Joy Askew

Vocalist Joy Askew laid down the bulk of her Private Music/BMG debut, Tender City, inside her own home studio, never suspecting those recordings would become the core of her first solo release. Despite years spent supporting an eclectic range of headliners that included Joe Jackson, Peter Gabriel, Laurie Anderson and Rodney Crowell, the seasoned sidewoman ultimately accepted the label’s judgment that the moment had arrived for her to front her own project. Beyond those high-profile road stints, Askew had already contributed vocals to sessions for Phoebe Snow and Jules Shear.

Northern England was both birthplace and childhood home; in 1982 she relocated to New York City. There she joined the Warner Bros. act Eye To Eye on keyboards and vocals. Shortly afterward, Joe Jackson recruited her for keyboard and vocal duties on his “Night and Day” world tour. She next appeared on Laurie Anderson’s 1984 “Mr. Heartbreak” tour. Her keyboard work also surfaces on Jackson’s albums Big World, Blaze of Glory and Laughter and Lust.

Askew’s unconventional songwriting approach—beginning with an instrumental atmosphere before adding words—helps account for the album’s distinctive freshness. Only after the melody has taken shape in her mind does she introduce specific phrases or chorus sections.

Following a world tour with Peter Gabriel, she departed the road in summer 1993 and assembled her own group, enlisting guitarist Shane Fontayne, percussionist Joe Bonadio and guitarist Chris Cunningham. Cunningham’s Mediterranean-inflected lines appear on several Tender City tracks, while bassist Larry Klein and drummer Jerry Marotta also contribute. Former employer Gabriel supplied harmony vocals for “I’m Just Looking For A Home,” tracking his parts from a chalet in France while Askew continued refining the remaining material from New York City. Askew herself produced the album and played keyboards in her home studio; the rough tapes were later transferred to 24-track for final mastering. ~ Richard Skelly