Moby is a famous singer and musician! He is considered to be one of the most important dance music figures of the early 1990s!
But do you know everything there is to know about him?
- His full name is Richard Melville Hall
- He was born on September 11, 1965
- He is better known by his stage name Moby
- He is an American musician, singer, songwriter, producer, animal rights activist, and author
- He has sold an estimated 20 million records worldwide
- AllMusic considers him to be “one of the most important dance music figures of the early 1990s, helping bring the music to a mainstream audience both in the United Kingdom and in America”
- After taking up the guitar and piano at age nine, Moby played in several underground punk rock bands through the 1980s
- Before turning to electronic dance music
- In 1989, he moved to New York City and became a prolific figure as a DJ, producer, and remixer
- His 1991 single “Go” was his mainstream breakthrough
- Reaching No. 10 in the United Kingdom
- Between 1992 and 1997 he scored eight top-10 hits on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart
- Including “Move (You Make Me Feel So Good)”, “Feeling So Real”, and “James Bond Theme (Moby Re-Version)”
- Through the decade he also produced music under various pseudonyms
- Released the critically acclaimed Everything Is Wrong (1995)
- And composed music for films
- His punk-oriented album Animal Rights (1996) alienated much of his fan base
- Moby found commercial and critical success with his fifth album Play (1999)
- Which, after receiving little recognition, became an unexpected global hit in 2000
- After each track was licensed to films, television shows, and commercials
- It remains his highest selling album with 12 million copies sold
- Its seventh single, “South Side”, featuring Gwen Stefani, remains his only one to appear on the US Billboard Hot 100
- Reaching No. 14
- Moby followed Play with albums of varied styles including electronic, dance, rock, and downtempo music
- Starting with 18 (2002), Hotel (2005), and Last Night (2008)
- His later albums saw him explore ambient music
- Including the almost four-hour release Long Ambients 1: Calm. Sleep. (2016)
- Moby has not toured since 2014 but continues to record and release albums
- His most recent is Long Ambients 2 (2019)
- Moby has co-written, produced, or remixed music for various artists
- In addition to his music career, Moby is known for his veganism and support for animal welfare and humanitarian aid
- He is the owner of Little Pine
- A vegan restaurant in Los Angeles
- And organised the vegan music and food festival Circle V
- He is the author of four books
- Including a collection of his photography and two memoirs: Porcelain: A Memoir (2016) and Then It Fell Apart (2019)
- Moby has posted updates on his blog via his official website since September 2000
- In March 2008, after Gary Gygax’s death, Moby was one of several celebrities identifying themselves as former Dungeons & Dragons players
- In 2010, after 21 years living in New York City, Moby relocated to a castle in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles named Wolf’s Lair
- It was first owned by Milton R. Wolf
- For almost $4 million
- And spent an additional $2 million to restore it
- He also owns an apartment in Little Italy, Manhattan
- In 2014, Moby sold the property and downsized to a smaller home in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles
- In June 2013, Moby and numerous other celebrities appeared in a video showing support for Chelsea Manning
- In January 2018, he stated that he was approached by friends in the CIA
- And told to post and spread content on the Trump-Russian collusion allegations through social media
- Moby identifies himself as heterosexual and cisgender and had felt “disappointed” to be straight
- He dated Christina Ricci
- In 2019 he claimed in a book to have had a brief relationship with actress Natalie Portman
- Though she has denied this and pointed out that her age in the book is incorrect
- In reality, she was just 18 at the time
- He does date, but has stated that that he feels more comfortable alone than in a relationship
- In 2016, he was in an eight-month relationship
- His first in ten years
- He has no children
- Moby practices meditation
- And has explored different types
- Including transcendental, Mettā, and Vipassanā
- He was born in Harlem, New York
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