Alison Moyet - Alf

This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of Alf, the solo debut album from Alison Moyet. It was her first release after leaving the UK synthpop group Yazoo/Yaz. The record went to number 12 in Canada, number 11 in Sweden, number 5 in Germany, number 3 in the Netherlands and Norway, number 2 in Switzerland, and number 1 in New Zealand and the UK. Here in the US, it spent twenty-five weeks on the Billboard Album chart and peaked at number 45.

Yazoo/Yaz - You and Me Both

Following up on their 1982 Upstairs at Eric’s (click here for that review), Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke returned to the studio to record the second Yazoo (Yaz here in the US) album. The result was You and Me Both, which today (July 4th) celebrates its thirtieth anniversary.

The July 1983 album charted at number 69 on the US Billboard Hot 200, number 33 in Canada, number 15 in Germany, number 4 in Sweden, and number 1 in both New Zealand and the UK.

Yazoo/Yaz - Upstair's at Eric's (30th anniversary)

Today (August 23rd) marks the thirtieth anniversary of Upstairs at Eric's, the debut album from the duo of Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet who were known as Yazoo (Yaz here in the US).

For my full review of this 80's classic album, click here.

A Very Special Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of you, my blog readers. Today (December 25th) also happens to be the fifty-seventh birthday of Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics.

In 1987, the first of what has turned into a sporadic series of A Very Special Christmas albums was released. The series, created by music producer Jimmy Iovine, takes popular music artists of the time and has them sing holiday favorites. The album sales go to benefit the Special Olympics charity. Each cover has been designed by artist Keith Haring.

Yazoo/Yaz - Upstairs at Eric's

Around the rest of the world they were known as Yazoo; in the US (due to copyright issues) they were known as Yaz. However you refer to the duo of Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet, there is no denying their amazing collaborative efforts. Though their time as a group was short-lived, their musical influences have been felt in other bands for the past three decades. Their synth pop sound perfectly combined the electronic trends of Europe to the American approach to R&B.

In 1981, Clarke was coming off his time with Depeche Mode. The songwriter and keyboardist teamed up with a newcomer singer Moyet and together they put out two albums. The first was Upstairs at Eric’s, a debut released on August 23rd, 1982, that was certified as Platinum. In the UK, it reached number 2 on the charts. In the US, it only reached number 92 on the Billboard charts but got an incredible amount of play in clubs and on college radio stations.