American Top 40 PastBlast, 6/8/85: Alison Moyet, “Invisible”

Upstairs at Eric’s, the debut LP from Yaz, was hard to miss in record store bins during the mid-to-late 80s, with its pair of sawed-in-two mannequins “sitting” at a table. I’m familiar with a few of its tracks now (“Situation” and “Don’t Go” are both pretty good) but its moment of popularity, my freshman year of college, passed by me unnoticed at the time. Keyboardist Vince Clarke went on to decent success with Erasure, but it was a single from vocalist Alison Moyet that caught my ear most.

I’m not sure now how I came across “Invisible” (#35 this week, down from its peak of #31) in the spring of 85—radio, I assume—but it stood out enough for me to purchase the 45. I love it to this day. Moyet gives a standout vocal performance, with her big, full alto. I’ve listened to some of her other songs again on YouTube this week (I remember a guy on my floor talking up “Love Resurrection” later in 85, and I know I heard “Is This Love” when it was released a couple of years later); it’s amusing to read in the comments repeatedly about how Moyet’s voice compares quite favorably to Adele’s.