Ruby’s Ready

Rip It Up, Issue 107, 1 June 1986, Page 13

Ruby’s Ready

From Montego Bay to Birmingham

1 got a girl and Ruby is her name :

She don't love me but I love her just the same

Ruby Ruby, how | want you Like a ghost I'm gonna haunt you, when will you be mine? Ruby Turner may have never heard the song ‘Ruby Baby' by Donald Fagen, but then again she’s never heard of me, either. "Chad?” she puzzles down the phone, “l haven’t got you on my list ... | had a guy called Chris Bourke on my list.” She laughs, | laugh. Even from here, Ruby Turner sounds warm and agreeable.

Ruby was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, although she lives in the northern English town of Brum and first began singing in nightclubs on the Birmingham circuit. That also explains her accent, a mellow blend of Rasta-patois and working-class Cockney — with a dash of American, just to confuse.

Ruby had sung in the theatre as ateenager, but at age 22 she decid-

ed to “make a go” of her career and venture into the music world. She laughs that the difficulty of doing so “is what they didn't tell me! They said, ‘sing for your supper, girl, because that's what you do best, we think. | started off with my own band and the only way to attract at-

tention was to keep working (live)." / “Eventually,” she explains, “we were picking up rave reviews, and on the strength of the rave reviews the name got respected in the music industry — well, in the music world, forget the music industry. Where real musos are concerned.” Her obvious vocal talents put her in demand as a backing vocalist from such “real musos” as British R&B pioneer Alexis. “By the time | got into this backing singer thing,’ she chuckles, “all eyes were on me. | worked with people like Alexis Korner and did stuff with the guys from the Rolling Stones and with ÜB4O.

“With Alexis, we met up in ‘B3 and we did a Marquee gig, [Korner based himself at the Marquee for many years; it saw his band, Blues Incorporated, launch such musicians as Mick Jagger, Robert Plant

and Charlie Watts] and then we went over to Holland and did a jazz festival over there, and then sadly I lost Alexis in 'B4. They kept me in touch with the guys in the Stones, andthen | wentand lost lan Stewart, who organised things. This whole business ... peeved me," she explains sadly, “losing all my friends.” New prospects soon appeared. Ruby Turner toured with Culture Club and her name is in the credits for From Luxury to Heartache as well as Bryan Ferry's Boys and Girls.

“The call from Culture Club came in without warning, you know, within aweekend! | was spinning like a top, thinking, how do | handle this situation? And then | was in America, touring with them 'n’ having a great time, and then | did a gig in London and Bryan Ferry turned up and sat inthe audience!” We're both laughing by now. “Yeah! I'm telling you ...

And then he rang me a week later from Paris 'n’ said, ‘Look, I've already done the track (‘Slave to Love'), but d'ya fancy doin’ some vocals on it?' | said Great — /et me do it!" That would be nice.

“Well, he didn't ring me, he rang my manager, but just to be runged ... laid me out, man” she sparkles, “freaked me out.”

Turner is also thrilled at the success of her second single (her first was on her own independent label, Sunflower), a smooth but soulful version of the Staple Singers’ ‘lf You're Ready (Come Go With Me). Billy Ocean's sweet production is the perfect match for her vocals and at the time of the interview it is atNo 3in New Zealand, boding well for the release here of her debut album/It's my first record deal, so it's trial-and-error; try everything and see what works best. Although they know where | am at vocally, they don't really know the range and how far| could go.” Part of the trial-and-error includes more than one producer; the album has tracks produced by Billy Ocean and Womack & Womack, among others. Now she's “looking for a single, hopefully a strong one, that does as well as, say, ‘lf You're Ready’ is doing in New Zealand, and then we'll release the album.” She then goes on to work out what she'll do for the next one. “Well,” she chuckles, “you have to think positive!” | thank her and say goodbye. “Ho-kay darlin;” she says, “give my love to New Zealun’ ” On the way home, ‘lf You're Ready’ bubbles through the dross on the radio, and | realise that she already has.

Chad Taylor