Alison Moyet
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Alison Moyet (born Genevieve Alison Moyet in 1961), is an English pop singer noted for her bluesy voice, who had a number of hits mostly in the 1980s.
Moyet was born in Basildon Essex. She was involved in a number of punk, pub rock and blues bands in the South East Essex area during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including The Vandals and the Screamin' Ab Dabs, The Vicars and The Little Roosters, although her more mainstream pop career began in 1981 as half of the electropop duo Yazoo (a.k.a. Yaz) who had several hits.
In 1983 Yazoo split and Moyet signed to CBS (because it had been Janis Joplin's label) and began her solo career. In 1984 she released her debut album Alf (titled after her punk-era nickname). This was a big success in Britain, reaching number one in the album charts. "Alf" spawned 3 hit singles, including 'Invisible' and 'All Cried Out'.
In 1985 Moyet performed at the Live Aid concert, alongside Paul Young.
In 1986 Alison had another big UK hit with the single 'Is This Love?', followed in 1987 by the album "Raindancing". "Raindancing" spawned further hit singles, including: 'Ordinary Girl' and a cover of Floy Joy's 'Weak In The Presence of Beauty'.
Following a period of personal and career evaluation "Hoodoo" was released in 1991. "Hoodoo", which was a far earthier and more personal album than Moyet had previously released, received little label support and only minimal promotion. Despite having spawned the Grammy nominated single 'It Won't Be Long', "Hoodoo" marked the beginning of what was to become a long fight for Moyet to secure complete control of her artistic direction.
Her album "Essex" (1994) did not see the light of day as Moyet had originally intended for it to be heard. In order for the album to be released her label (now Sony) required that certain Essex tracks be re-recorded and re-produced, and that there be additional material remixed to create a more 'commercial' package.
"Singles" (Alison Moyet's ‘greatest hits’ CD), was released in 1995 and entered the UK charts at #1. Following incredible CD success and a UK tour, 'Singles' was re-issued as a double CD set which included "No Overdubs", a bonus live CD. Upon re-issue "Singles" again charted, this time in the top 20.
Due to prolonged litigation with Sony, during which time Moyet refused to record a radio-friendly 'pop' album for the sake of creating chart hits, Moyet did not release a new studio album for over 8 years since the release of Essex. During this time, however, Moyet recorded vocals for Tricky, Ocean Colour Scene, The Lightning Seeds and King Britt. Moyet also made her critically acclaimed stage debut in the West End musical Chicago in 2001. She played the part of Matron ‘Mama’ Morton, and although initially planned to be a short run, Moyet enjoyed the experience so much that the run was extended to 6 months. 2001 also saw the release of The Essential Alison Moyet CD, and in 2002 'The Essential Alison Moyet' DVD was released.
In August 2002, after years of holding out and refusing to compromise, Moyet was finally released from her Sony contract. Moyet signed to Sanctuary Records and released her first studio album in eight years, Hometime, an album which Sony had refused to release. Hometime launched Moyet into the top 5 best-selling female UK artists of 2002 and resulted in a BRIT nomination for Best Female Vocal.
Alison Moyet's latest album, Voice, was released on 6 September 2004 and entered the UK charts at #7. A 2005 "Voice" tour and DVD release are presently in the planning stages, as is a 2-woman play starring Alison Moyet and Dawn French (of French & Saunders fame).
Discography
(See Yazoo for the discography as this group)
- 1984 "Alf"
- 1984 "Invisible" (Single based on "Alf")
- 1984 "All Cried Out" (Single based on "Alf")
- 1986 "Is This Love?" (Single based on "Raindancing")
- 1987 "Raindancing" (initially called "Chasing Rain")
- 1987 "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" (Single based on "Raindancing")
- 1987 "Love Letters" (Single)
- 1991 "Hoodoo"
- 1991 "It Won't Be Long" (Single, Grammy nomination for 'Best Female Rock Performance')
- 1994 "Essex"
- 1995 "Singles" (Alison Moyet's ‘greatest hits’ CD, UK charts at #1)
- 2002 "Hometime" (BRIT nomination for Best Female Vocal)
- 2004 "Voice" (entered UK charts at #7)