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
Let's Just Call it Love
Lisa Stansfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let's just call it love
Is it any wonder I feel beautiful tonight
'Cause the spell I'm under makes the stars shine oh so bright
Is it affection 'cause I think I like it
Whatever you're doing to me there's no way to describe it
So
Let's just call it love
You call it what you want call it emotion
Let's just call it love
You can call it a feeling call it a notion
Let's just call it love
You can say that it's right you can say that it's wrong
But baby it's just too damn good
Let's just call it love
Let's just call it love
I'm caught up in the moment I could be anywhere at all
Ain't nothin' that can bring me down no 'cause baby I feel ten feet tall
Is it obsession 'cause though I like it
It's really taken a hold of me now and I don't want to fight it
No no so
Let's just call it love
You call it what you want call it emotion
Let's just call it love
You can call it a feeling call it a notion
Let's just call it love
You can call it anything anything at all
We can take it anywhere anywhere we want to
'Cause you and me baby it's what we need
So let's see that sun we've got all night long
Let's go on and on
Let's go on and on
Let's go on and on
Let's go on and on
Let's just call it love
You call it what you want call it emotion
Let's just call it love
You can call it a feeling call it a notion
Let's just call it love
Let's just call it love
You call it what you want call it emotion
Let's just call it love
You can call it a feeling call it a notion
Let's just call it love
The opening lines of "Let's Just Call It Love" by Lisa Stansfield are a call to action, an invitation to abandon labels and expectations and embrace the powerful emotions that unite two people. The singer is clearly caught up in the moment, swept away by the intensity of her feelings for her partner. She describes feeling beautiful and enchanted, as if she is under a spell that makes even the stars shine brighter. The exact nature of this connection is left open to interpretation - is it true love, or just a strong physical attraction? Stansfield's lyrics suggest that the answer doesn't matter; what's important is that they acknowledge and embrace the power of what they're feeling, regardless of what anyone else might call it.
The song's chorus is a celebration of this mindset, as the singer insists that they "just call it love." She is inviting her partner to join her in this feeling, to resist the urge to overthink or label their connection and allow themselves to simply enjoy it. The repetition of the phrase "let's just call it love" creates a sense of urgency and passion, underscoring the intensity of the emotions at play.
Overall, "Let's Just Call It Love" is a powerful ode to the allure and power of intense personal connections. The singer describes feeling invincible and beautiful under the spell of her partner's attention and argues that the labels we use to categorize relationships are irrelevant in the face of such a powerful bond. The song is a call to action, an invitation to abandon societal expectations and embrace passionate love in all its forms.
Line by Line Meaning
Let's just do it
Let's go ahead and act on our feelings without questioning or analyzing them further.
Let's just call it love
Rather than overthinking or labeling what we're experiencing, let's just acknowledge that it feels like love.
Is it any wonder I feel beautiful tonight
Given the intense infatuation I'm experiencing, it's unsurprising that I have a heightened sense of happiness and beauty.
'Cause the spell I'm under makes the stars shine oh so bright
The depth of my emotions creates a sense of magic and wonder around me, as though even the stars are responding to my feelings.
Is it affection 'cause I think I like it
I'm not entirely sure what this feeling is, but it seems to be a strong type of fondness and attraction.
Whatever you're doing to me there's no way to describe it
I'm overwhelmed and captivated by the way you make me feel, and there's no adequate way to articulate the intensity of it.
You call it what you want call it emotion
While we are experiencing something deep and powerful, the label we give it doesn't matter as much as the fact that we're feeling it strongly.
You can call it a feeling call it a notion
The word we use to describe this experience isn't what's important; what matters is that we're connecting on a profound level.
You can say that it's right you can say that it's wrong
Other people may judge or question what we're feeling, but ultimately their opinions don't make it more or less true.
But baby it's just too damn good
Regardless of what outsiders might say, what we're experiencing feels incredible and worthwhile.
I'm caught up in the moment I could be anywhere at all
The intensity of our connection is such that it doesn't matter where we are - I'd feel just as swept up and passionate if we were anywhere else.
Ain't nothin' that can bring me down no 'cause baby I feel ten feet tall
Even though there might be obstacles or challenges in our path, my emotions and our bond make me feel strong and unbreakable.
Is it obsession 'cause though I like it
Even though I'm not entirely sure what this feeling is, I recognize that it's become an all-consuming force in my life.
It's really taken a hold of me now and I don't want to fight it
I've surrendered to my emotions and am no longer trying to resist or suppress them - I'm all in.
You can call it anything anything at all
Ultimately, the label we give what we're experiencing is arbitrary and doesn't change the intensity or value of it.
We can take it anywhere anywhere we want to
The depth of our connection is such that the possibilities and potential of where it could lead are endless.
'Cause you and me baby it's what we need
What we're feeling and experiencing is fulfilling a deep need and desire in both of us, making it all the more significant and valuable.
So let's see that sun we've got all night long
We have an entire night to enjoy the strength of our connection and the possibilities it brings, and we plan to make the most of it.
Let's go on and on
We're determined to continue experiencing this depth of emotion and connection for as long as possible.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ian Devaney, Lisa Stansfield, Richard Darbyshire
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind