Yazz
| Yazz | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Yasmin M. Evans |
| Born |
19 May 1960 Shepherd's Bush, London, England |
| Genres | Dance, funk, Christian |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, model |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels | Big Life, Polydor, eastwest, Elevation |
| Website | www.yazzmusic.co.uk |
Yazz (born Yasmin Evans, 19 May 1960) is a British pop singer, who remains best known for her successful 1988 dance track, "The Only Way Is Up". Some of her records were credited to Yazz & The Plastic Population.
Yazz was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to a Jamaican father and English 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. After 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 supplied the vocals on Coldcut's "Doctorin' the House". She soon launched a solo career on Big Life records, a label set up by her husband Jazz Summers, releasing her debut 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, eventually becoming the second biggest selling UK single of the year. Suddenly one of Britain's biggest pop acts, her follow-up was another big hit ("Stand Up for Your Love Rights", UK number 2 ), whilst 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.
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