Judie Tzuke back on the road

The great thing about not seeing Judie Tzuke in concert for a couple of years is that you forget how loud she likes to play.

Nigel Bell

For those only familiar with big hit Stay With Me 'Till Dawn there's a danger of thinking you go to a concert, slip into your chair and drift off while Judie serenades you.

Anyone thinking that in the Regal Centre audience was in for a shock.

Not that that's the immediate impression. Entering stage left, there wasn't a hint of dry ice, more a shuffle and a motley collection of musicians in denim, T-shirts and smocks squeezing onto a fairly small stage (there are seven in the band).

Indeed when you go and see Judie Tzuke, you don't go to see the singer, you must embrace her band.

This is a tight nit, almost jazz like combo, forever smiling at each other and giving those knowing nods of appreciation and encouragement when someone has played a good guitar lick or drum solo.

You almost feel they're being overly matey to give Judie the confidence to keep singing.

Not that she should worry. A woman of few stage words, she let's her voice do the talking and at Worksop her voice had never sounded better - certainly stronger than on her Secret Agent tour a couple of years ago.

New album - Queen Secret Keeper

As on that tour the set was dominated by new material, particularly from latest album Queen Secret Keeper.

Of these, new single Drive was an absolute winner, getting better with every listen. Also outstanding was One Minute, just two voices and keyboards.

That desire to sing almost unaccompanied shows Judie's willingness to put her voice on the line and stand up and be counted.

To this degree she excelled on tracks like Left Hand Talking, Late Again and Stay With Me 'Till Dawn which closed the first set.

To the other extreme, all let rip when guitarists Dave P. Goodes and Graham Kearns did their Scott Gorham / Brian Robertson impersonations.

Not quite Thin Lizzy, but on Bring The Rain, Lion and Bully they came close. Lovely stuff.

And it's nice to get something right in my preview when I said Lion would be the show closer. Indeed, it turned into a family affair when Judie's daughter Bailey took a stint on backing vocals.

No Black Furs (boo hiss) but an encore which included oldie but goldie The Choices You've Made rounded off a fine night before challenging the cold sleet outside on the drive home.

Judie Tzuke returns to Nottinghamshire on March 13th when she plays Newark Palace Theatre.