Once the frontwoman of UK band Blue Zone, which saw modest success with their single "Jackie", she became a major international star beginning with her guest vocal stint on Coldcut's record People Hold On.
Stansfield is probably best known for her first UK #1 single, All Around the World (1989), which also peaked at #3 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 the following year. Other worldwide hits from her debut solo album Affection include This is the Right Time (featuring a house music-styled production by Coldcut with Mark Saunders), Live Together, What Did I Do To You? and You Can't Deny It. "All Around the World" was the second song by a white female soloist to hit #1 on the Billboard R&B chart (the first being "Ooo La La La" by Teena Marie in 1988). "You Can't Deny It" also topped that chart. Affection went platinum in the U.S., and sold a total of five million copies worldwide.
In 1990, Stansfield was among a handful of high-profile artists to participate in the Red Hot + Blue charity album, which honored the songwriting career of Cole Porter, and benefitted AIDS research at a time when funding from government agencies was insufficient for those in need. She was given the chance to show her swing and jazz chops on the song "Down in the Depths" (video), which was one of a few throwback renditions to appear on the album. This likely won her the female lead in the independent film Swing (1999), for which soundtrack she also performed most of the songs. Thus began an illustrious and respected tradition of Stansfield offering jazz and torch songs to outside projects (she also sang I've Got the World on a String in the original movie soundtrack of 2003's Mona Lisa Smile).
In 1992, Stansfield won a BRIT Award as best British female solo artist. Her second album Real Love did not quite live up to the success of Affection, despite selling very well. However, it did spawn four Top 40 singles on the European charts: Change, All Woman, Time to Make You Mine and Set Your Loving Free. "Change" has since become one of her signature classics, and still receives regular air-play to this day. "All Woman" became Stansfield's third #1 single on the Billboard R&B chart, and due to the success of that song, the album went gold in the U.S. Filled with pathos and emotion, it is "kitchen sink soul", from the viewpoint of a woman taken for granted. Like "All Around the World", many critics initially believed that it had been performed by a black singer.
Stansfield continued recording disco-influenced soul throughout the 1990s. Her third album So Natural (1993) spawned three Top 40 European singles including the title track So Natural, In All the Right Places and Little Bit of Heaven, but the album was never released in the U.S. She had continued success throughout Europe, but her popularity in America had diminished.
sidenote: "In All The Right Places" was featured on the soundtrack of the movie Indecent Proposal (1993), for which Stansfield was shortlisted as the lead that eventually went to Demi Moore. You can catch her talking about it in this YouTube interview clip (@ 1:30).
Her self-titled fourth album Lisa Stansfield (1997) was a hit in Europe with two Top Ten singles - People Hold On (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Mix) (a re-released dance mix by The Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and The Real Thing, and the Top 40 track Never, Never Gonna Give You Up (a remake of the late Barry White's 1973 hit). Upon being released in the U.S., the album scored some mainstream attention, but fared much better in the dance clubs where remixes were very successful; an astonishing four singles - "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up", Never Gonna Fall, I'm Leavin', and "People Hold On" reached #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. It charted modestly, peaking at #30 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #55 on the Billboard 200. Subsequently, The Remix Album was released due to revived interest in Stansfield within the dance community. The music video for "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" (video) was an eye-catcher featuring her strolling nude down a city street, acquiring a few items of clothing along the way. VH1 featured the clip and even gave it the Pop-Up Video treatment. During the promotion for the single, Stansfield appeared on the RuPaul Show, but inexplicably, did not sing the song (or any others, for that matter).
Her 2001 album Face Up was less successful, barely charting through a lack of publicity, but featured the singles Let's Just Call It Love and 8-3-1, which found her experimenting with newer styles of R&B such as 2-step while continuing with her established sound. Stansfield's husband, Ian Devaney, delivered an arrangement for the ballad How Could You?, which displayed his love of Burt Bacharach's legacy. Only one single was officially released in the UK.
Following the release of Face Up, a 2-CD greatest hits collection titled Biography: The Greatest Hits was released in 2003, which sold well in the UK and Europe. Stansfield then parted ways with Arista/BMG, ending an 18-year association with the label.
Stansfield signed with ZTT Records from the UK, and her 2004 release The Moment was produced by Trevor Horn, well-known for his work with Seal, Grace Jones, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, among others. The album was distributed in Europe by Edel, featuring the singles Treat Me Like a Woman (released as a double A-side with Easier) and If I Hadn't Got You, a song written by Chris Braide with ex-Squeeze songwriter Chris Difford. The album found her exploring more pop-oriented material, and focusing on lush ballads.
Despite this, as with her previous release, the album and supporting singles were not a success. At the time of the project's release, ZTT was directing large amounts of its resources into re-marketing its back catalogue, and producing the Trevor Horn concert for The Prince's Trust and its accompanying double CD Produced by Trevor Horn. The release of "Treat Me Like a Woman" was twice delayed, and the label eventually paired it with "Easier". While ZTT did erect a billboard to advertise the album in Stansfield's home area of Greater Manchester, print advertising and in-store displays were reportedly absent. Later that year ZTT dropped her from their label.
