Yazz

Born Yasmin Evans on 19 May 1963 in Shepherd’s Bush, London, England, the dance-pop singer launched her recording career inside a short-lived ensemble called the Biz. She later stepped away to work as a catwalk model and as George Michael’s stylist before mapping out a fresh attempt at music-making. That return brought immediate results when she linked with the DJs Coldcut for the February 1988 Top 10 single ‘Doctorin’ The House’. Momentum carried into August, when her updated take on Otis Clay’s ‘The Only Way Is Up’ ascended to the summit of the UK charts while ‘Stand Up For Your Love Rights’ settled at number 2; both songs were released under the billing Yazz And The Plastic Population. Three more Top 20 hits followed, along with touring, before Yazz stepped back to give birth to her first child. She reappeared in 1993 alongside Aswad on ‘How Long’, though the track missed the Top 30. A solo single titled ‘Have Mercy’ and its parent album One On One arrived via a new deal with Polydor Records as she sought to rebuild her profile. At UB40 frontman Ali Campbell’s Kuff Studios she captured 1997’s The Natural Life, a pleasant reggae-inflected set that became her last release of the decade.