to fit his current style. This time there is no such tampering but there will be a second set featuring songs which are not from The Pleasure Principle and those songs will be presented in Gary’s current modus operandi. It will be interesting to see which wins – the new against the old – not only artistically but in the view of the crowd.

The Junction is a fairly bog standard rock venue. Standing only. Cramped. Dark. Your shoes keep sticking to the floor where drink has been spilled on a previous night and little effort has been made to clear up. The sound reproduction is good but the stage is small. This, in itself,is a problem. Numan is jammed behind a keyboard for most of this first set and reproducing the old keyboard sounds on the modern synths takes little effort on the part of the band. All very static. This used to work in the old days on huge stages with vast light shows. It is a testimony to the ability of this band that they still manage to hold your attention.

The songs are well performed but the performance is rather sedentary and there is a great sound but not much to watch. The set list has its brave moments, not too many acts would open their show with two instrumentals. The second of these is “Airlane” which heralds an in-order run through of the album. High points? “M.E.” and the seldom performed “Conversation”. On “Tracks”, Numan blows the lyric completely. During “Asylum” the stage is rearranged for the second half. Once the table that Numan’s keyboard is stood upon is taken away and Chris McCormack straps on his electric guitar the whole feel of the show changes.

Whether because he is now able to perform in his preferred style or whether because being out from behind the keyboard frees him, Numan is now much more energetic and moves around the stage with poise, mystery and momentum.

The first song in this section of this set is the yet unreleased “The Fall” which bodes well for forthcoming releases. “Halo”, “Jagged” and “Haunted” from recent albums are all performed well but it is ironic that the high points of the second half are a storming “Down in the Park” and a version of “Are ‘Friends’ Electric” which alternates between a gentle piano-like sound and thunderous keyboards and guitars. There is clear evidence that whatever the quality and energy of his performance, Numan’s songwriting is no longer what it once was. Too often his recent lyrics address his dislike of religion and playing on this one lyrical note can soon become tired whatever your own views. In this regard using a burning cross on his video screen – an image with racial and Ku Klux Klan overtones as well as religious ones – was not exactly his most sensitive decision.

Aside from this the visual elements of the show work well and the show builds towards a dynamic conclusion with “We Are So Fragile” (old) and “A Prayer From the Unborn” (fairly new). Ironically, the restricted movements of the first half giving way to the torrent of activity of the second gives the illusion of a build in energy which works well. In reality, both halves of the show work well in their own way and the performance is a huge success.

This is likely to be the last of these album-revisited tours that Numan will do. It is hard to see him performing the excellent “Dance” album with the current configuration of his band. The last model of combining the old and the new has worked well and will hopefully bring some of his old audience to a greater appreciation of the newer material and performance style. Hopefully, they won’t notice the falling away of the songwriting content as much as this reviewer does. But that is something only Gary can address and the increasing gap between his studio albums suggests he is not close to finding an answer..…….

Eleventh Hour for Twelfth Night

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I normally get to see the RSC’s productions at the beginning of their run and I’m then able to prepare the review early. This one is unusual as, because of my personal workload, I didn’t get to see Twelfth Night until three nights before it finished. I decided to prepare a review anyway – even though it’s likely to influence exactly nothing.

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An Indepth Look at Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart

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Bob Dylan

Christmas in the Heart

Columbia Records 88697 57323 2

Making an album of Christmas music would seem to be about as middle-of-the-road and as polite and inoffensive a project as a singer could have. So it would seem. But when Bob Dylan decided to announce the release of his forthcoming Christmas album, it got the online critics’ fires a-blazing!

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Judie Tzuke – 30 years – A Celebration

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Thirty years of any career deserves a celebration. Surviving thirty years in the MUSIC industry is a particular accomplishment. And so friends, fans and family were called together to honour Judie Tzuke.

Arriving early at The Bedford in Balham, we were able to take seats at the front of the stage.

Compere for the night, Vin Goodwin opened the evening’s events with a satirical take on Judie’s best known song “Stay with Me Till Dawn”. Vin was a charming and affable presence to host the events and as he left the stage he was replaced by the heavily pregnant, Mia Silvas. Mia took lead vocals on the next song, “Bully” and was supported by Bailey and Tallula Tzuke. Vin’s opening satire had reminded us that Judie is best known for her ballads and an aggressive and fiery rocker like “Bully” is a necessary balance. In some ways, it is surprising then that not more of songs of this kind were used and the evening did rather concentrate on those self-same ballads.

