Alison Moyet is awarded an MBE

[Mel O'Drama]

This time, it's not been re-scheduled, but cancelled, so I don't know what the future holds...

Oh darn. That's really disappointing. Based on what you've said it must be a very weird time for the band.

That was a wonderful experience for me to share that special album.

And I'm really glad you did.

I have both Alf & Raindancing in my shopping basket. I have such a large basket and my vinyl spending is out of control that I need to keep that basket alive, maybe a trolley would be more appropriate.

Ha ha.

Is this you, relaxing at home, by any chance?

Oh, wow! I didn't know this existed. I have her live from when she performed as Yazoo in 2007 which is incredible.

In that case I'm glad I mentioned it. The 11 track live CD I have is from 1995. As well as terrific versions of her hits and a few Yazoo songs, there's an amazing cover of Chain Of Fools. Live performances can be hit and miss for me, and I'm surprised how much I'm enjoying this one.

(I'm just not sure it's available on vinyl, which might rule it out for you anyway).

I seem to remember she was seen as a bit of a misfit.

That's pretty much where my reasoning had gone as well, so I won't argue with that.

There's so much about Alison I find endearing and intriguing. From what I've seen she's been quite frank about her own struggles and the impact it's had, which adds meaning to a lot of the music.

I love the way she more or less sings in her own accent rather than doing an American accent as most pop singers do. And something that's always stuck with me are the notes from the Voice album where she mentions she had real problems with her cover of What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life? because of some non-British expressions like "summer, winter, spring and fall" and "all the nickels and the dimes of your days". I remember being struck by how refreshing it was to see a singer talking about the difficulties they had with the song lyrics instead of the standard blurb about how much the song means to them.

 

[James from London]

So that makes me wonder if it was @James from London or @Kevmac

Not I.

 

[Ome]

Is this you, relaxing at home, by any chance?

Haha!! I will say my wife is getting concerned and worried that our home is being taken over. I'm currently looking at a few things in Ikea that I might invest in and put in the spare room.

In that case I'm glad I mentioned it.

Me too.

Live performances can be hit and miss for me, and I'm surprised how much I'm enjoying this one.

Yes, absolutely. As a rule, I don't care for live performances and have only enjoyed one from The Killers and one from Toyah. I much prefer the studio versions of music. I know with the Yazoo live album that I will enjoy Alison with her singles.

(I'm just not sure it's available on vinyl, which might rule it out for you anyway).

What is the album called? I found one on Spotify which I've started to listening to called THE OTHER LIVE COLLECTION, however, it contains 'I Germinate' and I know that's a recent one of hers.

There's so much about Alison I find endearin

She was great with the audience when I saw her live, speaking to everyone like she was talking to a group of friends.

Not I.

Damn!



Now if we did have the old forum back....

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I will say my wife is getting concerned and worried that our home is being taken over. I'm currently looking at a few things in Ikea that I might invest in and put in the spare room.

Oh, IKEA saved my hide as well when all my CDs started taking up space all over the house. And I have to say it felt incredibly good once I'd got them all together and sorted them the way I want them. I can actually find a specific disc when I look for it now!!

What is the album called?

It's this one:

There are several versions of Singles out there (you quite possibly have it already), but the live tracks only appear on the 2 disc reissue that has different colouring on the cover and a helpful flash to tell you there's a live CD.

And (as you prefer them), there's also a gorgeous studio version of There Are Worse Things I Could Do on the Alison's Essential compilation (which is yet another variant of Singles but with a tweaked track list).

I found one on Spotify which I've started to listening to called THE OTHER LIVE COLLECTION, however, it contains 'I Germinate' and I know that's a recent one of hers.

I've spotted that along the way and it's on my radar as well. You'll have to let me know how you enjoy it.

There's another more recent live album called Minutes And Seconds - Live which looks quite nice as well. And I've ordered yet another compilation - this one called 25 Years Revisited - because it features a bonus live disc. They're both in the iTunes store, so I suspect you'd find them on Spotify as well.

