Product Code Database
Yazz (born Yasmin Evans; 19 May 1960) 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.
She had a fourth UK top-10 single in 1989 with "Fine Time", but has since recorded only sporadically. A second Big Life album, titled Revolution of Love, was scheduled for release in 1990 following the single "Treat Me Good" (peaking at number 20 in the UK). 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 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". 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 Jazz Summers (their union had resulted in a daughter, Rio, born in April 1990), 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 Jesus".
Her 2008 album Running Back to You, distributed in the UK by ICC Records, charted her spiritual journey and her new-found Christians faith. Yazz is now based in Spain, 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.
Discography
Albums
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.
Singles
1988
! scope="row" "Doctorin' the House" (Coldcut featuring Yazz & The Plastic Population) 6 45 — 40 — 11 16 20 — 33 — 4 — 3 What's That Noise?
(by Coldcut)1989
! scope="row" "Fine Time" 9 60 — 28 31 32 4 42 — 18 — 25 — — 1990
! scope="row" "Yazz' Megamix" (France only) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Singles only 1992
! scope="row" "One True Woman" 60 — — — — — — — — — — — — – 1993
! scope="row" "How Long" (with Aswad) 31 — — — — 52 — — — — — — — — One on One 1994
! scope="row" "Have Mercy" 42 — — — — 86 — — — — — — — — 1996
! scope="row" "Good Thing Going" 53 — — — — — — — — — — — — — The Natural Life 1997
! scope="row" "Never Can Say Goodbye" 61 240 — — — — — — — — — — — — 1998
! scope="row" "Abandon Me" 78 — — — — — — — — — — — — — Single only "—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
External links
Categories: 1960 Births, Big Life Artists, 20th-century Black British Women Singers, 20th-century British Women Singers, British Performers Of Christian Music, Elektra Records Artists, English Baptists, English Dance Musicians, English Expatriates In Spain, English Women Pop Singers, English People Of Jamaican Descent, Living People, People Educated At Holland Park School, People From Shepherd's Bush, Singers From The London Borough Of Hammersmith And Fulham, 21st-century Black British Women Singers, 21st-century British Women Singers
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