Justine Styvers moved to London in the mid-1960s when her father, who was a pipeline engineer in the oil industry, was stationed in Europe. She attended
The American School in London, graduating in 1969. The year prior, Styvers had responded to an advertisement for female singers that had been placed by John McBurnie (later of
Jackson Heights) and Keith Trowsdale. The three, with additional vocalists Bethlyn Bates and Valerie Cope, formed the
psychedelic folk band Justine and recorded and released one album and two singles with producer Hugh Murphy in 1970. Styvers left to attend college in Colorado before the album was released and thus was not pictured on its cover.
Solo Styvers signed to Hush Productions, owned by Hugh Murphy and
Shel Talmy, and released two solo albums and a single between 1971 and 1973. These were produced by Murphy, who was also the co-writer on a handful of songs, as well as being Styvers' sometime boyfriend. Her debut was
Spilt Milk, recorded in the spring of 1971 with arrangements by
Tom Parker. Released in the United States by Warner Brothers in November 1971, it received good reviews and some airplay on the college circuit but was not commercially successful. Styvers performed at the
Troubadour in Los Angeles in support of the album, but then returned to her studies at the
University of Colorado where she joined a local group, Little Brown's Electric Band.
Spilt Milk was issued in the UK in May 1972 on the Chrysalis label and a concurrent single, "Beat The Reaper", got healthy airplay, including a feature as
BBC Radio 1 Single of the Week. Styvers was summoned back to London to promote the album and also start work on its sequel,
The Colorado Kid, which was recorded over the early summer with
David Whitaker handling the arrangements and the ex-
Arrival trio of
Dyan Birch,
Frank Collins, and Paddy McHugh on backing vocals.
The Colorado Kid appeared in the spring of the following year to further good reviews, although it was not released in the United States. In 2024, High Moon released additional tracks on an LP,
Let Me Comfort You: The Hush Rarities. ==Later life and death==