Born in the French Congo on the 3rd of March, 1947, Youlou Mabiala sang with various groups in Brazzaville but was still a comparative newcomer when 'Le Grand Maitre' Franco invited him to join OK Jazz. Youlou had a high, reedy voice that paired well with Franco’s lower, rougher voice, and despite being one of the youngest members of the band, soon proved to be one of the most prominent. But when he and other members of OK Jazz played nzong-nzing (moonlight gigs) once too often, Franco finally lost his patience and in 1972, fired the lot. Together with guitarist Mose Se Sengo 'Fan Fan', Youlou joined others who’d fallen out with Franco and formed Lovy du Zaire, soon to be followed by Somo Somo. Only one year later however, Franco asked Youlou to come back to OK Jazz. He returned even stronger and sang alongside such stars as Sam Mangwana, Josky Kiambukuta and Ntesa Dalienst. He himself became a star and his compositions hits around Africa. But life in Zaire was becoming difficult, particularly for immigrants from Congo-Brazzaville, so in 1977 he left Kinshasa and went home. There he co-founded Les Trois Frères, which became Kamikaze Loningisa, which by the ‘80s was Brazzaville’s premier band. Youlou and Franco remained close and when Franco died in 1989, Youlou disbanded Kamikaze Loningisa and led TPOK Jazz on one of its last albums. He continued working, mainly in Paris, until 2004, when a cardiovascular stroke restricted his ability to perform.