Between the ballads and the occasional rocker, more than 20 musicians took the stage. Speaking poignantly of Judie’s role in encouraging their musical and personal development, there were those who had written with Judie and those who had performed with her and recorded with her. The few for whom great distance meant they could not be present had sent their video greetings. Judie’s former keyboard player and co-writer, Bob Noble sent his greetings from the United States. Lucie Silvas who is also now living in the U.S. and whose solo career Judie helped to launch not only sent a message but her version of Judie’s wonderful song “Joan of Arc” was recorded and played – and accompanied by video images that Vin had developed for the occasion.
Tony Moore contributed his version of Judie’s mid-paced, mid-life crisis number, “the Cup of Tea Song” which he stretched out to meet the needs of his voice, whilst Tom Baxter performed three songs with his band that Judie had helped him write for his own albums: “Icarus Wings”, “Skybound”, and “Love is Not Enough”.

Mia Silvas

Highlights included Lorna Blackwood delivering her own version of one of Judie’s strongest recent songs, “Dark Days”, and Vashti’s take on “All at Sea” which originated on the same album.

Many of these very capable singers commented how difficult it was to sing songs which Judie had written for her own range and for her own sense of melody. Bailey recalled how she had forced her Mum to sing “Choices You’ve Made” on a recent tour before finding how difficult that rocker is to sing and promising never to obligate her in that way again.

Ms Tzuke’s ear for young and up and coming talent was shown by the performances by Laura and the Tears (“See You Later”) and Tim Deal (“Parallel Lives”) both of whom have emerged under Judie’s tutelage.

One of Jude’s first compositions was “Ladies’ Night” and there was something particularly poignant about hearing it performed by her eldest daughter as Bailey returned to the stage following on from a gentle performance of the beautiful ballad “One Minute” by Mia.

Bailey Tzuke

Only one thing remained to round out the evening – the chant of “Jud-ie” went up and the lady in whose honour the whole evening was put together was encouraged to come to stage. Visibly moved by the whole occasion, Ms Tzuke, the elder, complied. Joined by Richard Cardwell, she first performed a beautiful version of “Man and A Gun” from her “Wonderland” album. This was followed by the predictable but essential “Stay With Me Till Dawn. Friends old and new – Mike Paxman, Ben Mark et al – joined her on stage. Pax took his signature solo on the hit and rousing applause and standing ovation aside before we knew we were spilling out into the night.

Quite wonderful

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Judie Tzuke

Judie Tzuke – 30 years – A Chronology

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Sunday night was a good night to celebrate an anniversary with a lady who has been a consistent presence in the UK music industry for 30 years and who has simply one of the greatest voices in rock. More of that in a little while but first let me give you a bit of chronology and a bit of background for those who came in late.

Judie Tzuke first rose to public view (after a couple of false starts) with her album, “Welcome to the Cruise”, in 1979. The single taken from the album, “Stay With Me Till Dawn”, remains her only success on the UK singles chart. After that she was known mainly as an albums’ artist – but because of “….Dawn” she was principally recognised for her ability to compose and sing ballads.

“Welcome to the Cruise” had some great songs but lacked a little in cogent direction in the production department. Her second and third albums, “Sportscar” and “I Am the Phoenix”, took her in a rockier direction. These albums closed out her contract with Rocket (a label owned by Elton John).

Her first album for her new label, Chrysalis, was “Shoot the Moon” in 1982. It was followed by a live set “Road Noise” which showed that her and her band could certainly rock out. Her audience had expanded to include the fringes of the “New Wave of British Heavy Metal” brigade and whilst each of these albums charted, she had become cast as another “rock chick” appreciated by those who liked their Stevie Nicks and Heart albums. Trouble was that too narrowly defined Judie’s talents and it was a mould that she was to seek to break out of, even if she lost her audience in the process.

1983s “Ritmo” was an effort to take her music in a more keyboard dominated but funkier and rhythmic direction. It didn’t sell as well as its predecessors and Chrysalis withdrew their backing.

Another label move followed as she switched to Legacy for an album “The Cat is Out” which sought to combine the synthesizers of “Ritmo” with the rock and ballads of her commercial successes. Crucially, Judie was to leave most of the composing to her band on this one giving a suggestion that she was not convinced by what might be perceived by some as a backward step. Bad distribution and a lower profile label led to a further decline in sales despite a successful tour. This 1985 album was to be her one and only for Legacy and heralded the beginning of the splintering of her touring band:bassist John “Rhino” Edwards left and joined Status Quo.

