After an education in the arts, music and drama, by the age of 15, Tzuke spent most of her time writing poems which she turned into songs and playing folk clubs, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. She went to Island Records to try and get a record deal and after she'd played two songs was asked if she had any more. She replied that she had twenty, which she didn't, and they asked her to come back and record them the following week. She didn't return, but their interest made her realise that she could have a career in music.
In 1977 Tzuke went to see managing director David Croker at Elton John's label 'Rocket Records' as their motto was "a label for artists". She played them a few songs, one of which was "Stay with Me Till Dawn" and was immediately signed to the new label. Judie and collaborator Mike Paxman spent the next six months or so recording her first album Welcome to the Cruise at Air Studios in London, with producer John Punter.
The first single was released in the summer of 1978, entitled "For You" and was greeted with great critical acclaim and substantial air-play but only reached the top 40.
This was to all change with the release of the Welcome to the Cruise album and the single "Stay with Me Till Dawn". The song stayed in the UK charts for 16 weeks, and she made three live appearances on Top of the Pops. The song became a firm favourite and is still played regularly on radio in the U.K. It has appeared on dozens of compilation albums and regularly appears in lists of all time most popular songs.
With the success of her debut album, Judie and Mike put together the first Judie Tzuke band. Paul Muggleton on guitar and backing vocals and Bob Noble on keyboards, along with bass player John Edwards and drummer Jeff Rich.
Tzuke and her band then toured for the next 18 months and made her second album Sportscar at Virgin's Manor studios, in Oxfordshire.
In 1980, Tzuke and her band toured America for three months as support to Elton John. The tour was well received, but during the tour Elton John decided to change the US distribution for his Rocket label from MCA to the new Geffin label. MCA consequently decided to stop all tour support and promotion for the acts on the Rocket label, which meant that Judie was playing to huge audiences, including 450,000 people in New York's Central Park, but no-one knew who she was and her records were not available in the shops.
She recorded her third album I Am the Phoenix, followed by another lengthy UK tour which culminated in appearances headlining the Glastonbury CND Festival and some summer festivals in Europe. She then made the decision to leave Rocket and to sign with Chrysalis Records.
Judie was by this time selling out halls all over the UK and in parts of Europe. Her next album Shoot the Moon was recorded mainly at Rockfield studios in Wales and was released in 1982.
During the spring tour two sell out shows at the Hammersmith Odeon (now The Carling Apollo) were recorded and later that year the acclaimed live album Roadnoise was released.
Judie, Mike and Paul wrote new songs and went to Mayfair studios in London to record her fifth album, augmenting her stage band with a number of other musicians.
Throughout the late 80s and 90s, Judie has continued to record and tour, and has set up her own record label. In addition, she is now successfully writing songs for other artists.
www.tzuke.com
Drive
Judie Tzuke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nothing's wrong but there are some things
You don't want to know about
Even I've got some secrets that I never want to tell
And there are times when I want and I need to be somewhere else
Oh, when it's gonna be one of those days
When the world isn't turning my way
I just get in my car and drive
When I can't make it out of the blues
When I want to step out of my shoes
When I need somewhere private to cry
I just get in my car and drive
Drive
Like the sky sometimes I am more lightning than thundercloud
I'd explain but I don't know myself
What I'm all about
So when I feel a storm coming on
I drive out of town
Let me go 'cause I don't want you there
When I'm breaking down
Oh, when it's gonna be one of those days
When the world isn't turning my way
When I can't find a reason to try
I just get in my car and drive
When I can't make it out of the blues
When I want to step out of my shoes
When I need somewhere private to cry
I just get in my car and drive
Drive
Drive
Drive
When it's gonna be one of those days
When the world isn't turning my way
When I can't find a reason to try
I just get in my car
I just get in my car
When I can't make it out of the blues
When I want to step out of my shoes
When I need somewhere private to cry
I just get in my car
I just get in my car and drive
Drive
Drive
Drive
When it's gonna be one of those days
When the world isn't turning my way
When I can't find a reason to try
I just get in my car
I just get in my car and drive
The lyrics to Judie Tzuke's song "Drive" suggest that the singer has secrets that they don't want to share, and at times, they need to be alone and drive to escape their troubles. The first verse suggests that the singer has secrets that they don't want to share, and there are specific things that the other person doesn't want to know. The second verse illustrates the character of the singer by comparing them to a thundercloud, suggesting that she might be more unpredictable than what meets the eye. The singer doesn't like people being around when she gets emotional and breaks down, hence prefers driving alone than having people around.
The chorus of the song repeats several times and highlights the singer's tendency to escape her problems by hopping in a car and driving herself away. When times get rough, and she needs privacy, she doesn't try to find space where she is or share her feelings with someone else; instead, she gets in her car and drives away, seeking solace in being alone.
Overall, the song is about the importance of finding solace in solitude at times, and, in a way, it celebrates vulnerability and the desire to disappear when things get too much to bear.
Line by Line Meaning
If I don't always seem like I'm ready to talk it out
Sometimes I don't feel like sharing my thoughts and feelings
Nothing's wrong but there are some things
There's nothing to worry about, but there may be some things I don't want to discuss
You don't want to know about
It's not something you'd want to hear or talk about
Even I've got some secrets that I never want to tell
I have my own secrets that I don't want anyone to know
And there are times when I want and I need to be somewhere else
Sometimes I just need to take some time for myself and get away from everything
Oh, when it's gonna be one of those days
When I have a feeling it's going to be a difficult day
When the world isn't turning my way
When things aren't going the way I want them to
When I can't find a reason to try
When I don't have the motivation to push forward
I just get in my car and drive
I just take a drive to clear my head and get away from everything
When I can't make it out of the blues
When I'm feeling really down and can't seem to snap out of it
When I want to step out of my shoes
When I want to escape from my problems and the situation I'm in
When I need somewhere private to cry
When I need a private place to express my emotions and cry
Like the sky sometimes I am more lightning than thundercloud
Sometimes I may have a sudden spark of emotions that come before the actual breakdown
I'd explain but I don't know myself
I don't even understand why I feel the way I do sometimes
What I'm all about
My true nature and personality isn't always clear to me or others
So when I feel a storm coming on
When I feel like I'm about to have an emotional breakdown
I drive out of town
I take a drive to clear my head and escape from my situation
Let me go 'cause I don't want you there
I need some space and privacy to deal with my emotions, and I don't want anyone to interfere
When I'm breaking down
When I'm reaching the point of an emotional breakdown
Contributed by Kaylee O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Gypsy Heart
When I purchase my new (fast) car next month, Judie's song "Drive" will make the perfect first track on my playlist!
ingridgott
love this music
Chris Balfe
Simply lovely 😊
Wayne Panter
What a fantastic tour this was.
David O
Drive....what a track !!!
Chelle Mebel
perfect