Quotes from Alison Moyet

Within three months I had gone from being this black sheep of the town to suddenly becoming a pop star.

When you find yourself on stage singing and you are embarrassed about what you are singing in front of your peers, then you have to think about your priorities.

There has always been a feeling with people that they love my singing but not always the choice of material.

I was a single parent, and I was prohibited from working.

In the early days, myself and my friends were into punk because we had no money, just very basic instruments and skills. It was more about the ethos and the energy.

My big chip is that I never had an education. I wanted my children to get one so they didn't fall into the same trap as me.

The press Yazoo were receiving were focused on the voice, This obviously was about trends.

When you have kids, it limits you. That was a choice I made.

I had been with the label since I was 21. The label wanted shiny pop but I didn't. I found a little independent and we've got all these great reviews in England and now it has gone gold.

People always had something to say about the fact I was odd looking, bigger than other people, that I was awkward. When I discovered punk, I bought into it. That look, combined with being fat, made me even less of what people thought a young woman should be.

When you make a lot of money for a record company, they don't want you to evolve. Growing older, you naturally do.

My style of singing has always been referred to 'soul' singing when it fact it's more influenced by English R&B Blues Shouting. I'm closer to Led Zeppelin as a vocalist than to Ella Fitzgerald. It was torture dealing with major labels.

Instead of thinking that's a nice tune, you start thinking is it the right pace, is it the right tempo? That is the death nell for artists.

I love being middle-aged in general. I'm more at peace with myself now. I still have tormented times, but they are few and far between. You don't feel you have to be the centre of your world when you get older. Becoming a mother had been a turning point which stopped me from being the centre of my world.

The thing with me is, I'm both untidy and I hate mess. But I'm not untidy in communal spaces, like living rooms. My bedroom is havoc.

I have never had another job and I don't have a mortgage.

Psychologically, I'll always be a fat girl because that's what my character is built on. I always got a buzz out of people telling me I was ugly. I went out of my way to un-beautify myself. I didn't want anyone's approval.

Yazoo was Vince's sound ultimately. At the time Vince and I got together he had only recorded one album with Depeche and Depeche were to go on to greater things.

One of the reasons I got really fat when I left home was because I thought rich people ate white bread and Spam. I also thought they could get processed meals, because we never did, so that was exciting.

I spoke Franglais growing up.

My soul desires a pre-industrial world, and since I can't have that, I don't really care for anything material.

I was writing and I have three kids. I was occupying my time with them but it was difficult.

I was always an odd girl; I managed to alienate a lot of people. I felt like a square peg in a round hole in the music industry and created a lot of neurosis for myself.

I have never done any other job. I have sung in bands since I was 15. I left school completely unqualified. I have no other training.