Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Judy is happy to be with you tonight
The songstress from St Vincent has endured the ups and downs of the music industry, writes ZENZILE KHOISAN
NO KARAOKE night on the Cape Flats would be complete without Judy Boucher’s signature tune, Can’t Be With You Tonight. Legend has it the tune has been responsible for more than just a few thousand people getting together, or suddenly breaking up, but also for a significant part of the population explosion of the late 1980s, the 1990s and early part of 2000.
She was rehearsing this song and another classic, Dreaming of a Little Island, with a band in a garage in Glencairn. The sound was clear and, if I hadn’t seen the group going through their paces, I would easily have mistaken the training session for the record.
The woman behind that bittersweet tune, which speaks to the tension between desire and the realities that define the lives of most people, is very much like a zephyr – a soft, gentle breeze.
That about captures Judy Boucher, a household name to just about everyone with a radio whose tunes have evoked a gamut of emotions.
The singer seemed at home with the group - two backup singers and a drummer, bass, lead and keyboard player - taking a cue from the producer known as Johnny B Good as he got the group to hit just the perfect notes.
After the jam-cum-rehearsal session, I was introduced to the singer and the band with whom she will share the stage at the GrandWest Arena tonight.
Having spent many years living and working with people from the Caribbean, I know it is good to not push things but just to chill out and let everything flow, as most of the people who hail from that beautiful part of the world do, and Boucher is no different.
Before she discussed her charmed life and the experiences which brought her renown and respect, this woman from St Vincent stopped and gave a salute to Cape Town.
“I love Cape Town so much, for it reminds me of St Vincent and other incredibly stunning places such as Belize.
“I loved this place from the very first time I came here in 1987, for it feels to me much like an island, with its most friendly people, the mountains, the breathtaking oceans and the vegetation, particularly the natural flowers such as the protea, which really sets this place apart and gives it a unique, special character.”
Boucher hails from one of the most stunning islands in the Caribbean; St Vincent is an exquisite jewel in the West Indies. She was born there and lived there into her teenage years, before leaving for England to join her mother, who had migrated a few years earlier to secure a better life for Boucher and her siblings.
There was no sense of an overgrown ego as she discussed her pathway to acclaim, the twists and turns of her musical career, her impressions of the music industry, fame, fortune, hard work and her sense of dedication to family.
“I did not know, when I was growing up, that I had a gift as a singer or that my music would reach beyond me to touch the lives of so many people, but magically, quite as a result of things beyond my planning and control, that is how it turned out to be.
“As it was, when I had come to England, there was an old piano at our home, which my brother Bruce used to play. He was really quite talented, playing so well even though some of the keys did not work. One day he called me to come to the piano and sing.”
She said this marked an important moment for her. “My brother was really stunned. He said to me ‘Hey, Judy, you really can sing. What a beautiful voice you have.’ That’s where it all began.”
She said this discovery by Bruce led to the formation of the group Judy, Jack and the Beanstalks, which became a popular local band. “We saw it as a hobby and used to play youth clubs, weddings and other social events, and it made us quite happy,
because of that song” ‘
even though we never really earned any money.”
The adventures of the band ended when her brother moved to South Wales and she married, which was a stressful time because “it didn’t quite work out”.
However, she would not be let off the hook so easily as a couple of years later a gentleman came walking down the pathway to her home with a guitar, which again changed the course of her life.
“I did not want to meet the guy, as I was a working mother with two children at the time, but this guy, Felix, said he had some songs which he wanted me to sing. My daughter and my mother urged me to take the chance, as I would have nothing to lose. Two weeks later I went to London and saw a producer and a whole new world opened up for me.”
“The song, Can’t Be With You Tonight, shot to the top of the charts in Europe in 1987 and many places far beyond, and it was quite a humbling experience. There were so many memorable highlights, specifically a special concert in Belgium, where 40 000 fans sang along with me, holding lighted candles.
“From there it was just one amazing journey with concerts in England, Spain, Egypt, India, even here in South Africa.”
However, as with many meteoric rises in the industry, the fame and accolades came with a downside when she discovered she hadn’t protected herself against some of the bad practices in the industry.
“I realised that I had signed away everything, as I had very little knowledge of contracts. However, I did not give up, so I applied to the High Court to be released from the contract, as I had to get wise fast and reclaim myself within the industry that is, literally full of sharks.”
What saved her was keeping her feet “firmly planted on the ground”, which made her never lose sight of her humanity and the connection she had with ordinary people.
“Many people come up to me so it is really a pleasure to speak with them, listening to their experiences and to hear about how my music had an impact on them.”
Coming from the Caribbean also made her practical and she knew she had to deal with her responsibilities to her family, even as she was engaged in litigation.
“I realised I would have to do something besides waiting around for the outcome, so I took a job as a customer affairs representative with local government, which I held for 23 years until I retired and this is what generated a pension which now benefits me.”
Alhough she was formally employed, she continued to make music and honour the thousands of loyal fans worldwide who became endeared to her music.
She now lives on a little island in the Grenadines, where she exercises her passion for gardening, growing peppers, flowers and banana trees.
She said the most rewarding part of her life is the time spent with her children, Collis, Andrea and her three grandchildren, “who bring real sweet joy”.
She has made truly memorable music, something which, she said is “like a river flowing gently” in her life. Two pieces stand out, Can’t Be With You and Dreaming of a Little Island.
In St Vincent she is recognised as a revered ambassador whose contribution brought honour to her nation.
However, there and everywhere else people still call out for Can’t Be With You.
“That is very sweet because people come and even ask if I would sing it at weddings and funerals. One day a fellow came up to me here in Cape Town and said to me: “Hey Judy, did you know that you are partly responsible for the population explosion, because of that song.”
For this soft gentle breeze from a little island in the Caribbean that is just part of the mystery and magic of life.
‘In Cape Town, a fellow