Phil Judd
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Philip Judd is a singer/songwriter and one of New Zealand's most acclaimed musicians, perhaps best known for being one of the founders of Split Enz.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Split Enz
In 1972, Judd and Tim Finn founded the arty folk band Split Enz. In its early days the band was known for its eccentric behaviour, wacky clothes, makeup and crazy hairstyles. In the early days the band members all adopted their middle names, with the exception of Phil Judd who is reportedly the only member from that era to keep his first name. Phil was the creative force and spirit of the very early Enz.[citation needed]
While the other members of the Enz had hairstyles that were out of the ordinary, Phil chose to shave his head after the release of the first album Mental Notes. After the second album Second Thoughts was released, tensions rose between Phil & Tim Finn. Phil left the band in 1977 shortly after the release of the single Another Great Divide to be replaced by Tim's younger brother Neil Finn. Enz bassist Mike Chunn also left at the same time to be replaced by Englishman Nigel Griggs.
After leaving the Enz, Phil started writing songs and recording demos until later on that year he was approached by Tim Finn to rejoin the band. The Enz toured in 1978 with 2 lead guitarists in Judd and Neil Finn, who reportedly got along rather well. During this time the band played some new songs by Phil that won favour with the audience, including a self confessed favourite of keyboardist Eddie Rayner, Play It Strange.
Later on that year, the band fell on hard times & Phil was once again forced to leave as the band members struggled to make ends meet. It was after this time that the band has been criticised for "going commercial", which it could be argued was necessary to achieve the success that it did.
[edit] After Split Enz
After leaving Split Enz, Phil became involved with Auckland punk band, The Suburban Reptiles. He produced their second single, the highly regarded Saturday Night Stay at Home, and performed live with them. He was also briefly a member of Chris Knox's band Toy Love. Out of the remnants of The Suburban Reptiles he formed The Swingers with future Midnight Oil band member Bones Hillman and Buster Stiggs. The band went through a couple of lineup changes, but managed to release what is considered one of the greatest kiwi Rock songs of all time: Counting The Beat. The song was used in the 1990s on commercials for Deca stores.
After The Swingers broke up in 1982, Phil released a solo album called Private Lives. It would be 24 years before he released his next solo album. Private Lives was released as a 5 track LP in the US called The Swinger. While the album was not a commercial success, fans often criticise the US release for being a butchered shadow of the original album and that it was clearly only released to cash in on the success of The Swingers.
In 1986, Tim Finn contacted Phil to write some songs for his new album Big Canoe. It would be the first time they were to write together since Split Enz. According to Tim, instead of writing the two of them spent most of the time drinking & catching up on old times and as a result, the pair wrote no material. Instead Phil played guitar on the album.
[edit] Schnell Fenster
In the late 80s, Phil went on to be part of Schnell Fenster and was involved in recording movie soundtracks, most notably "The Big Steal", winning the AFI award for his first score Death in Brunswick. Schnell Fenster comprised of former Split Enz alumni Nigel Griggs, Noel Crombie & Eddie Rayner along with guitarist Michael den Elzen. Eddie left early on in the piece.
The first album The Sound of Trees was a moderate success, but due to complications (Noel Crombie developed tinnitis) the band was unable to tour extensively to support the album. The second album Ok Alright A Huh Oh Yeah did not receive the media attention it deserved & was sadly cast aside. The band soon broke up.
Phil has worked in movies (Rikky and Pete), "Amy", "Mr Reliable" and on TV's "Good Guys Bad Guys"- 26 Episodes, (Stingers)-124 Episodes, but only recently has released a new album. Phil has created a MySpace account and talks to his fans through the forums always adding his own very warped sense of humour into the mix. April 2006 saw the release of his official website.
[edit] Split Enz reunite without Judd
Phil was quoted in 2006 at being deeply saddened that he was not invited to join Split Enz on their reunion tour. Indeed it is hard to believe his old friend Tim Finn overlooked honouring the man who started the whole wheel turning. Perhaps Phil's 1973 song "Under The Wheel" takes on a new significance. In an interview on community radio program Living In The Land Of Oz, Phil said that Neil Finn wanted him to "get up and do two or three songs or at least be involved somehow" but this didn’t eventuate at either of the Melbourne concerts. On stage with the Enz on 2006 Tim claimed that his relationship with Phil is complicated.
