Geneviève Alison Jane Moyet MBE (/ˈmɔɪ.eɪ/ MOY-ay; born 18 June 1961), formerly known as Alf, is an English singer.

Noted for her powerful bluesy contralto voice, she came to prominence as half of the synth-pop duo Yazoo (known as Yaz in North America), but has since mainly worked as a solo artist.

Geneviève Alison Jane Moyet was born on 18 June 1961 in Basildon, Essex,[1] to a French father and English mother.

[2] She grew up in the nearby town of Basildon, where she attended Janet Duke Junior School and then Nicholas Comprehensive at secondary level,[3][4] where she was in the same sixth form class as future Depeche Mode members Andrew Fletcher and Martin Gore.

[9][10] At the age of 20, Moyet's mainstream pop career began in 1982 with the formation of the synth-pop duo Yazoo with former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke.

[14] In 1985, Moyet performed at Live Aid alongside Paul Young and later returned unscheduled to the stage (alongside Bob Geldof, David Bowie and Pete Townshend)[15] to provide vocals on "Let It Be" when Paul McCartney's vocal microphone at his piano failed, leaving him unable to be heard for the first stanza of the song.

Moyet also released a single not featured on Alf, a cover of the standard "That Ole Devil Called Love", which climbed to No.

Raindancing spawned further hit singles, including a cover of Floy Joy's "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" and "Ordinary Girl".

However, the release of Hoodoo marked the beginning of an eight-year fight for Moyet to secure complete control of her artistic direction.

[18] Like many similar artists (including Aimee Mann and the late Kirsty MacColl), Moyet was reluctant to record a radio-friendly "pop" album simply for the sake of creating chart hits.

[18] During this time, however, she recorded vocals for Tricky, Sylk-130, Ocean Colour Scene, The Lightning Seeds, and King Britt,[18] and was featured on the British leg of the Lilith Fair tour.

Scored and produced by Academy Award winner Anne Dudley, the album was later re-issued with a bonus track, "Alfie".

The deal saw Moyet reunited with label head John Williams, who was A&R man for her previous two albums, Hometime and Voice.

Moyet's album, The Turn, was released on 15 October 2007, preceded by the single "One More Time" a week earlier.

The album featured self-penned songs, including the three numbers she wrote for the stage play, Smaller in which she starred with Dawn French.

The deluxe edition of the album, The Best of: 25 Years Revisited, contained an extra disc, with re-recorded versions of older songs.

[29] Moyet announced on BBC Radio 6 Music that her new album with Guy Sigsworth would be released in 2012, but in February that year she stated: "I appear to have forfeited my recording deal because I won't do reality TV.

[30] On 22 January 2013, Moyet announced that she had signed a worldwide deal with London-based record label Cooking Vinyl.

[31] Sony Music had earlier announced that Moyet's four solo albums on the label (Alf, Raindancing, Hoodoo and Essex) were being digitally remastered and would be reissued with B-sides and bonus material.

We have made an album mindless of industry mores that apply to middle-aged women and have shunned all talk of audiences, demographics and advert jazz covers.

[40] On 27 September 2016, it was announced that Moyet's first four studio albums Alf, Raindancing, Hoodooo and Essex would be reissued as Deluxe editions after having been remastered by BMG on 25 November 2016.

[41] Moyet's ninth studio album Other, described as "intelligent, adventurous electronic pop," co-produced by Guy Sigsworth, was released 16 June 2017 on Cooking Vinyl.

[51] Moyet's first marriage, to hairdresser and retired London firefighter Malcolm Lee, with whom she has a son, ended in divorce.

[54] On 14 October 2014, Moyet was presented with a Gold Badge Award by professional music writers association The Ivors Academy.

[55] Moyet was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to music.