Members

Vince Clarke

Vincent John Martin Clarke was born on 3 July 1960 in South Woodford, London, and grew up in Basildon, Essex. His first instruments were the oboe, then the violin and the piano, before he moved on to guitar. It was hearing Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's single "Electricity" that converted Clarke to the electronic music world. His neighbour Martin Gore bought a synthesizer, and together they began exploring records by the early Human League and Kraftwerk, leading them to abandon guitar-based music entirely.

Clarke was a founding member of Depeche Mode, originally formed as Composition of Sound in 1979 alongside schoolmates Martin Gore and Andrew Fletcher. The band initially used guitars before switching to synthesizers in 1980. After Dave Gahan joined as lead vocalist, the band was renamed Depeche Mode. Clarke wrote virtually all of the songs on the band's debut album Speak & Spell (1981), including the singles "Dreaming of Me," "New Life," and the iconic "Just Can't Get Enough." Despite the album's success, Clarke left Depeche Mode at the end of 1981, later commenting that their subsequent material was "a little dark for my taste" and that he did not enjoy the public aspects of success such as touring and interviews.

After Yazoo's split in 1983, Clarke formed The Assembly with producer Eric Radcliffe. The first and only release, "Never Never" featuring Feargal Sharkey, reached number 4 in the UK. Clarke then placed an advertisement in Melody Maker for a singer in 1985. One applicant was Andy Bell, and together they formed Erasure — one of the most commercially successful synth-pop acts of all time, releasing 19 studio albums and selling over 25 million records worldwide with hits such as "Oh L'amour," "Sometimes," "Chains of Love," "A Little Respect," and "Always."

Clarke has also collaborated with Martyn Ware (of the Human League and Heaven 17) as The Clarke & Ware Experiment, releasing albums Pretentious (1999) and Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle (2001). In 2011, he reunited with former Depeche Mode colleague Martin Gore for the techno project VCMG, releasing the album Ssss in 2012. Clarke has also been involved in designing synthesizer hardware, including the VCM20, VCS20, and The Imaginator (VCX-378) modules. He released his first-ever solo album, Songs of Silence, recorded entirely using Eurorack modular synthesizers. Clarke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 as a member of Depeche Mode.

Alison Moyet

Geneviève Alison Jane Moyet was born on 18 June 1961 in Billericay, Essex, to a French father and English mother, and grew up in Basildon. She attended Janet Duke Junior School and then Nicholas Comprehensive, where she was in the same sixth-form class as future Depeche Mode members Andrew Fletcher and Martin Gore. From a young age, she was drawn to blues, soul, and punk music — an eclectic mix that would later define her powerful and distinctive vocal style. As a teenager, she sang in several local bands, including The Vandals, The Screamin' Ab Dabs, The Vicars, and The Little Roosters. After leaving school at sixteen, she worked as a shop assistant and trained as a piano tuner.

At the age of twenty, Moyet's mainstream career began when Vince Clarke spotted her advertisement in a local paper in 1982. The pair quickly discovered an extraordinary musical chemistry. Her commanding, blues-inflected voice provided a striking contrast to Clarke's pristine electronic backdrops, creating a sound that was unlike anything else in the charts at the time. Her voice is so deep that it is not uncommon for first-time listeners to assume the singer is male.

After Yazoo disbanded, Moyet signed to CBS and launched a hugely successful solo career. Her debut album, Alf (1984) — titled after her punk-era nickname — topped the UK Albums Chart and sold over 1.5 million copies in Britain alone, spawning the hits "Love Resurrection" (UK #10), "All Cried Out" (UK #8), and "Invisible" (UK #21). Her second album, Raindancing (1987), reflected Moyet's desire to take more responsibility for songwriting and also hit the UK top ten, featuring the hit singles "Is This Love?" and "Weak in the Presence of Beauty."

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Moyet continued to record and perform, exploring jazz, blues, and more experimental territory alongside pop. Hometime (2002) launched her into the top five best-selling female UK artists of that year. Albums like Essex (1994), Voice (2004), the minutes (2013), and Other (2017, produced by Guy Sigsworth) received strong critical notices. Her 2024 album Key, featuring 16 re-recorded songs and two new tracks, reached number 8 in the UK Album Charts. In 2001, she also made her stage debut as Matron "Mama" Morton in the London West End production of Chicago.

By 2023, Moyet's worldwide album sales had reached a certified 23 million, with over two million singles sold. All ten of her studio albums have charted in the UK top 30. In 2023, at age 62, she graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Fine Art Printmaking. She is widely recognised as one of the finest British vocalists of her generation.