Guitarist Ray Calcutt is back with the new band WHITE SKIES which debut album was featured here a couple days ago, one of the best AOR albums of the year. He was part as well of British AORsters YAYA who released a classic album in 1988, now being reissued, remastered & expanded.
“YAYA – II (2xCD Deluxe Edition remastered)” gathers all the tracks recorded for the original release and accompanying B-Sides, plus no less than 5 previously unreleased tracks; two unreleased demos which have been freshly remastered and 3 classic tracks originally written between 1987-1990, which were newly recorded for this release during 2021.
This is Top Class Brit AOR from the ’80s, a must have into your collection.
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.
The band write all their own material. The first single ‘When The World Cried’ tells the tragic story of the death of John Lennon. Keyboards are supplied by session player and longtime cohort of the band, Nick Coler. (Alice Cooper, Zodiac Mindwarp)
Following completion of the album, the band played to a sell-out crowd at London’s Marquee Club and then embarked on a 15 date UK tour supporting The Cross, a band put together by Queen’s Roger Taylor. Following a very successful tour, YaYa were asked to continue onto the European leg of the tour but the wanderlust in them struck again and they promptly opted instead to accept an offer of a 10 week tour of the old Soviet Union where they played over 60 arena shows across 7 republics.
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.
CD1: The Album
01. Caught In A Lie 4:21
02. When The World Cried 4:10
03. Love In Vain 3:38
04. Fear Of Flying 4:27
05. The Toughest Race 4:47
06. Julia 4:16
07. The First Time 3:54
08. You’re All I Need 5:02
09. All Through The Night 3:51
10. Set Me Free 4:18
CD2: The Bonus Tracks
01. Fascination (Unreleased Demo) 4:24
02. I’ll Cry A Tear (Unreleased Demo) 3:56
03. Nobody’s Perfect (New Recording) 4:29
04. Cry From The Heart (New Recording) 4:08
03. On My Way (New Recording) 5:16
06. All Through The Night (Demo)(B-Side) 4:12
07. Castles In The Sand (B-Side) 2:51
08. River’s Edge (B-Side) 3:29
09. Caught In A Lie (Extended Version) 6:03
MP3 FLAC