Around the time of the Enz tour, Phil and Tim had decided to get together with former Enz violinist Miles Golding for a few recording sessions dubbed 3 Of A Kind. With the success of the Finn Brothers latest album and the resurgence of interest in Split Enz, Tim was offered a chance to release another solo album through EMI and took it. This left no time for any side projects and while it was put "on hold", Phil doubts that this project will ever go ahead. Phil has cited his annoyance at Tim's departure from the project on his MySpace.
[edit] Mr Phudd
Phil is selling copies of Mr Phudd and His Novelty Act through his website. Some fans have likened it to his work from his days with Split Enz. Some of the tracks from the album can be heard on Phil's MySpace page. He is also accepting portrait commissions. Phil is also an accomplished artist. His album cover for "Mental Notes" won him the album cover of the year award. He has continued to paint over the years and has work in the Victorian National Gallery.
Phil is now a grandfather as of September 11th 2007, and is currently working on his new album titled "Love Is A Moron".
[edit] Mental Illness
Phil Judd is one of the few entertainers who has been open about the mental issues he has suffered from over the years. In 1976, an era when Split Enz was all about weird hairstyles & clothing, Phil shaved his head due to his suffering from trichotillomania, a condition causing many to pull out their hair as a compulsive disorder. He has been on a similar path to his hero, the late Spike Milligan, being institutionalised from time to time due to his being Bipolar. As well as suffering from hi-anxiety and shyness he has stated that this has been a major hindrance in dealing with the rigours of show business.
During his time with Split Enz, Phil would sometimes 'leave' the band & take a back seat role just writing songs while Tim Finn would take over all lead vocals (which were at the time split between himself & Phil). Phil would suffer a form of panic attack causing him to freeze up & miss parts of songs, or vocal parts, or sometimes he would just walk off stage altogether. He has said, "I wasn't diagnosed until the mid 1980's, before then my erratic behaviour was often misunderstood by friends and family. I do all I can to help fellow sufferers of bi-polar, particularly talented folks, who often suffer in silence."
As of 2007, Phil lives alone in Eltham, Melbourne. He has a 33 year old daughter, Amelia (who when younger was the subject for Split Enz's 1975 track "Amy", she is now an Art teacher at Wesley College) and a 7 year son, Pete, whom he has half the week and is his best friend.
Fellow Enz band mate Mike Chunn left the Split Enz shortly after Phil due to similar problems, though in Enzology he hints that his problems may have stemmed from drug experimentation.
[edit] Unreleased Songs
[edit] Split Enz
- Bergen Aan Zee
- So This Is Love
- Play It Strange
- I'm So Up
[edit] Solo Work
- Incognito In California - Released in 2001 by Tim Finn on his album Feeding the Gods
[edit] Discography
[edit] Split Enz
- Split Ends - Single
- Mental Notes (1975) - Singles: Maybe
- Second Thoughts (1976) - Singles: Late Last Night, Matinee Idyll (129)
- Another Great Divide - Single (1977)
- Beginning of the Enz (1979) - Singles: Split Ends, For You
[edit] Swingers
- Practical Jokers (1981) - Singles: Counting the Beat, It Ain't What You Dance It's The Way You Dance It
- Counting the Beat (1997) - Rerelease of Practical Jokers with extra tracks
[edit] Solo work
- Private Lives (1983) - Singles: Dictionary Of Love
- The Swinger (1983) - the US release of Private Lives
- Mr Phudd and His Novelty Act (2006)
[edit] Schnell Fenster
- The Sound of Trees (1990) - Singles: Love-Hate Relationship, Whisper
- Ok Alright A Huh Oh Yeah (1991) - Singles: Ok Alright Uh Huh Oh Yeah, Heroes Let You Down
[edit] Films
- Amy (1998) - music
- The Big Steal (1990) - music
- Death In Brunswick (1991) - music
- Eight Ball (1992) - music
- Environmental (1994) (short) - music
- Hercules Returns (1992) - music
- Mr. Reliable (1996) - music
- Rikky and Pete (1988) - songs, actor
- Starstruck (1982) - music, actor (one of the Swingers)
[edit] TV
- Good Guys Bad Guys (1997) - music, including theme
- Sky Trackers (1994) - music (with others)
- Stingers (1998) - music, including theme
[edit] References
- Chunn, Mike, Stranger Than Fiction: The Life and Times of Split Enz, GP Publications, 1992. ISBN 1-86956-050-7
- Dix, John, Stranded in Paradise: New Zealand Rock and Roll, 1955 to the Modern Era, Penguin Books, 2005, ISBN 0-14-301953-8
[edit] External links
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