Judd Lander

Judd Lander
Judd takes the puppet out for a day in the park.
Background information
Born	(1948-03-01) 1 March 1948 Liverpool, England
Instruments	Vocals harmonica bagpipes
Years active	1960s–present
Formerly of	The Hideaways

Judd Lander (born 1 March 1948)¹ is an English harmonicist. Originally from Liverpool, Lander was previously a member of the band the Hideaways. He has experienced success as a prolific session musician, record industry executive, and company director.

Lander has played on hits such as Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon"² as well as "Church of the Poison Mind" and the Spice Girls' hit "Say You'll Be There".³ He has played with many musicians including Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox,⁴ ABC⁵ and Madness.⁶

Lander was an intricate part of the late Mersey Beat scene, playing with well-known local band the Hideaways. The band were one of the first R&B groups in Liverpool and to this day hold the record for the most performances in the Cavern's history, surpassing the Beatles. In the mid-1960s Lander kindled a relationship with Sonny Boy Williamson II (Aleck Ford 'Rice' Miller) who taught him the intricacies of the Blues Harmonica.⁷ Lander's playing technique became much in demand and his enthusiasm for the music industry led him to record label Charisma Records, whilst still retaining his status as a respected session musician.

His reputation as both PR-man and session musician continued to grow and in 1975 he was approached by Apple Records to help with John Lennon's Rock 'n' Roll album. As a musician he was invited to perform on various in-house sessions with artists such as Billy Preston.⁸ Over the course of his career and directorships at various major labels, he has been instrumental in the careers of artists such ABBA,⁹ Michael Jackson,¹⁰ Nigel Dick¹¹ and the Proclaimers.¹² He was also responsible for breaking Meat Loaf in the UK,¹³ receiving a proclamation by the Mayor of the City Of Cleveland. Lander is also noted for persuading a rather recluse guitar icon Jeff Beck into doing a TV interview which had a bizarre result.¹⁴ Head-hunted by RCA records to run their Motown UK Record division, Lander joined them at the historic Motown 25th anniversary show: "Yesterday, Today, Forever".

Whilst at Motown, Lander was called to a session at Red Bus Studios in London to lay down a harmonica part with a then relatively unknown band called Culture Club which led him to create the now-famous harmonica lead on their No 1 – million seller "Karma Chameleon" and on "Church of the Poison Mind". Following the release came a glut of TV and Wembley Stadium appearances. Around this period Lander was invited to join Paul McCartney¹⁵ on stage at The Odeon Hammersmith for a charity concert, and has since worked with Paul on his Flowers in the Dirt.¹⁶

As a musician, Lander is credited with performances on over 2000 recording sessions. He is noted for his work with artists such as The Beach Boys,¹⁷ Nazareth,¹⁸ The Proclaimers,¹² Kirsty MacColl,¹⁸ Prefab Sprout,¹⁸ Maxi Priest,¹⁸ Madness, The The,¹⁸ Tina Turner,¹⁸ Mike Oldfield,¹⁸ The Communards,¹⁸ Richard Ashcroft,¹⁸ Annie Lennox.¹⁸ In addition, he has an entry in Who's Who in the Music Industry¹⁸ and has received one of the highest musical accolades – the Gold Award from BASCA, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, held at London's Savoy hotel. This coveted award celebrates the achievements of a group of people who have made an outstanding contribution to Britain's music industry. Lander was also involved in the biggest event in the UK music calendar – The BRIT AWARDS. Lander had worked on this show for the past 22 years as floor cam director.¹⁸

Lander moved into the world of television as a puppeteer on BBC's Saturday Superstore children's show for a period of five years, then as an associated producer on The St Lucia Jazz Festival¹⁸ – shot in the Caribbean. His on-screen credits can also be seen in Resting Rough an odd but amusing short film about a flea ridden mattress, which featured Pierce Brosnan – Judd composed arranged and produced the film's music.¹⁹ He also contributed to quite a few BBC drama episodes and headed the position as Director of promotions with London Records. His Chrysalis Records appointment saw him deliver the No. 1 hit "The One and Only" with Chesney Hawkes.²⁰ Other shows include – Top of the Pops,¹⁸ The Tube,¹⁸ The Old Grey Whistle Test¹⁸ and Later... with Jools Holland.¹⁸

He then became A&R/ Label Director at Warner Music Group, a division of Warner Bros. In this role, Warner Music Group enjoyed No. 2 and No. 3 chart singles. In recent years, he has returned to his roots in public relations.²¹

• 1983: Bay City Rollers – Ricochet
• 1983: Culture Club – Colour by Numbers
• 1984: Tracey Ullman – You Caught Me Out
• 1984: Anthony Phillips – Private Parts and Pieces IV: A Catch at the Tables
• 1984: Bruce Foxton – Touch Sensitive
• 1985: Madness – Mad Not Mad
• 1985: Johnny Thunders – Que Sera Sera
• 1985: The Beach Boys – The Beach Boys
• 1986: Robbie Nevil – Robbie Nevil
• 1986: The The – Infected
• 1987: The Communards – Red
• 1987: ABC – Alphabet City
• 1988: Johnny Thunders and Patti Palladin – Copy Cats
• 1989: Paul McCartney – Flowers in the Dirt
• 1990: Prefab Sprout – Jordan: The Comeback
• 1991: Kirsty MacColl – Electric Landlady
• 1993: Helen Hoffner – Wild about Nothing
• 1995: Annie Lennox – Medusa
• 1996: Dina Carroll – Only Human
• 1996: Spice Girls – Spice
• 2000: Richard Ashcroft – Alone with Everybody