Geneviève Alison Jane Moyet, formerly known as Alf, is an English singer. Noted for her powerful bluesy contralto voice, she came to prominence as half of the synth-pop duo Yazoo, but has since mainly worked as a solo artist.
Steven Nicholas Jolley and Tony Swain were a successful songwriting and record production duo in the United Kingdom in the early to mid-1980s, producing some of the top artists and songs of the era.
Upstairs at Eric's is the debut studio album by English synth-pop duo Yazoo. It was released on 20 August 1982 by Mute Records. It was produced by the band and E.C. Radcliffe, with assistance from Mute label boss Daniel Miller on some of the tracks. Named after producer Radcliffe's Blackwing Studios where the album was recorded, Upstairs at Eric's was preceded by two UK top-three singles, the ballad "Only You" and the more uptempo "Don't Go". The album reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting shipments in excess of 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.
You and Me Both is the second and final studio album by English synth-pop duo Yazoo, released on 4 July 1983 in the United Kingdom by Mute Records and in North America by Sire Records. The album's title was an ironic reference to the fact that the duo had grown estranged from each other and recorded much of the album separately; they announced their split a few weeks before the album's release.
Alf is the debut solo studio album by English singer Alison Moyet, released on 5 November 1984 by CBS Records. The album launched Moyet's solo career following the disbanding of synth-pop duo Yazoo. The album reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart and features the singles "Love Resurrection", "All Cried Out", "Invisible" and "For You Only".
Raindancing is the second solo studio album by English singer Alison Moyet, released on 6 April 1987 by CBS Records. It reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart and features the singles "Is This Love?", "Weak in the Presence of Beauty", "Ordinary Girl" and "Sleep Like Breathing". In the United States, Raindancing was released by Columbia Records with a different cover art and a reordered track listing.
Hoodoo is the third solo studio album by English singer Alison Moyet, released by Columbia Records on 22 April 1991 in the United Kingdom and on 27 August 1991 in the United States. It reached No. 11 on the UK Albums Chart and features the singles "It Won't Be Long", "Wishing You Were Here", "Hoodoo" and "This House".
Essex is the fourth solo studio album by English singer Alison Moyet, released on 21 March 1994 by Columbia Records. The album, named after the artist's native Essex, England, reached No. 24 on the UK Albums Chart and includes the singles "Falling", "Whispering Your Name", "Getting into Something" and "Ode to Boy".
The Essential Alison Moyet is a compilation album, relatively similar to Singles, the 1995 greatest hits album of recordings by singer/songwriter Alison Moyet. The album was released in 2001 by Sony Music Entertainment in response to renewed interest in the singer, after she was finally released from her contract with the label and able to sign with Sanctuary Records, regain the artistic control of her musical output and move back into the public eye - resulting in 2002 comeback album Hometime. However, there are some differences in the track listings of the two Sony compilations. The Essential Alison Moyet excludes "Only You", "Situation', "Ordinary Girl", "Ode To Boy II", "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Solid Wood", and replaces them with "Don't Go", "Winter Kills", "Blue" and "Our Colander Eyes" plus cover versions "Ne Me Quitte Pas" and "There Are Worse Things I Could Do".
"Don't Go" is a song by British synth-pop band Yazoo. It was released in 1982 as the second single from their debut album, Upstairs at Eric's. The song peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Yazoo's second top 5 hit. In the US, where the band was known as Yaz, the song was their second big hit on the American dance chart, where it spent two weeks at number one in October 1982. Their first American dance chart hit was "Situation", which had also gone to number one on this chart earlier the same year. The music video for the song features band members Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke in a sort of haunted mansion with Clarke cast in the role of Victor Frankenstein. The song re-entered the UK Dance Chart on 13 December 2009 at number 30, peaking at number 15 on 2 January 2010.
"Love Resurrection" is a pop song written by English singer-songwriter Alison Moyet and producers Jolley & Swain for Moyet's debut studio album Alf (1984). Released as the album's first single in June 1984, it reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart. It was released in the US in summer 1985 following "Invisible" and reached number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 that August.
"Is This Love?" is a song by British singer-songwriter Alison Moyet, released in November 1986 as the first single from her second studio album Raindancing (1987). The song was written by Moyet and Dave Stewart, who used the pseudonym Jean Guiot for his involvement with the song.
"It Won't Be Long" is a song by British singer-songwriter Alison Moyet, which was released in 1991 as the lead single from her third studio album, Hoodoo (1991). It was written by Moyet and Pete Glenister, and produced by Glenister. A music video was filmed to promote the single, while Moyet also performed the song on Wogan.
"Wishing You Were Here" is a song by British singer-songwriter Alison Moyet, released in 1991 as the second single from her third studio album, Hoodoo (1991). It was written by Moyet and Pete Glenister, and produced by Glenister. Kirsty MacColl provided backing vocals on the song.
"Sleep Like Breathing" is a song by English singer Alison Moyet with David Freeman, released on 21 September 1987 as the fourth and final single from her second studio album, Raindancing. The song was written by Freeman and Joseph Hughes, both of whom made up The Lover Speaks, and was produced by Jimmy Iovine, Freeman and Hughes.
"This House" is a song by the British singer-songwriter Alison Moyet, released on 30 September 1991 as the fourth single from her third studio album, Hoodoo (1991). It was written by Moyet and produced by Dave Dix. The song reached No. 40 on the UK Singles Chart and also reached the top 40 in the Netherlands, peaking at number 31 on the Dutch Top 40.
"Falling" is a song by British singer-songwriter Alison Moyet, released in October 1993 by Columbia Records as the lead single from her fourth studio album, Essex (1994). The song was written by Moyet and Pete Glenister, and produced by Ian Broudie. A music video was filmed to promote the single, directed by The Douglas Brothers.
"Whispering Your Name" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Jules Shear. It was originally performed by Ignatius Jones in 1983, however Shear also recorded the song, which was issued as a single within months of Jones' recording and included on his 1983 album Watch Dog. It has been covered numerous times, including a charting version by Alison Moyet in 1994.
"Getting into Something" is a song by British singer-songwriter Alison Moyet, released on 16 May 1994 as the third single from her fourth studio album, Essex. It was written by Moyet and Pete Glenister and produced by Ian Broudie.
"Ode to Boy" is a song by English synth-pop duo Yazoo. Originally the B-side to their 1982 hit "The Other Side of Love", it was later included on their second and final studio album You and Me Both in 1983. Whereas Yazoo's version is a sparse atmospheric track with synths and percussion, vocalist Alison Moyet later recorded her own version of the song in an uptempo indie-rock style for her 1994 album Essex.
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