Alison Moyet developed her signature singing style because she “had to be voluminous to be heard”.
The 63-year-old musician – known for her time in synth pop duo Yazoo – played in local punk rock bands growing in the 1970s and ’80s, and her famous vocals were honed by having to keep up the volume at home.
Speaking to Record Collector magazine, she said: “Because there was all this shouting, I had to be voluminous to be heard, and because of my family, I had no inhibition about showing emotion because everyone wore everything on their skin.
“It was all out on show.”
Alison embraced the punk scene early on, ending up in a local band called The Vandals, and she felt like it was a natural fit.
She recalled: “It wasn’t a big deal. I already felt very ‘other’ to everybody else. FOr one I was built to pull a car. I was always heavy set.
“And I came from a very physical family, so we were very physically able. And it was also quite an aggressive family.
“My dad grew up in a French peasant family, that was his way of describing it; you know they were of the country. They had to live by their wits.”
Her father’s background in occupied France impacted her own upbringing, where everyone was “screaming and shouting” at home, which gave her a sense of courage.
She explained: “He was a young lad in occupied France, and he would earn his extra vitamin biscuits by street fighting.
“So, it was quite brutal. I grew up in this house, where there was screaming and shouting. When I was young, I was inordinately brave.
“I got that from my dad; I was expected to stand up for myself. So, there was no fear about getting up onstage.”
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