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Yazz | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1960-05-19)19 May 1960 (age 64) Shepherd's Bush,London, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels | |
Yazz (bornYasmin 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 toYazz and the Plastic Population.
Yazz was born inShepherd's Bush, London, to a Jamaican father and a British mother. She attendedHolland Park School, where she excelled at sports, including the400 metres. She was also a member of the England under-19 volleyball team. Following a spell as acatwalk model, she scored a number ofclub hits afterrecording with the group the Biz in 1983. Her first commercial success came in early 1988, when she sang onColdcut's "Doctorin' the House".[2] She soon launched a solo career onBig Life records, a label set up by her husbandJazz 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 theUK 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 albumWanted (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, titledRevolution 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 withPolydor Records, and an album titledOne True Woman was scheduled for release in May 1992[7] following the release of the title track, but was also cancelled. She returned to theTop 40 in 1993, performing withAswad on the hit "How Long".[3] Her second album,One on One was finally released in 1994, including some of the tracks recorded for theOne True Woman album.
She continued to release singles throughout the 1990s, including acover version ofThe Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye". In 1997, she releasedThe Natural Life, an album of cover versions, after signing withEast 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 toSummers (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 toChrist".[8][better source needed]
Her 2008 albumRunning Back to You, distributed in the UK by ICC Records, charted her spiritual journey and her new-foundChristian faith. Yazz is now based in Spain,[9] and is an active member of the CalahondaBaptist Church. She returned to Britain occasionally to promote this album, performing songs from it live interspersed with several anecdotes pertaining to her faith.[citation needed]
In August 2009, Yazz performed with a full band on stage for the first time in several years at a church inSouthampton. In October 2010, she performed again with a band at Cathedral House inHuddersfield, home of the Huddersfield Christian Fellowship.[citation needed]
A three-CD remastered deluxe edition of theWanted album, containing Yazz's 1990 single "Treat Me Good", B-sides and remixes, was released onCherry Red Records on 25 November 2016.[10]
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||
| 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"(withAswad) | 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. | ||||||||||||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
