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
In All the Right Places {from Indecent Proposal}
Lisa Stansfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I could never fall
'Cause loving you is what I'm made for
I'd gladly give my all and all
It doesn't matter where I am
As long as I'm with you
You can take me high above
[Chorus]
In all the right places, it's feeling so good
In all the right places. just like it should
And I swear, I love you
And I swear, I love you
If we're dancing all alone
Or in a crowded room
When you wrap your arms around me
You can always send me to the moon
When we kiss our sugar kisses
And the music starts to play
We've got love, we've got each other
And we're going all the way
[Chorus]
Find time's never wasted, when it's ours to kill
I know in all the right places, you're touching me still
And I swear, I love you
And I swear, I love you
And I swear, I love you
And I swear, I love you
I love you
The song "In All the Right Places" by Lisa Stansfield is a love song about how the singer's love for someone is all-encompassing and takes her to heights that she never thought possible. She sings that if this person takes her to heaven, she could never fall because loving him is what she's made for, and she'd give her all to him. She also states that no matter where she is, as long as she's with him, everything is perfect. Even if they're alone or in a crowded room, when he wraps his arms around her, she feels like she can go to the moon. The power of their love brings them together and is the driving force behind everything they do.
The chorus of the song repeats the sentiment that everything between them is in all the right places and feels so good, just like it should. She sings that she swears she loves him multiple times, emphasizing the depth of her emotions for him. Finally, she says that time spent with him is never wasted, even if it's just them killing time because he's touching her in all the right places.
Overall, the song is a tribute to the all-consuming nature of love and how it can take a person to heights they never thought possible. The singer revels in the small moments with her partner, cherishing every touch and kiss, and swears her love for him repeatedly.
Line by Line Meaning
If you take me straight to heaven
Going to heaven won't scare me because loving you is the purpose of my life.
I could never fall
Since my love for you is infinite, it wouldn't end or decline.
'Cause loving you is what I'm made for
I was made specifically to love and cherish you.
I'd gladly give my all and all
I would happily give you everything that I have if it makes you happy.
It doesn't matter where I am
Any location is valuable to me as long as I'm with you.
As long as I'm with you
Being with you is the most important thing no matter what else is happening.
You can take me high above
You have the power to raise me above any challenge or difficulty.
Whatever I've been dreaming of
No matter what I've dreamed of, you're the missing piece that makes it all come together.
In all the right places, it's feeling so good
The physical and emotional aspects of our relationship are perfect and fulfilling.
In all the right places. just like it should
We fit together perfectly in every way, just as it should be.
And I swear, I love you
I promise I truly, deeply love you.
If we're dancing all alone
Whether we're in a crowded room, or even by ourselves, it doesn't matter.
Or in a crowded room
Even with other people around, I only have eyes for you.
When you wrap your arms around me
Just being held securely by you is the best feeling in the world.
You can always send me to the moon
No matter what I'm feeling, you can brighten up my world.
When we kiss our sugar kisses
When we kiss, it's sweet and meaningful.
And the music starts to play
Even the music seems to know how special our love is.
We've got love, we've got each other
Our relationship is blessed because we have love and each other.
And we're going all the way
We're committed to each other, and we'll make it through anything together.
Find time's never wasted, when it's ours to kill
No moment spent together is ever wasted or unfulfilling when we're together.
I know in all the right places, you're touching me still
Even when we're not together physically, I still feel your touch and love.
And I swear, I love you
I will always love you, no matter what.
And I swear, I love you
I will always love you, no matter what.
I love you
My love for you is eternal and unbreakable.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOHN BARRY, IAN DEVANEY, ANDY MORRIS, LISA STANSFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@barrycoomer8137
Absolutely outstanding. What a voice, what a track. The modern era truly cannot compete with this kind of class. And I’m guessing she can still belt ‘em out. Real talent.
@1234567robbie
❤
@johnnyasia7903
Hard to imagine why this track only reached #8 in the UK back in '93. Quite possibly the best love song of all time. Outstanding.
@JM800
Much credit goes to both Lisa and the songwriter, beautiful song, beautiful Lisa
@alanbowes1307
Stansfield, Devaney, Morris and some bloke called John Barry
@luca47it
The music was undoubtedly composed by John Barry.
@paulsartana1785
Some Bloke ?? John Barry won 5 Oscars and is considered one of the greatest composers in cinema history.
@en6278
its called sarcasm. @@paulsartana1785
@rkenny8399
What a lady and what a fantastically written love song of all times absolute class
@lizhuamani4287
Hermosa canción. Alguien escuchándola en el 2024???