Yazz: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|British singer}}

{{for multi|the American actor and rapper|Bryshere Y. Gray|the TV and radio presenter|Yasmin Evans|the British synthpop duo|Yazoo (band)|other uses|Yaz (disambiguation)}}

| name = Yazz

| image =

| image_size =

| Img_caption =

| background = solo_singer

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1960|5|19}}

| birth_place = [[Shepherd's Bush]], London, United Kingdom

| origin =

| genre = {{Hlist|[[Dance music|Dance]]|[[funk]]|[[Christian music|Christian]]}}

| occupation = Singer

| instruments = Vocals, guitar

| years_active = 1988–present

| label = {{Hlist|[[Big Life]]|[[Polydor]]|[[eastwest]]|Elevation}}

| website =

'''Yazz''' (born '''Yasmin Evans'''; 19 May 1960)<ref>{{cite web|last=Heathcote |first=Charlotte |url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/176648/Yazz-at-50-The-only-way-is-uplifting-God |title=Yazz at 50: The only way is uplifting God &#124; UK &#124; News &#124; Daily Express |publisher=Express.co.uk |date=23 May 2010 |access-date=22 August 2014}}</ref>isa 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'''.

Yazz was born in [[Shepherd's Bush]], London, to a Jamaican father and a British 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. Following a spell as a [[catwalk model]], she scored a number of [[nightclub|club]] hits after [[sound recording and reproduction|recording]] with the group the Biz in 1983. Her first commercial success came in early 1988, when she sang on [[Coldcut]]'s "[[Doctorin' the House]]".<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book| first=David| last=Roberts| year=2006| title=British Hit Singles & Albums| edition=19th| publisher=Guinness World Records Limited| location=London| isbn=1-904994-10-5| page=613}}</ref> She soon launched a solo career on [[Big Life]] records, a label set up by her husband [[Jazz 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 the [[UK Singles Chart]],<ref name=occ/> 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),<ref name=occ/> while her debut album ''[[Wanted (Yazz album)|Wanted]]'' (UK number 3)<ref name=occ/> was certified double platinum in the UK in September 1989<ref name=bpi>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151014022535/http://i.imgur.com/FLtY0eG.jpg|title=BPI Certified Awards > Search Results > Yazz|url=http://i.imgur.com/FLtY0eG.jpg|archive-date=14 October 2015|access-date=14 October 2015|publisher=[[Imgur]]}}</ref> for sales exceeding 600,000.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005032505/http://scans.chartarchive.org/UK/1989/02%20-%2014%20January%20-%20RM%20S%20A%20C.jpg|title=The Top of the Pops Chart > January 8–14, 1989|url=http://scans.chartarchive.org/UK/1989/02%20-%2014%20January%20-%20RM%20S%20A%20C.jpg|publisher=Record Mirror|archive-date=5 October 2015|access-date=5 October 2015}}</ref>

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|Summers]] (their union had resulted in a daughter, Rio, born in April 1990),<ref name=onetruewoman/> 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|Christ]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShC_r7tmaQQ|title=Life and Music of 80s Pop sensation: Yazz|publisher=[[YouTube]]}}</ref>{{Better source|date=May 2024}}

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album

! scope="col" colspan="7"| Peak chart positions

|-

!width="35"|<small>[[UK Albums Chart|UK]]</small><br><ref name=occ>UK chart peaks:

!width="35"|<small>[[ARIA Charts|AUS]]</small><br><ref name=aus/>

|-

| colspan="9" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"|『—』denotes a release that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

! style="width:35px;"|[[Ultratop|BEL<br/>(FL)]]<br/><ref name=FLA>Flemish chart peaks:

! style="width:35px;"|[[Billboard Hot 100|US]]<br/><ref name=billboard>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/yazz/chart-history/hsi/|title=Billboard > Yazz > Chart History > Hot 100|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=29 October 2019}}</ref>

! style="width:35px;"|[[Dance Club Songs|US Dance]]<br/><ref name=dance>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/yazz/chart-history/dsi/|title=Billboard > Yazz > Chart History > Dance Club Songs|magazine=Billboard|access-date=29 October 2019}}</ref>

| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3"| Singles only

| style="text-align:left;"| Single only

| colspan="17" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"|『—』denotes a release that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

* [https://yazzmusic.wordpress.com/ Yazz information and details of the 2008 album 'Running back to you' at Yazzmusic.co.uk]

[[Category:20th-century Black British women singers]]

[[Category:English women pop singers]]

[[Category:Singers from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham]]

[[Category:21st-century Black British women singers]]