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
Coming Up For Air
Lisa Stansfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Above the water
And I′m coming up for air
Untangling the weeds
I let grow around my feet
Because I'm free
Yes I′m free
That's fallen from the tree
To see the very core
That′s there inside of me
Taste the flavour
Taste the life
See the me I have never seen
No one needs to catch me now ′cause I won't fall
I want the world, I want it all
′Cause I can see the sunlight
Above the water
And I'm coming up for air
Untangling the weeds
I let grow around my feet
Because I′m free
Yes I'm free
I′m the only one
Can make me number one
I've been wearing blinkers for far too long
I don't know why
I don′t know how
But I′m waking up, I'm waking up now
No one needs to catch me now ′cause I won't fall
I want the world, yes I want it all
Well I can see the sunlight
Above the water
And I′m coming up for air
Untangling the weeds
I let grow around my feet
Because I'm free
Yes I′m free
You don't need to catch me now 'cause I won′t fall
Oh I want the world, I want it all
Well I can see the sunlight
Above the water
And I′m coming up for air
Untangling the weeds
I let grow around my feet
Because I'm free
Yes I′m free
I can see the sunlight
Above the water
And I'm coming up for air
Untangling the weeds
I let grow around my feet
Because I′m free
Yes I'm free
I can see the sunlight
Above the water
And I′m coming up for air
Untangling the weeds
I let grow around my feet
Because I'm free
Yes I'm free
The lyrics to Lisa Stansfield's "Coming up for Air" suggest a feeling of escapism and a new-found sense of freedom. The opening lines, "I can see the sunlight above the water, and I'm coming up for air," could be interpreted as the singer feeling suffocated or trapped and finally gaining the chance to break free. She plans to "untangle the weeds" that have grown around her feet, which may represent the obstacles that have held her back or weighed her down. The idea of eating the apple that's fallen from the tree could be a reference to the biblical story of Adam and Eve and suggests a newfound curiosity and desire to explore herself.
Line by Line Meaning
I can see the sunlight
I am beginning to see hope and positivity in my life
Above the water
I am finally rising above the challenges and obstacles that once weighed me down
And I'm coming up for air
I am taking a deep breath and embracing the freshness of a new start
Untangling the weeds
I am sorting through my problems and clearing away the negativity that has held me back
I let grow around my feet
I allowed my problems to fester and take root, but I am no longer willing to let that happen
Because I'm free
I have finally broken free from the chains that once bound me
Yes I'm free
I am empowered and in control of my own life
I'm gonna eat the apple
I am ready to face the truth about myself and my past
That's fallen from the tree
I am acknowledging the consequences of my decisions and actions
To see the very core
I am peeling away the layers of my identity to get to the heart of who I am
That's there inside of me
I am discovering the true essence of my being
Taste the flavour
I am immersing myself in the richness and fullness of life
Taste the life
I am embracing all that life has to offer, both good and bad
See the me I have never seen
I am uncovering new aspects of my character and personality that were previously hidden
No one needs to catch me now ′cause I won't fall
I am confident in my ability to handle whatever life throws my way
I want the world, I want it all
I am ambitious and determined to achieve my dreams and goals
I'm the only one
I am responsible for my own happiness and success
Can make me number one
I am prioritizing my own needs and desires instead of constantly putting others first
I've been wearing blinkers for far too long
I have been limiting myself and not seeing the full picture
I don't know why
I am acknowledging my lack of understanding and knowledge
I don't know how
I am unsure of the path forward, but I am willing to keep moving and figuring it out
But I'm waking up, I'm waking up now
I am realizing my potential and am becoming conscious of my own power
Writer(s): Ian Owen Devaney, Lisa Jane Stansfield
Contributed by Owen T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Diamond Inadirt
this is so hell of a quality music. no nonsense lyrics classy sounds amzing
Focal Point Art
She is LADY!! I ,m lonely,but I always smiling when I listen this song .Thanks Lisa!!!!
Ника Мышка
Обожаю её!
Christine GERARD
Fabulous singer …
PoeticJustUsJeffBailey
I love this...this is the best anthen there..listen ti the late Ephraim Lewis "Drowning In Your Eyes"
Christian Heurtaux
Toujours une super voix qui nous fait rêver
Дмитрий Мартыненко
Моя любовь!!!!!!!!!!°°°
Steve Hinch
Amongst her best songs, possibly THE best
Diamond Inadirt
im gonna have to agree. all around the world is too emotional etc but this is pure class
Christine GERARD
Fabulous singer ! …