Was I the only person who thought that the vocalist in this song was a guy. I remember hearing “Situation” on some decade-ending Top 100 countdown in ’89 or ’90 and saying “wow, that guy says ‘he is my lover’. That’s pretty ballsy for a song from 1982.” Hell, it would be ballsy for a song today. Imagine my amazement when it turned out that the full, deep voice of the singer turned out to be that of Alison Moyet, who is definitely a woman. A whole lot of woman, too. Regardless of the singer’s sex, “Situation” harkens back to the days when dance music was as interesting to listen to for the songwriting as it was for the beat. Moyet and partner Vince Clarke (of Depeche Mode and then Erasure) were a team that should have lasted way more than two albums (although I keep reading that they disliked one another) and this song should be all the reason you need to agree. Match Clarke’s synthesizer wizardry with Moyet’s vocal pyrotechnics and you’ve got a clear winner. Hopefully their well-received reunion this past year means more music is in the pipeline for Yaz. And can you imagine an album featuring the vocals of both Moyet AND Andy Bell? There would be some serious singin’ goin’ on there (not to mention the fact that every gay person over the age of 30 would run out for a copy).
Alison still has it, as this live clip attests to.
