Yazz

Yazz (born Yasmin Evans; 19 May 1960)[1] is a British pop singer, who remains perhaps best known for her 1988 UK number one single "The Only Way Is Up". Some of her records are credited to Yazz and the Plastic Population.

For the American actor and rapper, see Bryshere Y. Gray. For the TV and radio presenter, see Yasmin Evans. For the British synthpop duo, see Yazoo (band). For other uses, see Yaz (disambiguation).

Yazz
Born (1960-05-19) 19 May 1960
Shepherd's Bush, London, United Kingdom
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer
InstrumentsVocals, guitar
Years active1988–present
Labels

Career

Yazz was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to a Jamaican father and a British mother. She attended Holland Park School, where she excelled at sports, including the 400 metres. She was also a member of the England under-19 volleyball team. Following a spell as a catwalk model, she scored a number of club hits after recording with the group the Biz in 1983. Her first commercial success came in early 1988, when she sang on Coldcut's "Doctorin' the House".[2] She soon launched a solo career on Big Life records, a label set up by her husband Jazz Summers, releasing her debut solo single, "The Only Way Is Up", in the summer of 1988. It went on to spend five weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart,[3] eventually becoming the second-biggest-selling UK single of the year. Her follow-up "Stand Up for Your Love Rights" was another big hit (UK number 2),[3]) while her debut album Wanted (UK number 3)[3] was certified double platinum in the UK in September 1989[4] for sales exceeding 600,000.[5]

She had a fourth UK top-10 single in 1989 with "Fine Time",[3] but has since recorded only sporadically. A second Big Life album, titled Revolution of Love,[6] was scheduled for release in 1990 following the single "Treat Me Good" (peaking at number 20 in the UK).[3] The album was shelved, however, when Yazz parted ways with the label.

Yazz signed with Polydor Records, and an album titled One True Woman was scheduled for release in May 1992[7] following the release of the title track, but was also cancelled. She returned to the Top 40 in 1993, performing with Aswad on the hit "How Long".[3] Her second album, One on One was finally released in 1994, including some of the tracks recorded for the One True Woman album.

She continued to release singles throughout the 1990s, including a cover version of The Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye". In 1997, she released The Natural Life, an album of cover versions, after signing with East West Records. The album was released in Japan, Australia and some parts of Europe, but not in the UK.

During this period, Yazz began to reevaluate her career choices: she wanted to give up a lifestyle that included her failed marriage to Summers (their union had resulted in a daughter, Rio, born in April 1990),[7] and her dependency on alcohol. After she had researched various religions, a friend who used to be her hairstylist suggested she try visiting her church. Soon, she decided to "turn her life over to Christ".[8]

Her 2008 album Running Back to You, distributed in the UK by ICC Records, charted her spiritual journey and her new-found Christian faith. Yazz is now based in Spain,[9] and is an active member of the Calahonda Baptist Church. She returned to Britain occasionally to promote this album, performing songs from it live interspersed with several anecdotes pertaining to her faith.

In August 2009, Yazz performed with a full band on stage for the first time in several years at a church in Southampton. In October 2010, she performed again with a band at Cathedral House in Huddersfield, home of the Huddersfield Christian Fellowship.

A three-CD remastered deluxe edition of the Wanted album, containing Yazz's 1990 single "Treat Me Good", B-sides and remixes, was released on Cherry Red Records on 25 November 2016.[10]

Discography

Albums
Year Album UK
[3]		 AUS
[11]		 GER
[12]		 NED
[13]		 NZ
[14]		 SWE
[15]		 SWI
[16]
1988 Wanted 3 43 35 80 27 8 19
1989 The Wanted Remixes 53 — — — — — —
1994 One on One — — — — — — —
1997 The Natural Life — — — — — — —
2001 At Her Very Best and All the Greatest Hits 166 — — — — — —
2008 Running Back to You — — — — — — —
2011 This Is Love — — — — — — —

Singles
Year Single Peak positions Album
UK
[3]		 AUS
[11]		 AUT
[17]		 BEL
(FL)
[18]		 FRA
[19]		 GER
[12]		 IRE
[20]		 NED
[13]		 NOR
[21]		 NZ
[14]		 SWE
[15]		 SWI
[16]		 US
[22]		 US Dance
[23]
1988 "Doctorin' the House" (Coldcut featuring Yazz & The Plastic Population) 6 45 — 40 — 11 16 20 — 33 — 4 — 3 What's That Noise?
(by Coldcut)
"The Only Way Is Up" (as Yazz & The Plastic Population) 1 2 5 1 4 3 1 1 5 1 1 2 96 2 Wanted
"Stand Up for Your Love Rights" 2 22 29 4 19 10 1 6 — 8 12 7 — 5
1989 "Fine Time" 9 60 — 28 31 32 4 42 — 18 — 25 — —
"Where Has All the Love Gone" 16 83 — — — 40 30 86 — — — — — —
1990 "Yazz' Megamix" (France only) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — singles only
"Treat Me Good" 20 100 — — — 55 — 48 — — — 28 — 7
1992 "One True Woman" 60 — — — — — — — — — — — — –
1993 "How Long" (with Aswad) 31 — — — — 52 — — — — — — — — One on One
1994 "Have Mercy" 42 — — — — 86 — — — — — — — —
"Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" 56 — — — — — — — — — — — — —
1996 "Good Thing Going" 53 — — — — — — — — — — — — — The Natural Life
1997 "Never Can Say Goodbye" 61 240 — — — — — — — — — — — —
1998 "Abandon Me" 78 — — — — — — — — — — — — — single only
"—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References
  1. Heathcote, Charlotte (23 May 2010). "Yazz at 50: The only way is uplifting God | UK | News | Daily Express". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 613. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. UK chart peaks:
    • Top 100 peaks, other than specified: "Official Charts > Yazz". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 February 2016. N.B.: This site combines The 'Wanted' Remixes' chart data with that for the Wanted album.
    • The 'Wanted' Remixes: Warwick, Neil; Kutner, Jon; Brown, Tony (2004). The Complete Book of the British Charts (3rd ed.). London: Music Sales Limited. p. 1213. ISBN 1-84449-058-0.
    • Top 200 peaks between November 1994 and December 2010: "Chart Log UK". Dipl.-Bibl.(FH) Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
    • "Doctorin' the House": "Official Charts > Coldcut". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  4. "BPI Certified Awards > Search Results > Yazz". Imgur. Archived from the original on 14 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  5. "The Top of the Pops Chart > January 8–14, 1989". Record Mirror. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  6. "Yazz 'Treat Me Good' (US promotional poster)". Imgur. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  7. "Yazz ♥ One True Woman (liner notes from the 'One True Woman' UK promotional CD single)". Imgur. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  8. Life and Music of 80s Pop sensation: Yazz on YouTube
  9. "Yazz at 50: The only way is uplifting God". Northern and Shell Media Publications. Archived from the original on 14 October 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  10. "New Releases > Wanted: 3CD Deluxe Digipak Edition – Yazz". Cherry Red Records. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  11. Australian (ARIA) chart peaks:
  12. German chart peaks:
  13. Dutch chart peaks:
  14. New Zealand chart peaks:
  15. "swedishcharts.com > Yazz in Swedish Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  16. Swiss chart peaks:
  17. "austriancharts.at > Yazz in der Österreichischen Hitparade" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  18. Flemish chart peaks:
  19. "lescharts.com > Yazz dans les Charts Français" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  20. Irish singles chart peaks:
  21. "norwegiancharts.com > Yazz in Norwegian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  22. "Billboard > Yazz > Chart History > Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  23. "Billboard > Yazz > Chart History > Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
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