The cat may have been out but Ms Tzuke seemed to be heading for cover. It was four years before she resurfaced with a new long term deal with Polydor, a new album and a promised new tour. The album “Turning Stones” gave her the most disappointing chart placing to date and was more esoteric than “Ritmo” and a much more determined effort than its predecessor. Whether because of disappointing sales or some other reason the tour was swiftly cancelled, the album disappeared from the shelves after one pressing and the much talked of long association with Polydor was brief indeed.

CBS was the next label to take a chance on Judie and in 1991 they released the patchy affair “Left Hand Talking”. This had a re-working of “Stay With Me Till Dawn”, covers of the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” and Judee Sill’s “Jesus was a Cross Maker” and seven new compositions that were good in their own right but didn’t necessarily feel like they belonged together. It was the first album in Tzuke’s career that hadn’t charted and the record company promoted the preceding single (the Beach Boys song) with much more vigour than they did the album.

Another year, another label. Castle Communications were the parent company behind Legacy who had released the 1985 album and it was back to them and their “Essential” imprint that Judie headed in 1992. “Wonderland” was a much more thought out affair than its predecessor and was accompanied by some live concerts, TV promotion and a couple of singles. Still sales were unremarkable despite guest appearances on the album by Queen’s Brian May and the current classical darling of the moment, Nigel Kennedy. This was Tzuke at her most mature and thoughtful and still the public wasn’t biting. It was becoming clear that Judie’s days of charting albums and big sales were behind her. If she was to carry on in the music industry then the emphasis would need to be on artistic integrity and a refusal to bend to the whims of the major labels – whilst retaining the support of a dedicated fanbase. It would take a couple of years to figure this out but when it happened Judie Tzuke’s internet-only, artist-owned label, Big Moon, would be a pioneer of its kind.

The second part of Judie Tzuke’s career saw her produce a series of thoughtful studio albums and several live recordings each accompanied by a tour of small-to-medium sized venues around the UK. By this time Judie had settled into domestic life with two children, Bailey and Tallula, by her bandmate, Paul Muggleton. The rest of her original touring band had gone their separate ways with last man standing Mike Paxman soon to be heading in new directions too.

Four years had again elapsed before the appearance of 1996’s Under the Angels. The album couldn’t be found in the stores but healthy promotion was achieved at live concerts where the fact that Judie had a new album, and her own label was notified to everyone who attended. This was alongside “Wonderland” the most accomplished set of Ms Tzuke’s career and her new artistic freedom fitted her well.

Tours in February and June 1997 were recorded for the live album “Over the Moon” which covered the whole of her career to date and when the touring was finished and with sales of the live album healthy, Judie set to work on the next studio album “Secret Agent” which was released in 1998.

This formula of studio album – tour – live album was obviously the way to go and so the last leg of the “Secret Agent” tour was recorded for “Six Days Before the Flood” which was released immediately before the next studio set “Queen Secret Keeper” in 2001.

Another outside label, East Central One came sniffing around this album and promised to make a single out of “Drive” from the record. Its failure to materialise can only have further battered Tzuke’s opinion of record labels.

Undeterred, “Drive Live” was 2002’s live document of the 2001 tour of the album. By now, Judie’s recording studio, label and home had become the nurturing ground for another generation of musicians who were learning their trade, co-writing and being mentored by Judie. Their presence was seen increasingly on her tours and also began to reflect itself in the music charts as first Lucie Silvas and then Judie’s daughter, Bailey Tzuke began to make their presence known.

But everything has its time and this cycle of activity was about to slow down and give way to another chapter. But first there were some loose ends to tie up. First an album of covers “The Beauty of Hindsight – Volume 1”, again accompanied by a tour – this time with a tour programme partially written by yours truly.

2004’s album “The End of the Beginning” had a title which said everything. This was probably one of the three best albums of her career but it was also the last of its kind to date. If Big Moon was to continue it was going to need to move in a new direction which would allow Judie to break out of the constant cycle of touring and recording and allow her to concentrate on her work developing others’ talents, songwriting with her circle of friends but also with the increasingly large number of acts that the majors were pushing in her direction. The beginning of Big Moon had been one thing and that time was at an end and now there was a new thing but first time for one last regular tour (again accompanied by a tour booklet in which my writings were featured).

