The recent announcement of a Yazoo (”Yaz” to us in the States) reunion tour set me to thinking … will Alison Moyet be performing any of her solo singles during the show, or will it be limited to Yaz’s limited, two-album discography?
While Moyet’s Yaz teammate Vince Clarke went on to greater fame with Erasure, Alison had her share of solo success, albeit far more limited in the U.S. The only taste of the Top 40 she had here was when her debut solo single, “Invisible,” squeaked in at #31, actually an impressive accomplishment since Yaz never reached higher than #67 for any of their singles.
When it came time to pick a second single off Alf, “Love Resurrection” (download) was the choice, and a fine one. “Love Resurrection” was another in a hot streak of classic singles co-written by producers Tony Swain and Steve Jolley, who made their name writing and producing for Bananarama and Spandau Ballet. Problem was what to do with Moyet in the video — in the original clips, she was covered in basically a burka, wandering around a desert. Her American label reshot the clip when it was released as a single here, putting Moyet in a live context. And a burka.
I realize Alison wasn’t exactly a petite video vixen, but they could have dressed her better than grabbing some of Bea Arthur’s “Maude” leftovers and shoving some 1985 shoulder pads in them. This awful video ended up making her look like Mrs. Roper twirling around the Regal Beagle after one too many mimosas. As a result, “Love Resurrection” landed with a resounding flop in the States, despite hitting the Top Ten overseas, an unfair fate for a quite decent song. It’ll be interesting to see if Alison and Vince touch on any of her solo material during the tour, since I can easily hear a synthed-up “Vince” version of this tune.
“Love Resurrection” peaked at #82 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #47 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play Chart in 1985.
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Tags: Alison Moyet, John C. Hughes, Lost in the '80s, Yaz
