YAYA
II

What’s the first thing you do when you put together a new band? Get yourself a few dates perhaps, knock together a sound and an identity on the road? Well, when YaYa came together in 1983, that’s what they figured too, so they naturally set off on a tour of India and Thailand.
Not exactly the crammed-in-a-Transit Van pub scene, but the tour had the same effect in defining and refining the band’s music and identity and also introduced a lot of people to western rock music who might never have got acquainted otherwise.
Bassist Terry Stevens and drummer Graham Garrett are the founding members of YaYa. Both brought experience of playing in other bands separately and together and both were impressed when they chanced upon guitarist Ray Callcut. Lead vocalist Sam Blue is a later addition to the group, joining in early 1986 after the others had started work on their self-titled album. When they realised that something extra needed adding to the vocals, Terry, Graham and Ray remembered Sam who they’d seen playing at London venues.
The new vocalist had been touring for some time with various bands, supplementing this with chorus work in the hit West End musical, Time. As a Geordie, he is the only member of the band not from London.
The band came to the attention of several major record companies and were signed by WEA Records (Warner Brothers) by the boss of WEA, Rob Dickins in the UK and Atlantic (Atco) Records in the US. Work on the album began in Hollywood, Los Angeles with renowned producer Mike Chapman, (Blondie, Pat Benatar, Tina Turner, The Knack) an experience that YaYa hold very dear. As Terry remarks, “If we had any doubts at that stage, Mike Chapman was the one who dispelled them.”
Later, the band returned to London to work with producers Tony Taverner (ELP, Power Station) and Adrian Lee (Toyah, Mike and The Mechanics) before flying to New York City where Mike Shipley (Def Leppard, The Cars, Mr Mister) remixed the album.
Keyboards are supplied by session player and longtime cohort of the band, Nick Coler. (Alice Cooper, Zodiac Mindwarp)
Different members have different roots and consider themselves as highly individual but at the same time a very strong, close-knit unit. This has led them to write film scores together, do session work for other artists and even form their own football team.
YaYa lay dormant for many years whilst the individual members worked on separate projects, but they kept in touch. Interest in the band never waned and this led to a remastered version of the album being released. It contains bonus tracks which retain the essence of the band whilst adding a contemporary aspect.