Tomorrow night is the big Yaz(oo) concert, something I would have probably been waiting 25 years for if it had ever entered my mind that it would happen at all. Based on the feedback I've been getting I do not think I'll be disappointed. With so much talk about the band in the news lately, however, I started to forget if the duo's intended name was Yaz or Yazoo, hence my use of Yaz(oo). It took me awhile, but then I remembered getting the "Upstairs at Eric's" album for Christmas back in 1982 -- along with the debut Tom Tom Club LP, Scandal's EP with "Goodbye to You," and Toronto's "Get It on Credit" (look it up!) -- and there being a big YAZ sticker on it that was obviously added later on. (Was it hiding the original name or just there to promote the song "Situation," which had become a bit of a phenomenon? Only Oliver Stone knows for sure.)
I guess the main reason I still get confused is because there was no Yazoo here in the states that I ever knew of, yet that was the reason they had to change their name on records here. (Apparently there was at one time, enough to cause the band severe legal problems.) To the contrary, I was a huge fan of the similarly named Yazz, who tore up the charts in the late '80s with
Full concert review TK, but until then, here is the video of the classic single off of "Upstairs at Eric's" and a taste of the other white Yazz as a bonus.
"Only You"
"The Only Way Is Up"
"The Only Way Is Up"
4 comments:
Saw them out here in the Bay Area on the 7th. You are in for a major treat. Played every darn song off both albums! Incredible! I have some Youtube vids of the concert here under ID ladd65 if you want to check them out.
You will NOT be disappointed. Saw them Monday night in Chicago and it was incredible. I haven't danced like that in...25 years. Her voice is bang on. The best part of the weekend was meeting Alison in my hotel restaurant on Saturday night and getting a picture with her. She is the best.
You're going to be in pure heavenly bliss. The Friday show here in Los Angeles was perfect from beginning to end. I won't spoil it for you, but you will both be shaking your moneymaker & bawling your eyes out at times. Have fun!!!
And LOVED the Studio One flashback (methinks you & I have bumped into one-another a few times back in the days)... Awww, memories. Too bad all the clubs in WeHo have since died. Where's Brian Rubin when you need him to enliven the club scene?
What a lovely post... but just to clarify (cause that was my favorite song, too, when I was just coming out in 88): The Only Way Is Up by Yazz is not a band... she was a former model turned singer, half black, half white. I still have the tune on vinyl... and you brought back such lovely memories...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazz
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