Yazz (born Yasmin Evans; 19 May 1960) is an English pop singer, who remains perhaps best known for her 1988 UK number one single "

The Only Way Is Up "The Only Way Is Up" is a song written by George Jackson and Johnny Henderson and originally released in 1980 as a single by soul singer Otis Clay. In 1988, it became a chart-topping single in the United Kingdom for Yazz and the Plastic Popula ...

". Some of her records are credited to Yazz and the Plastic Population.

Career

Yazz was born in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character ...

, London, to a Jamaican father and English mother. She attended

Holland Park School Holland Park School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form in Holland Park, London, England. In 2013, it has attained academy status. Opened in 1958, the school became the flagship for comprehensive education, and at one time had ove ...

, where she excelled at sports, including the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is o ...

. 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 Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

hits after recording with the group The Biz in 1983. Her first commercial success came in early 1988, when she sang on

Coldcut Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, ...

's " Doctorin' the House". She soon launched a solo career on

Big Life Big Life was a record label established in 1987 by Jazz Summers and Tim Parry. It featured hundreds of releases from artists such as The Orb, Stare, Yazz, Junior Reid, Coldcut Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Mat ...

records, a label set up by her husband Jazz Summers, releasing her debut solo single, "

", in the summer of 1988. It went on to spend five weeks at the top of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, 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),) while her debut album ''

Wanted Wanted may refer to: Law enforcement * Fugitive, a person wanted by the authorities * Wanted poster, a poster put up to inform the public of one or more criminals whom authorities wish to apprehend Film * ''Wanted!'', a 1937 British comedy film ...

'' (UK number 3) was certified double platinum in the UK in September 1989 for sales exceeding 600,000. 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 Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

, 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 the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

in 1993, performing with

Aswad Aswad are a British reggae group, noted for adding strong R&B and soul influences to the reggae sound. They have been performing since the mid-1970s, having released a total of 21 albums. Their UK hit singles include the number one " Don't ...

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 In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

's "

Never Can Say Goodbye "Never Can Say Goodbye" is a song written by Clifton Davis and originally recorded by The Jackson 5. The song was originally written and intended for the Supremes; however, Motown decided it would be better for the Jackson 5. It was the first ...

". In 1997, she released ''The Natural Life'', an album of cover versions, after signing with

East West Records East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in London, England. History Upon its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had one hit with ...

. 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 Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, with ...

(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

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

". Her 2008 album ''Running Back to You'', distributed in the UK by ICC Records, charted her spiritual journey and her new-found

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

faith. Yazz is now based in Spain, and is an active member of the Calahonda

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

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 Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. In October 2010, she performed again with a band at Cathedral House in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence i ...

, 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 Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as we ...

on 25 November 2016.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Yazz information and details of the 2008 album 'Running back to you' at Yazzmusic.co.uk

Running Back to You
album review {{Authority control 1960 births Big Life artists 20th-century Black British women singers British performers of Christian music 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 London 21st-century Black British women singers