Yazoo: Ice Cold Electronics & Passionate Vocals

I get that stupid "What's your favorite song?" and "What's your favorite band?" questions all the time...I always reply back with different names at different times depending on who is asking or what mood I am in or what memories I want to recall by that very answer...I believe the last is the key to one's favorite anything be it music, food or place as it is highly personal and subjective hence cannot be judged by anyone. Yazoo is such a band for me, for the things that it reminds me in so many aspects.

Yazoo: Alison Moyet & Vince Clarke

So what makes Yazoo such a great band for me? Firstly they were a strange duo, more precisely a strange mix of two very different musicians. Vince Clarke, being an electronic music wizard and a tech buff and of course ex-member of Depeche Mode joined with Alison Moyet with a bluesy voice and a punk/rock background led the way to one of the greatest synth-pop bands ever.

The odd couple managed to create their unique sound that did not last for too long (they only recorded 2 albums in two consecutive years 1982 & 1983) and went on to their own paths due to personal disagreements which they both would put the blame on their lack of communication. Maybe being ephemeral was one of the things that made them so great , I have always wondered if their music would have made such an impact on me if they hadn't disbanded so early...Guess we'll never know.

"Only You" was their first single from their debut album "Upstairs at Eric's". Hear them perform it on the "Top of the Pops".

One other reason was that I was highly interested in the changing sound of the 80s that popularized the heavy use of synths, drum machines, vocoders and other electronic instruments. I had been captivated by the music of Kraftwerk when I was a teenager but they were really an exception (still are actually, one of the true pioneers of the genre) till Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Human League, New Order and others came onto the stage of synth-pop.

Yazoo's Debut Album: Upstairs at Eric's

Second and Last Album: You and Me Both

Both these albums had amazingly simple melodies combined with dark lyrics sang by an unconventional voice that made me fell in love with the music of Yazoo and I am sure there are millions of others sharing my sentiments of Yazoo still after 37 year they made their first single.

I will leave you with another great hit from Yazoo and even better with a short documentary on the story of the band that I keep watching over and over again.

Yazoo - "Nobody's Diary"

A great documentary on Yazoo