It would be three years before there would be another Judie Tzuke album on Big Moon and with “Songs 1” and its follow up “Songs 2”, the emphasis was away from a thematic album and back with a much looser collection of songs which just reflected the songwriting prior to its release. When a tour came, it was much less Judie and made room for performances from the stable of talent she was developing with Ms Tzuke like a proud mother hen pushing her associates out into the limelight.

Now in 2009, I hear whispers of a new development with talk of an album partially made up of old songs and to be released into the stores by a label other than Big Moon……. Haven’t we heard and seen this before….. and it didn’t work then.

Only time will tell whether this latest chapter in the career of the unsinkable Judie Tzuke will be a high point or a low point.

In the meantime, there was a gathering of friends and fans to help her celebrate her thirty years in the business and I’ll tell you about that in a subsequent post……….

From Hallowe’en to Fireworks

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Place: Elland Road, Leeds
Date: 31st October 2009
Event: Leeds United vs Yeovil Town

Leeds, coming off the back of a 4-0 victory over promotion rivals Bristol Rovers, were expected to dominate their next opponents easily. Yeovil Town securely in mid-table and not looking likely to go much higher, were not perceived to be the threat that the Pirates had been but half way through the game it all looked like it might go wrong. It looked like we might be on our way to a hallowe’en- flavoured nightmare.

Leeds had begun the game with Ankergren in goal. Higgs was still unavailable. Ankergren is not the safest pair of hands but their only other alternative is young Alan Martin. In defence, Patrick Kisnorbo and Richard Naylor are a solid pair in the centre of defence. Leigh Bromby, at right back, looked solid as a feeder down the wing to winger, Snodgrass but less comfortable when under pressure from the Yeovil forwards. Left back, Andy Hughes, is not in his most natural position in that slot but did reasonably well in a team that looked flat and uninspired.

Micky Doyle playing immediately in front of the central defenders did okay in the first half but Leeds needed more playmakers to feed the front pair. In a game where Leeds’ main tactic seemed to be to bypass the central midfield as they sought to hump it upfield hard and fast when they could not carry the ball down the flanks, Jonny Howson and Bradley Johnson had really no role to play. Amazingly in the first half Leeds had gone in front but hardly looked like they deserved that lead.

Robert Snodgrass had been by far the brightest of the three forward players. Jermaine Beckford is, of course, a proven force but his partnership with Sam Vokes looks hardly worth the name. They look like someone needs to take them aside in the dressing room and introduce them. In the first half, they both sought to lead the line in their own way but, really, there was no interaction between them.

Beckford is lethal when he has the ball but does not impose himself or create space when he is off-the-ball. The players looked like they expected to win just by turning up. The goal when it had come on 42 minutes looked like the final touch had come from Beckford but later examination of video footage was to reveal that no contact was made and the goal belonged to Bradley Johnson.

The second half started in exactly the same vein and the crowd was growing quiet as that feeling that we were going to take this slender lead into the late stage of a game in which Yeovil might just grab a share began to develop.

And then on the hour came Simon Grayson’s masterstroke. In one moment, he showed why he is the mostly highly rated manager in the lower divisions. Leeds needed a big change in midfield and someone with spark and play-making skill and Grayson had just the move in mind.

In a double switch, he brought an end to this developing hallowe’en and gave us the fireworks a few days early. On came Neil Kilkenny to replace Michael Doyle who really was an unneeded presence on this occasion. Most significantly, Andrew Hughes was pulled off to make room for Max Gradel, a loan player who has come in from Leicester.

It was Gradel who was to prove the difference in taking this team from their flat first hour to a final third of the game when they tore Yeovil apart.

Gradel ran himself forward at every opportunity. He wrapped the defence in knots. He outpaced the full back to make the vital cross on numerous occasions and he wasn’t afraid to try a snapshot himself. Indeed, it was Gradel who with a goal of brilliant individuality made it 2-0. This came shortly after he had providing a dangerous opening for Beckford and shortly before he fed Howson for another chance.

Beckford and Vokes finally met when the former fed off the latter’s flick to give a three goal lead.

Shortly afterwards, Beckford the goalscorer made way for Tresor Kandol who was later to add a fourth goal.

There were even more fireworks after the final whistle when Kandol seemed to get a little too lively in exchanges with opponents. There had been other chances during the actual game and Leeds were unlucky not to make it more than four.

A jubilant crowd eventually moved away having forgotten the woeful beginning to this game. Leeds can’t afford to become complacent. Perhaps a permanent deal for man-of-the match, Gradel could provide an on-going spark that they were so sorely lacking in the first hour.