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

". 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 suburb 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, its ...

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

Holland Park School Holland Park School is a coeducational Comprehensive school, comprehensive secondary school and sixth form located in Holland Park, London, England. Opened in 1958, the school was considered a flagship for comprehensive education, nicknamed 'th ...

, 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 ...

. She was also a member of the England under-19 volleyball team. Following a spell as a

catwalk model A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or Fashion accessory, accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the spring/summer and fall/winter sea ...

, 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 A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

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 "Doctorin' the House" is a song by English electronic music duo Coldcut with British singer Yazz, released in February 1988 by Ahead Of Our Time and Virgin as the second single from their debut album, '' What's That Noise?'' (1989). The track inc ...

". 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, De La Soul, and Damage. In 1999, the label was put into receiver ...

records, a label set up by her husband

Jazz Summers Gordon "Jazz" Summers (15 March 1944 – 14 August 2015) was a British music manager. He managed acts such as Snow Patrol, the Verve, Scissor Sisters and Klaxons. Alongside Simon Napier-Bell, he co-managed Wham! and is credited with having enabl ...

, 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, eventually becoming the second-biggest-selling UK single of the year. Her follow-up "

Stand Up for Your Love Rights "Stand Up for Your Love Rights" is a song performed by British pop singer Yazz. It is the follow-up single to her successful single "The Only Way Is Up" and was released in October 1988 as the second single from her debut album, '' Wanted'' (198 ...

" was another big hit (UK number 2), while her debut album '' Wanted'' (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 Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a 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 ...

, 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 a list of the 40 currently 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. "To ...

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 Tu ...

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 release ...

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

'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 New York City. History After its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had its first hit wit ...

. 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 or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

(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 ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

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

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

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

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

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 status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

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

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees 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 confl ...

, 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 w ...

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 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