She was great with the audience when I saw her live, speaking to everyone like she was talking to a group of friends.

That's really nice. I think it makes it so much more intimate and memorable. It's a special thing for an artist to connect with a large audience that way. Even on the live disc, I love the way she's chatting to someone at the start of There Are Worse Things ("Wish me well. I'll see you at the end") as though it's just the two of them. There's another track where someone shrieks out "Go girl" and she fires back with "Saucy". It's really endearing.

 

[Ome]

It's this one:

Ah, thanks. It's not available on vinyl and I don't have a CD player. It's not on Spotify, though I'm sure I will find it on YT when I search.

I've spotted that along the way and it's on my radar as well. You'll have to let me know how you enjoy it.

I've only done the first two tracks and it did not disappoint. I didn't click it was born from her last album 'Other' album when I read the title. I'm excited to dive into it later this week.

There's another more recent live album called Minutes And Seconds - Live which looks quite nice as well.

This is on Spotify.

And I've ordered yet another compilation - this one called 25 Years Revisited

Is this a pre-order? Nothing is listed in her discography on Wiki.

Scrap that, I found it on Amazon as a two-disc CD. I wonder why it's not listed with the rest of her discography. It's not on Spotify.

It's a special thing for an artist to connect with a large audience that way.

Absolutely, I enjoy it when they go into a little detail behind the song they are about to perform.

There's another track where someone shrieks out "Go girl" and she fires back with "Saucy".

Brilliant, those moments are the best.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

It's not available on vinyl and I don't have a CD player. It's not on Spotify, though I'm sure I will find it on YT when I search.

Oh, that's a shame. It's always a disappointment when you find music not available in the format you want or need.

I didn't click it was born from her last album 'Other' album when I read the title.

I must confess, I didn't get this at all until you said. I may have eventually realised when I became more familiar with her discography and saw when it was released compared with the album.

Now that it's out there, it is a really clever title.

I found it on Amazon as a two-disc CD. I wonder why it's not listed with the rest of her discography.

That's my fault. I only used the last part of the title to distinguish it from the standard version (it's yet another reissue. Sony are such marketing fiends).

It's listed with her discography under The Best Of Alison Moyet.

It's not on Spotify.

Oh poo. At least it can be entirely heard here

 

[Ome]

That's my fault. I only used the last part of the title to distinguish it from the standard version (it's yet another reissue. Sony are such marketing fiends).

I went straight to Spotify to look at that compilation and stone the crows I found it. I can not fathom how I didn’t spot it.






Suddenly, I’ve moved from having very little choice to land in my own Moyet treasure chest.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Delightful to see that Alison is celebrating 40 years of her solo career with a new album and a 2025 World Tour.


From her website on 13th June:

Alison Moyet is set to release her eagerly-awaited, tenth solo studio album, Key, on 4 October 2024.

Marking Alison’s 40[th] anniversary as a solo artist, Key is an 18-track collection, showcasing the breadth and depth of her artistic creativity and song writing over these four decades to the present and beyond.

With producer Sean McGhee, she has reworked 16 tracks from across her solo career – including singles, fan favourites and some deep cuts. “I wanted to take the opportunity to look at the trajectory of the past four decades” Alison explains, “and explore songs that, in their original form, were never fully realised or have had their relevance to me altered by time.”

No mere retrospective, Alison has penned two brand-new tracks for Key, including the epic Such Small Ale which is released today [LISTEN HERE], embracing her continuing journey as a songwriter.

And the following day:

Next year will see Alison Moyet embarking upon an eagerly-anticipated World Tour – entitled KEY |ALISON MOYET | LIVE 2025.

Her first, full headline tour in eight years will see dates being released in stages. Today, shows in the UK, Ireland and Europe are revealed (presale details below), with US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand dates to follow in the coming weeks.

