Upstairs At Eric's

Hitch a ride with Doctor Who, back to 1982, and you'll find that the fans of synthpop are trying to decide if it's better to follow the pop sound of the Human League or the darker side of the synth sound produced by Japan. Enter in to that fray a band who seemed to unite the factions...Yazoo, or Yaz, as they had to change their name in the USA for legal reasons, with the seminal album "Upstairs At Eric's". Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet, he formerly of Depeche Mode, she formerly of The Screamin' Ab Dabs, joined together when Vince answered an advert, placed by Alison, looking for blues musicians! After recording a song Vince had already written, "Only You" and which the record company Mute liked, they found themselves making an album before, as Alison says, "We'd even had a pint together".

But what an album! From its superb cover, to its quirky title (named from recording upstairs at producer Eric "E.C." Ratcliffe's home studio) and its glorious collection of concise synthpop classic tracks. On paper, combining Alison's bluesy purring growl with the colder electronic beats shouldn't work. That it does is a testament to how talented both of them were as songwriters and musicians. There were many groups trying to implement similar sounds in their music but Yazoo stood out from the crowd because of Alison's voice and the strength of the songs.

Side One

1 Don't Go 3:06

2 Too Pieces 3:12

3 Bad Connection 3:17

4 I Before E Except After C 4:38

5 Midnight 4:18

6 In My Room 3:50

Side Two

1 Only You 3:12

2 Goodbye 70's 2:35

3 Tuesday 3:20 

4 Winter Kills 4:02 

5 Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I) 4:40

"Don't Go " and "Only You", Number 2 & 3 respectively in the UK singles chart, are the tracks which most people know, but there are plenty of other gems on the album. The soulful "Midnight", the energetic "Goodbye 70's", the hauntingly beautiful "Winter Kills" and the anthemic closer "Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)". "Tuesday" wasn't included on US releases until it made it to a "Best Of..." compilation in 1999.

They would only record one more album, 1983's "You And Me Both", before splitting and finding further success, Vince with Erasure and Alison as a solo artist. But has anything they've produced had a more lasting or influential effect? I very much doubt it.

Yazoo - Don't Go

Yazoo - Only You