Alison Moyet

Alf…remember her? Formerly of Yazoo, and Eighties solo career? Well, she’s back, but this time on her own terms. She’s currently touring Australia and New Zealand, so we went along to see her. 

As usual, dinner first. It crossed my mind that we hadn’t been to St John’s Bar & Eatery in, possibly, decades! The last time I’d been there I think, was when I was still working for ANZ, so at least 8 years ago. We decided to give it a try, to see how it is these days.

And the answer is…not brilliant. It’s basically glorified pub food. My starter they couldn’t get much wrong with – raw fish – but the burger main was average. Won’t be darkening their doorstep again in a hurry, when there’s much better places to visit. Still, it’s good to know these things, and at least it’s only a short step from the Michael Fowler Centre.

The show kicked off at 8 o’clock, and Alison gave us a running commentary throughout the gig. She explained why she’d selected the songs to perform (her new album, Key, is mostly reworkings of older songs) and details of each songs’ origins, where appropriate. She was accompanied by two musicians, both with keyboards, one also with guitar and the other on bass. Also, the reason for the long hiatus in her career: problems with her record company. Which record company? Fucking Sony of course, who seem to hold the world record for most attempts to screw over their artists. Anyway, albums have been few and far between since her Eighties heyday. Most of the material was stuff I hadn’t heard before, but she interspersed it with Nobody’s Diary and Only You, from her Yazoo career, before finishing up the set with All Cried Out. She then came back for an encore of three classic bangers, which got everyone dancing in the aisles: Situation, Love Resurrection and Don’t Go (Morgan Freeman voiceover “but, they did go”). That set list in full can be found here.

It was a great night’s entertainment, and if she’s touring anywhere near you, go see her!