I'm not much of concertgoer. Being surrounded by hundreds or thousands of people is just not my idea of fun anymore. All the same, I've never seen Alison live and would like to do so and ticking that box does appeal. It may be a moot point, since tickets seem to be sold at my nearest venues, so that's saved me the "shall I/shan't I" angst. I'm willing to bet our @Ome has snapped up seats.

As for the album, part of me (the greedy part) is hoping there'll be an expanded CD at some point with a few additional tracks. But it looks great as is, and I've enjoyed many reworkings she's done of her previous material, so I've taken the leap and ordered it anyway. I came close to buying the package on her official store which had the CD and phonetic t-shirt, which I think is really nice, but it was too risky with sizing. In the end I just went for the CD, but got the signed Amazon exclusive cover to make it a bit special.


I only found out this news because I ran a search on her name off the back of listening to a lot of her music again recently (If You Don't Come Back To Me is my current go-to track), so I've now signed up to her mailing list to ensure I'm in the loop in future.

There are also a few gaps in my Moyet album collection (namely The Minutes, Other and her two recent-ish live albums). It's tempting to get them, but I might wait a bit and see what comes from the 40th Anniversary celebrations.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

My copy of Key arrived this afternoon:

I'm going to save cracking it open for a bit until my Manilow vortex subsides a little, but it's very exciting that the day has come.​

 

[rlr718]

I never knew Alison Moyet had so many albums. I think I only know of her with yaz and then her hit invisible. Which actually just played at work the other day and I stopped and thought I haven’t heard this in forever. Off to research her discography. Love an outstanding vocalist!!

 

[rlr718]

My copy of Key arrived this afternoon:

I'm going to save cracking it open for a bit until my Manilow vortex subsides a little, but it's very exciting that the day has come.​

I just read about this. Hoping it’s on Spotify.

edit: it is on Spotify.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I never knew Alison Moyet had so many albums.

Yes, I suppose there is 40+ years of material, so it all adds up. I think she's had a relatively low profile in more recent years, even in the UK.

Off to research her discography. Love an outstanding vocalist!!

Oh great. Have fun. I've really enjoyed diving in to some of her albums.

it is on Spotify

That's great. Enjoy!!!

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Looks like the new album has done well on pre-sales...

​

We are delighted to confirm that Alison's tenth studio album Key is currently at #7 in the midweek album charts. It's a fantastic start and Alison, Cooking Vinyl and all of Team Moyet want to thank you for helping Key to get there.

If you've listened to the 40 Moyet Moments podcast (and we know you have in huge numbers), you'll know that chart position isn't everything. But... Can you think of a more perfect way to mark Alison's 40th year as a solo artist than to get a Top 10 album?

If you've streamed the album but not bought it yet, now would be a really helpful time to buy your copy - whether it's one of the range of amazing vinyl, or perhaps a CD or even a cheeky cassette!

I just checked iTunes, and it's currently sitting at #8, but that's also technically #7 since Coldplay are cheating with two versions of the same album taking the top two spots.​

 

[Artur]

if Yazoo became Yaz in North America what would have happened if the SAW singer Yazz had become popular there in the late 80’s? Would they have changed her name to Yazzoo?

 

[rlr718]

Yes, I suppose there is 40+ years of material, so it all adds up. I think she's had a relatively low profile in more recent years, even in the UK.





Oh great. Have fun. I've really enjoyed diving in to some of her albums.





That's great. Enjoy!!!

I discovered she has a lot of albums and did my research. It seems Alison did take a break due contractual issues with one of her labels and she wasn’t really making music for a number of years.