Stansfield's talents also extended into acting; she starred in the 1999 film Swing with actor Hugo Speer, and recorded covers of swing classics and a few original songs written in the style for the soundtrack. She later appeared on a London stage in The Vagina Monologues. In 2006, she guest-starred in the series Goldplated. In 2007, she starred in an episode of Marple: Ordeal by Innocence, and later joined the cast of The Edge of Love.
On June 2012, Lisa told the UK newspaper, The Sunday Mirror that she's working on her seventh studio album, her first in nine years, and that it is going to be released in spring 2013. Lisa announced in November 2012 that the album will be titled 'Seven'.
Official website: http://www.lisa-stansfield.com
Big Thing
Lisa Stansfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We don't need nobody else
Love is a big thing and we've got love
We don't need nobody else
Love is a big thing
I'm living for your lovin', baby
And for the next time
There's nothing I can fight
I can wait forever, baby
To be by your side
I can wait forever, baby
To be with you again
Need your body keepin' me warm
Need your touch to keep me going
Love is a big thing and we've got love
We don't need nobody else
Love is a big thing and we've got love
We don't need nobody else
Love is a big thing
Gonna tell the world about you
And all you've given me
No one gives me lovin', baby
The way you give me love
I'm waiting for your arms to hold me
And just to touch your face
I'm living for your lovin', baby
And for the next time
Need your body keepin' me warm
Need your touch to keep me going
Love is a big thing and we've got love
We don't need nobody else
Love is a big thing and we've got love
We don't need nobody else
Love is a big thing
I'm living for your lovin', baby
And for the next time
Nothings getting in the way
There's nothing I can fight
I can wait forever, baby
To be by your side
I can wait forever, baby
To be with you again
Need your body keepin' me warm
Need your touch to keep me going
Love is a big thing and we've got love
We don't need nobody else
Love is a big thing and we've got love
We don't need nobody else
Love is a big thing
I can wait forever
I can wait forever
The lyrics of “Big Thing” by Lisa Stansfield is about the power and importance of love in life. The song is essentially a love song that declares the love between two people as a big thing that they have and they do not need anyone else in their life. The lyrics state that love is all-encompassing and they are living for each other’s love. It suggests a sense of surrender to love and that they do not want anything else in their life except the person they love. The lyrics repeatedly state that they do not need anybody else and that their love is enough for them to keep going.
The lines "I can wait forever, baby / To be by your side" and "I'm living for your lovin', baby / And for the next time" reveal an intense emotional longing for the loved one. The artist sings about the physical and emotional needs fulfilled by the love of the partner. These feelings are described through the verses "Need your body keeping me warm / Need your touch to keep me going".
Overall, the song “Big Thing” is a declaration of an intense and powerful love, which is enough for the two people in the relationship to thrive and be happy.
Line by Line Meaning
Love is a big thing and we've got love
Love is important to us and we have it in abundance
We don't need nobody else
We don't need anyone else to make us happy because we have each other
I'm living for your lovin', baby
My reason for living is to love and be loved by you
And for the next time
I am constantly looking forward to the next opportunity to be with you
Nothings getting in the way
There are no obstacles to our love that we cannot overcome
There's nothing I can fight
I am so committed to our love that I will not allow anything to come between us
I can wait forever, baby
I am willing to be patient and wait as long as it takes to be with you
To be by your side
My greatest desire is to be with you and support you in everything you do
To be with you again
I long to reunite with you and experience the joy of being together once more
Need your body keepin' me warm
Your physical presence is what makes me feel safe, secure and loved
Need your touch to keep me going
Your touch is what gives me the strength and energy to face the challenges of life
Gonna tell the world about you
I want to share with everyone how incredible you are and how much you mean to me
And all you've given me
You have given me so much love, happiness and fulfillment, and I am eternally grateful
No one gives me lovin', baby
You are the only one who truly understands me and loves me for who I am
The way you give me love
Your love is unique and precious, and I cherish it more than anything in the world
I'm waiting for your arms to hold me
Being wrapped up in your embrace is the safest and warmest place in the world for me
And just to touch your face
The simple act of touching your face brings me so much joy and comfort
I can wait forever
My love for you is so strong that I am willing to wait forever if I have to
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDY MORRIS, IAN OWEN DEVANEY, LISA JANE STANSFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jay Patel
Great!! Lisa needs to get back on to concerts, we love you ,amazing
Jamie Grieve
Best track of Lisa Stanfield
Marquis Ferguson
Classic vocals, upbeat tempo with the magical horns on the “outro”…..
MC G.
This was a B-side riddim. Artical ol skool tunnnnnne.
Mash up any ol skool night.👊🏿👊🏿❤❤
Mellow- D
Love is a thing, what a great line and fantastic vocals...
The Hip
Wow!!! Just reminds me of my teenage years....love it
anita talbot
One word. Brilliant
Rosana Gonzaga de Lima de Oliveira
Essa música era do tempo guando eu ia para o baile de charme e dançava muito, agora não vou mais porque agora eu me tornei evangélica
EMPEROR PALPATINE
Legendary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
awhoneychild
wicked tune reminds me of my brother