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Yazoo (band)

For the American actor and rapper, see Bryshere Y. Gray. For the British solo artist, see Yazz. For other uses, see Yaz (disambiguation) and Yazoo (disambiguation).
Yazoo
Yazoo in 1982
Yazoo in 1982
Background information
Also known asYaz
OriginBasildon, Essex, England
Genres
Years active
  • 1981–1983
  • 2008
  • 2011
Labels
Spinoffs
Spinoff ofDepeche Mode
Past members
Websiteyazooinfo.com

Yazoo (known as Yaz in North America) were an English synth-pop duo from Basildon, Essex, consisting of former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke (keyboards) and Alison Moyet (vocals).[9] The duo formed in late 1981 after Clarke responded to an advertisement Moyet placed in a British music magazine, although the pair had known each other since their school days.

Over the next 18 months the duo released two albums, Upstairs at Eric's and You and Me Both, which received critical acclaim for their production, particularly the blending of Clarke's synthesizer melodies with Moyet's blues- and soul-influenced vocals.

Yazoo enjoyed worldwide success, but were particularly popular in their home country, where three of their four singles reached the top three of the UK Singles Chart and both their albums made the top two of the UK Albums Chart.[10] In North America, they are known for the song "Situation", which, though originally only a B-side in the United Kingdom, was a club and airplay success in the United States and Canada before being released as the band's debut single in North America.

Despite their success, the duo split acrimoniously in May 1983 as a result of a combination of Clarke's reluctance to make more records under the Yazoo name, a clash of personalities, and a lack of communication between the pair.[11][12][13]

Clarke went on to form Erasure, another successful and longer-lasting synth-pop duo, while Moyet embarked on a highly successful solo career. Although their musical career was short, Yazoo's combination of electronic instrumentation and soulful female vocals has been cited as an influence on the house music scene that emerged in the mid-1980s,[11] as well as on bands such as LCD Soundsystem (who name-checked the duo on their debut single "Losing My Edge"), Hercules and Love Affair (whose leader Andy Butler has said that "Situation" was his biggest musical inspiration as a child),[11][14] La Roux, Shiny Toy Guns and Blaqk Audio.[15]

In 2008, 25 years after splitting, Clarke and Moyet reconciled and reformed Yazoo to play a successful tour of the UK, Europe and North America in support of the reissue of Yazoo's two studio albums and a box set of their material titled In Your Room. The pair briefly reunited in May 2011 to play three Yazoo songs at a music festival organised by their record label.

  1. ^ Jeffries, David. "Yazoo – In Your Room". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  2. ^ Reynolds, Simon (2013). Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture. Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-28914-1.
  3. ^ Schlosberg, Karen; Robbins, Ira; Zwirn, Michael. "Yazoo (Yaz)". Trouser Press. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  4. ^ Anderson, Crystal S. (25 August 2020). Soul in Seoul: African American Popular Music and K-pop. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781496830111 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "Alison Moyet on Apple Music". Apple Music - Web Player.
  6. ^ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 4 September 1999 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "CMJ New Music Report". CMJ Network, Inc. 8 February 1999 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Why Alison Moyet won't play her biggest hit". NZ Herald. 21 November 2023. "Besides, as she says, the trade-off is that she will perform the hits of Yazoo, whose early New Wave electronic sound has been hugely influential and therefore remains much more relevant."
  9. ^ Strong, Martin C. (1998), The Great Rock Discography, Giunti, p. 935, ISBN 88-09-21522-2
  10. ^ Roberts, David, ed. (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London, England: Guinness World Records Ltd. p. 613. ISBN 978-1-904994-10-7.
  11. ^ a b c Paphides, Pete (18 April 2008). "Back with his other Alf: Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet reunite for Yazoo". The Times. London, England.
  12. ^ Lowrey, Nix (4 May 2011). "Alison Moyet Interviewed: Only You – The Story & End of Yazoo". The Quietus. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  13. ^ Burt, Kate (8 June 2008). "How We Met: Alison Moyet & Vince Clarke". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. ^ Murray, Robin (2 January 2010). "Personality Clash: Vince Clarke vs Andy Butler". Clash. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  15. ^ "Still inspiring after all these years". Billboard. Vol. 119, no. 41. 13 October 2007. p. 93.

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