I use Spotify free (I really don’t want to pay for a music service and after I’ve used all the freebies I could get on Apple Music and I had tried Spotify premium I prefer Apple Music) Spotify doesn’t let you listen to albums it just mixes stuff for you. I couldn’t listen to key proper. It plays a few tracks then moved to her older songs.

did hear a few older ones that I had not heard and do like.
The few I heard from key I can definitely hear a difference in her voice. I was less keen on first listens to be honest.
This in no way means I’m giving up. I should be able to go on you tube and listen to the album proper there.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

My Alison quotient has been increasing by the day recently, and this week I decided it was time to go beyond the ones I play most. Based on current preferences, I've mostly spent time with tracks from Hometime, The Turn and Key, plus some of those "live in session" tracks from 2009's Best Of.

Hometime has a few tracks I already adore and play fairly heavily: If You Don't Come Back To Me (easily a top three Alison track for me), Should I Feel That It's Over and the b-side Tongue Tied. Of the ones that I've explored more this week, Say It is the favourite, and Do You Ever Wonder clicked after I read a line from a review of the song: "Operator, get us Cubby Broccoli!", which really sums up its sonic appeal.

While I thought Hometime would be the album to yield more gold for me, The Turn has been the big surprise. Looking at the play counts, I've barely touched this album before this week. The shift came this week when I spent some time editing the live tracks on the deluxe edition to create clean versions (this, in turn, is the spark that gave me the desire to explore more 21st Century Alf). Prior to this week, I couldn't have hummed any track save perhaps Home which I really liked back when I first got the album (it just sounds so much like an anthem from a musical which was surprising, and this different sound also showed how strong Alison's voice is, because she belts out those orders telling punters to bugger off at the end of the night like nobody's business). I still like that track, but currently speaking to me is the Sixties undertone to a number of other tracks. Anytime At All could have been sung by Cilla, Sandie or Dusty without any change to the arrangement. One More Time is terrific. The Sharpest Corner (Hollow) wasn't doing it for me until I got curious about the differences between the album version and the unreleased single edit. Turns out the latter omits the second half of the first verse, but by the time I'd played them both enough to realise this, I was into the track. Meanwhile, The Man In The Wings might have made me cry and Smaller may have come close. Really, this album has potential to be one where almost every track is a winner for me (though I'm not so sure about It's Not The Thing, Henry).

Key has been a delight. As mentioned upthread, I didn't really play it upon initial release, and it's been worth the wait. The rendition of Filigree here is beautiful and poetic (I've ordered Other off the back of hearing this track) and Such Small Ale is great as well. Many of the covers here from earlier tracks better the originals in my eyes (and ears).

The 2009 live in session tracks are consistently good now I'm delving beyond the oft-played This House and All Cried Out. Footsteps, Midnight and Wishing You Were Here are tracks I either didn't know at at all or hadn't played in their earlier versions and they're becoming go-to tracks.

As mentioned, Other is on the way (leaving The Minutes as the only of her solo studio albums I don't have), and I've also ordered a Yazoo compilation.

 

[James from London]

Another podcast recommendation: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/alison-moyet-40-moyet-moments/id1750242003

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Another podcast recommendation

Oh nice. I thoroughly enjoyed the Moyet Moments shorts on the Key album around the launch, but hadn't realised there were more. This could be the perfect accompaniment to my current mood, especially as the episodes are manageable sizes.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Not having much to do with podcasts, I'm not sure if it's defying the point to binge, but with them being so short I've already listened to the first ten episodes of the forty. So I've covered Alison leaving Yazoo, signing up with CBS, the Alf album and its singles, her first tour and Live Aid.

The chronological and biographical nature is captivating. I can also tell Alison is a lyricist and bilingual. The very specific words she chooses and the clarity with which she expresses herself extends to conversation as well as her music.

Lots of great stuff. Her description of shooting the Alf album cover gave some really funny imagery. The overwhelming nature of her fame and the pressures from others really comes across (she used the word "trauma" a lot during the earlier part of this ear). It's brilliant to get more insight into how she feels about certain songs, and none more so than Invisible, which she hasn't performed live since 1987. Really interesting that she struggles with it not just because of her the range she was forced to use, but also because Lamont Dozier wrote it in a language (American) with which she doesn't connect.