JUDIE TZUKE, Beverly Craven, Julia Fordham and now Rumer. It reads like a who’s who of British female singer songwriters, so to get them all on the same bill at one show is phenomenal.
The first Woman To Woman tour took place in 2018 and now the original three are joined by Rumer for the latest jaunt around the UK.
“I knew who the others were of course, and I had their albums, but I didn’t really know them,” says Judie Tzuke, recalling how the idea of a joint tour first came about.
“I was asked to do a charity fashion show with my daughters after I had cancer, it was a mother and daughter fashion show, and I met Beverly there briefly a couple of years before.
“Then I met Julia at a writing retreat about a year before the first tour.”
Working together, she says, was Beverly’s idea, explaining: “We all had the same agent, which made it easy because we always knew what the others were doing.
“We were all doing these small acoustic shows, and we all wanted to go out with a full band and we thought if we all went together we could afford to do that.
“Also, we thought with the three of us it might transfer to bigger venues. And it worked.”
The 2018 tour was seen by 35,000 people across the UK and no wonder. Judie, of course, is well known for hits like Stay With Me Till Dawn and Welcome To The Cruise, while Julia Fordham’s hits include Happy Ever After, Where Does The Time Go and Love Moves In Mysterious Ways.
Beverly Craven has sold over four million records, including singles like Promise Me, Holding On and Love Scenes. Special guest on this tour, Rumer, is well known for songs like Slow and Aretha.
Judie, who lives in Surrey and rehearses at a studio in Send, says the show will feature all four singers equally and they’ll often be onstage together.
“There’s no real rivalry,” she says. “At first I was more worried about letting the side down, but now it makes me so happy when I see the audience loving Julia or Beverly’s songs.
“I hope they love me too, but you get to see the audience more when the others are singing.
“I’m sure Rumer will be the same and fit in well, although when you take any four women – or four men for that matter – you never really know what’s going to happen.”
As for the set list, Judie has more than 40 years’ worth of material to choose from but says all the singers will concentrate on their hits.
“A few months ago I recorded a few new songs and I considered putting them in the show, but we talked about it and decided this tour is mainly about nostalgia and giving an audience what they’re hoping for,” she reveals. “So we’re all doing the songs that people will recognise. Having recorded 25 albums, that’s tough, but I get it.
“I like to think people are dying to hear my new album, which will be finished and out next year, but realistically I know this tour particularly is not just my audience. The songs we will play remind people of a time in their lives – and that’s fantastic.”
Woman To Woman comes to G Live, Guildford, on Friday 4 November.