Catching up...

2012

So after the disasters of 2011, 2012 was the year I began to seriously work on the next new album with Alistair Murphy, which eventually became Flow and Change. This was once again started with no real idea of where how it would end up and what songs would be used, but as ever the songs themselves fell into place and decided amongst themselves which would fit and where they would fit.. Catherine Hyde supplied the beautiful cover artwork and most of the exquisite inlay designs along with one or two images from the splendid Jackie Morris and a photo or two from my childhood.

While all this was going on I managed to find my next canine companion - the oh so elegant Nyx, the goddess of Night and the Mother of Chaos. She was wonderful, but so terrified of everything, fine with women but scared of men and buses and trucks and banging doors and stairs and and and…. I never dared to let her off the lead, because I was not sure she would ever come back.. She was so fast when she did find somewhere to run but then she had won many races in her time.. gradually and slowly she began to be less nervous and to be more confident with everything. Here she is

I was asked to do a live gig in London in Dec 2012 to promote the reissue of Talking With Strangers on Tonefloat, along with other bands released by them so Alistair Murphy helped me to get a band together to play. It consisted of Alistair, Mark Fletcher and Jeremy Salmon, with the addition of Rachel Hall on violin and Phil Toms on double bass…with Tim Bowness singing with me on the Talking With Strangers tracks, but we also added a few tracks from Flow and Change…so that was the beginning of a very few live performances…

At the end of 2012 I parted ways amicably with my manager Paul. So now I was on my own, with decisions that were mine and the consequences of those decisions were to be mine also. Luckily I had good people to discuss plans with and so far (touch wood touch wood touch wood!) it’s been ok!

2013

The new album was completed and I arranged for Talking With Strangers to be released in the US by Gonzo Multimedia and they also released the new album Flow and Change for me so that was a majorly Good Thing. We have had lovely reviews for both albums from all over the world (have a look on the reviews page!)

Flow and Change introduced me to more wonderful musicians including Matt Malley (ex Counting Crows) who sang with me on Letters and the fantastic Phil Toms, whose string arrangements on many of the songs were so beautiful…

In July I was asked to play at small festival in Kent, ‘The Summer of Love Party’ and I agreed (Yikes!) So the Judy Dyble Band came into being. Alistair Murphy (keyboards and guitar) Mark Fletcher (bass) Jeremy Salmon (guitars) Phil Toms (more wonderful keyboards) Rachel Canning (violin and flute) (are all violinists called Rachel? J) and eventually but not till later Rich Nolan (percussion)

It was the end of the boiling hot summer and the weather was stiflingly hot till the last song, when it broke down into a massive thunderstorm. I was very pleased not to have been able to see the flash of lightning above the stage…

Nyx the beautiful was gradually becoming less terrified and was happy to stay in the same room as visitors as she gained in confidence. Sadly it became apparent that there was a serious problem with her liver and in October she was gently put to sleep.

Then later in the year we were invited to play at the WMJazz club at the WaterMargin restaurant in the O2 Arena in September and again in December. As quite a lot of people said they couldn’t get to London and we had the facility to record at the venue, we recorded the December performance and have released it in 2014.

In between all this I had recorded more songs for Oliver Kersbergen of Sleepyard,(released on Fuxa’s ‘Dirty D album  and Sleepyard’s ‘Black Sails’) Sand Snowman and Dodson and Fogg

In October I recorded an extraordinary song for Thee Faction called ‘Relentless’ Beautiful dreamy background strings and me singing a rather fierce denunciation of Political Shenanigans for this fine Socialist R’n’B collection of musicians. It was released as an EP with three other tracks under the title of ‘Songs To Remind The Class Of The Glorious Victory To Come And The Work That Must be Done To Get There’

Trailer for Thee Faction EP

So that was interesting…

2014

The year started well and is continuing to do so- another gig for the WMJazz people and 3 other gigs in other places, Nottingham, Norwich and in a Milking Parlour in Oxfordshire,.

 In July we released the Live at WMJazz Cd which has sold well and I am continuing to work on the Anthology which I am hoping to release this year as it will be 50 years since I started making music.

I have been featured on radio4 in a documentary on people and bands who failed BBC auditions J and in a BBC4 documentary on Fairport Convention.

I have been filmed nattering for two forthcoming films on music photographers in the 60’s. Wintersong has been used for a beautiful video by Francesco Paladino and has been entered for an International Film and Music festival in Nepal.

Wintersong Video

.And I have contributed to the Armistice Pals multi-singers version of ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone’ in aid of 4 anti-war charities. 

Armistice Pals - Where Have All The Flowers Gone

Next up is a gig in a bookshop- The Big Green Bookshop- in Wood Green, London the area where I grew up and first tried out the musical things. On the 17th October.. Yikes! That's next week!
Big Green Bookshop

Oh and by no means least I have had the delight of welcoming the Beautiful Betty Blue (only she’s black and white and spotty rather than blue)  into my life and onto the sofas

Here she is J