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MICKEY TUKER, PIANIST,
Cadence: When did you seemingly vanish from the New York City scene and why?
M.T.Well, the easy part is the when; which was actually precipitated by the why. So, long story short - In August 1987 a friend (who lived in the same apartment complex) was accused of murdering two women who were his neighbors. As it happened I was with this friend during the actual time the murders were committed. Because we knew that he was completely innocent and, as we later learned, I had actually seen the murderer (a police officer) leaving our friend's apartment building all hell broke loose. Needless to say our actions in trying to help and support our friend soon led to all kinds of threats - by phone, being followed, phone tapping, etc., etc. - and by early 1988 we were so stressed I decided to move to Australia (my wife's home country). The application process was not that easy and at one point I had to get my passport back from the Australian Embassy because I had a 2-month gig in Japan. Anyway, in May of 1989 we were informed that my application had been approved and that I had to be in Australia no later than 1 December 1989. My failure to arrive as instructed would have meant starting the process all over again. We left New York November 21, 1989. Only a very few people knew of the actual circumstances under which we were living (existing would probably be a better word) and as I was obviously displaying some 'different' behaviour, others believed I had some kind of mental breakdown. At the time, if I had been sufficiently cognizant of anything other than staying alive, some of the attitudes displayed would have bothered me. However, I didn't have that luxury at the time, and I have now reached a stage where I feel that if people don't believe me that's on them.
Cadence: I don't want to get side tracked but did your friend ever get released from jail?
M.T. No, he died in prison in 2006 while still having an appeal pending.
Cadence: Have you entertained the idea of coming back to the USA to tour? Going to Australia and establishing...