Richard Melville Hall, better known as Moby, is an American DJ, singer-songwriter and musician.

Born 11^th September 1965 in Harlem, New York City and raised in Darien, Connecticut, Moby started playing the classical guitar, piano and drums when he was nine years old. At seventeen he joined the hardcore punk band Vatican Commandoes, who released three EPs before disbanding in 1985, and this was followed by stints with the post-punk group AWOL (who released a self-titled debut album in 1983) and the alternative rock group Ultra Vivid Scene. However, he soon decided to continue as a solo performer under the name Moby (a reference to the fact he is related to the Moby Dick author Herman Melville – also the reason for his middle name).

Moby eventually signed with Instinct Records in 1990 and released a number of singles, including the UK Top 10 hit Go and the Top 40 single I Feel It/Thousand, along with albums Moby and Ambient. During this time Moby also produced remixes for artists like The Prodigy, Erasure and Michael Jackson.

After signing for the major label Mute Records in 1993, Moby scored a hit with the single Move (You Make Me Feel So Good). This was followed by the albums Everything Is Wrong, which included the UK Top 30 singles Feeling So Real and Everytime You Touch Me and was named Album of the Year by Spin magazine, and the 1996 follow-up album Animal Rights, including the single Come on Baby.

However, it was 1999’s Play that really launched Moby into the mainstream. Released in May 1999, the album shot to number one on the UK Albums Chart and sold over ten million copies worldwide – making it the bestselling electronica album of all time. It was also critically acclaimed and produced nine singles, including the UK Top 20 hits Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, Natural Blues and Porcelain.

Since then, Moby has released a further four studio albums, selling millions of copies worldwide and producing hits like We Are All Made of Stars, Extreme Ways, In This World (ft. Jennifer Price), Lift Me Up and New York, New York (ft. Debbie Harry). He is currently working on his tenth studio album, which he says will be more acoustic and less electronic than recent releases.