''Alf'' is the debut solo studio album by English singer

Alison Moyet Geneviève Alison Jane Ballard ( ; born 18 June 1961) is an English singer noted for her powerful bluesy contralto voice. She came to prominence as half of the duo Yazoo (also known as Yaz), but has since mainly worked as a solo artist. Her ...

, released on 9 November 1984 by

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. The album launched Moyet's solo career following the disbanding of

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

duo Yazoo. The album reached 1 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and features the singles "

Love Resurrection "Love Resurrection" is a pop song written by English singer-songwriter Alison Moyet and producers Jolley & Swain for Moyet's debut studio album '' Alf'' (1984). Released as the album's first single in June 1984, it reached number 10 in the UK ...

", " All Cried Out", "

Invisible Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology. Since objects can be seen by light in ...

" and "

For You Only "For You Only" is a song by British singer-songwriter Alison Moyet, which was released in 1985 as the fourth and final single from her debut studio album '' Alf''. For its release as a single, a remixed version of the song was created, which was ...

". A deluxe edition of ''Alf'' was released on 25 November 2016 by

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Background

In 1983, shortly before the release of their second studio album, ''

You and Me Both ''You and Me Both'' is the second and final studio album by English synth-pop duo Yazoo (known in North America as Yaz), released on 4 July 1983 in the United Kingdom by Mute Records and in North America by Sire Records. The album's title was ...

'' (1983), Yazoo announced that they were splitting up. Deciding to pursue a solo career, Moyet soon received various offers from different record companies. Moyet ended up signing to CBS for £1 million later that year. However, after signing the contract, Yazoo's American record company Warner Bros then put an injunction on her. The legal issues took a year to be resolved by settlement in 1984. When Moyet was able to start working on her debut album, a meeting was held with CBS. As both

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European Da ...

and

Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Thei ...

had been recently successful in the charts, the label suggested Moyet team up with their producers Tony Swain & Steve Jolley. The collaboration with the two producers proved successful and the three began writing songs for an album. Moyet later recalled: "I was simply in a space with two accomplished and encouraging blokes who were saying, 'Let's write some songs', and we didn't find it hard." She told ''

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'' in 1984: "With Swain and Jolley, I can get on with what I do best, writing lyrics and singing. We had a writing session at my house – two weeks around the piano. Some of the songs were written over the phone." Writing and recording sessions had to be done with haste due to Swain and Jolley's other commitments as producers. The recording sessions took three months to complete. CBS suggested the album be titled ''Alf'', which had become Moyet's well-known nickname since before Yazoo. ''Alf'' was released in November 1984 and was a commercial success in the United Kingdom and worldwide. The album topped the

, and by early December, it had achieved a double platinum certification. In April 1985 it had gone triple platinum and in February 1987 it went quadruple. In 1985, the success of the album led to Moyet receiving her first

Brit Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

for Best British Female Solo Artist. ''Alf'' also reached No. 1 in New Zealand and would go eight times platinum there. In the United States, the album would prove to be Moyet's most successful commercially, peaking at No. 45. As of February 1994, ''Alf'' had sold three million copies worldwide. The lead single "

" preceded the album. It was released in June 1984 and had reached No. 10 in the UK, also becoming successful across Europe and beyond. The second single " All Cried Out" was met with similar success when released in September 1984. It reached No. 8 in the UK. "

", the third single, was released in November 1984 and reached No. 21 in the UK. In the US, it became Moyet's highest-charting single, reaching No. 31. In October 1985, "

" was released as the fourth and final single from the album. When CBS first suggested releasing a fourth single, Moyet spoke against the idea and suggested she record a cover of "

That Ole Devil Called Love "That Ole Devil Called Love" is a song written in 1944 by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher. It was first recorded by Billie Holiday, who released it as the B-side of her hit " Lover Man" in 1945.

Critical reception

Upon release, Deanne Pearson of ''

'' said: "If you want genuine, heartfelt love songs, cries of passion without cliche, look no further than ''Alf''. With a heart as big as her voice, Alison Moyet is one of the singer/songwriters of the '80s. Commercial but uncontrived. Unlike Wham, you don't feel you're being taken for a ride." Christopher Connelly of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' noted: "''Alf'' too often founders because of its disappointingly unimaginative arrangements. Throughout the record, Moyet's voice rings out vigorously enough, but Swain and Jolley have cloaked it in layers of dinky-sounding keyboards and dopey percussion. Their woefully banal instrumental accompaniment doesn't smother Moyet's voice but neither does it provide any support for her gutty warbling. ''Alf'' doesn't grasp or accommodate its vocalist's strengths. In the end, Moyet has to pull much of this record out of the fire all by herself." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' commented: "Another in the latest breed of vocalists from the United Kingdom, Alison Moyet features a more powerful delivery than

Sade Sade may refer to: People * Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine * Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band * Sade Baderinwa (born 1969), WAB ...

, and the new wave dance slant of such cuts as 'Love Resurrection' and current torch-song single 'Invisible' should make Moyet a prime candidate for crossover success." In a retrospective review, Stewart Mason of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

summarised: "Hooking up with Bananarama's producers, Tony Swain and Steve Jolley, Moyet delivers an enormous, walloping mid-'80s pop sound that constantly threatens to overwhelm both the songs, which are a mixed bag, and occasionally even the formidably voiced singer herself. Several tracks make it through the production mill unscathed, notably the singles 'All Cried Out' and 'Love Resurrection,' but the album's pinnacle is the remarkable 'Invisible,' a soulful shouter that's among the great R&B pop singles of the '80s. Some of the other tracks would benefit from less-overbearing production, most notably the chilling 'Where Hides Sleep,' making ''Alf'' one of those albums that sounds better once the listener has mentally undressed the songs a bit." Speaking of the 2016 deluxe edition, ''

Attitude Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value * Metaphysics of presence * Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a pro ...

'' magazine writer Josh Lee stated: "Switching from the synth-pop she'd made with Vince Clarke to a mainstream pop sound fashioned by the writing/producing duo of Steve Jolley and Tony Swain, Moyet sang the hell out of hits like 'Love Resurrection', 'All Cried Out' and 'Invisible' on a long-player that sounds just as fresh and bright today. The deluxe edition remastering helps, but three-plus decades later the songs still stand up as pop classics." ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''Gay Times Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ media brand established in 1975. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company now includes content for the LGBTQ+ commu ...

'' magazine writer Darren Howard wrote: "Listening to ''Alf'' now, it still holds up. As with any Alison Moyet record you expect amazing vocals and you definitely get that here, the quality of the song-writing is high and the production hasn't dated, it's still a classic album and is only enhanced by the extra tracks included on this deluxe edition."

Track listing

Personnel

– lead and backing vocal * Steve Jolley – backing vocal, guitars on "Invisible" * Tony Swain – keyboards * Tim Goldsmith – drums

Production

* Produced by Steve Jolley & Tony Swain * Recorded, engineered and mixed by Richard Lengyel (at

Odyssey Studios Odyssey Studios was a recording studio based near Marble Arch in London and opened in 1979. It was set up by Wayne Bickerton as an extension of State Records, the label he had set up with Tony Waddington (songwriter), Tony Waddington and John Frui ...

, London, England; assisted by Roger Dobson) *

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by Vlado Meller (at

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Recording Studios, New York City) * Simon Fowler – photography * Rob O'Connor (Stylo Rouge) – artwork (design/art direction)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alf (Album) 1984 debut albums Albums produced by Jolley & Swain Alison Moyet albums CBS Records albums Columbia Records albums