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
Love Without a Name
Lisa Stansfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How did I get here?
Pretending I don't know your name again
In another world I'd be your girl
Out in this one I'm crying
I'd die without you
So I can't let you go
I always say it's the last time but
Here we go again
You kiss me and I surrender
I can never resist the pain
It's just so
Baby you know
It's just love without a name
It haunts me
Oh, so bitter sweet
Never knowing when we'll we meet again
In another world I would say goodbye
But in this one I'm flying
And I'd die without you
So I can't let you go
Some things you can't explain
I always say it's the last time but
Here we go again
You kiss me and I surrender
I can never resist the pain
It's just so
Baby you know
It's just love without a name
No, no, no, no
But when we're dancing slowly
When you hold me
I know
So I can't let you go
Some things you can't explain
I always say it's the last time but
Here we go again
You kiss me and I surrender
I can never resist the pain
It's just so
Baby you know
It's just love without a name
No, I can't let you go
It's love without a name
'cause I love you baby
No, I can't let you go
It's love without a name
The lyrics of "Love Without a Name" by Lisa Stansfield speak about the intense emotional connection that exists between two people who have a strong affection for each other but are not in a defined relationship. The singer is torn between two worlds: one where she longs to be with the person and one where reality hits hard, and she is reduced to tears. She admits that she'd die without him, indicating that the attraction is deeper than just physical. Despite knowing that she should let go, the singer finds herself caught up in the passion every single time, completely surrendering to the pain that comes with it.
The lines "It haunts me, oh, so bitter sweet, never knowing when we'll meet again" suggest that the connection cannot be defined by time or place, and the singer finds it hard to let go of the love that doesn't have a name. The lyrics capture the essence of wanting something or someone that you can’t have, and the anguish of being caught up in a relationship that isn’t going anywhere. The singer dances with her lover, and in that moment, everything else fades away.
Line by Line Meaning
What is this?
The singer expresses confusion about the situation she has found herself in.
How did I get here?
The singer is pondering how she ended up in this situation.
Pretending I don't know your name again
The singer is acting like she doesn't know the other person's name.
In another world I'd be your girl
The singer imagines a different reality in which she could be with this person.
Out in this one I'm crying
The singer is upset in the current reality.
I'd die without you
The singer feels that she cannot live without the other person.
So I can't let you go
The singer is not able to let go of the other person.
Some things you can't explain
The singer believes that some things are not explainable.
I always say it's the last time but
The singer is constantly saying that she will not see the other person again, but she keeps coming back.
Here we go again
The singer expresses frustration about getting into this situation again.
You kiss me and I surrender
The other person's kisses are too tempting for the singer to resist.
I can never resist the pain
The singer knows that getting involved with the other person will ultimately cause her pain, but she cannot resist.
It's just so
The singer feels that her love for the other person is simply overwhelming and cannot be stopped.
Baby you know
The singer is appealing to the other person's understanding of their situation.
It's just love without a name
The singer is acknowledging that their relationship is undefined and without a label.
It haunts me
The singer is tormented by her thoughts and feelings about the other person.
Oh, so bitter sweet
The singer feels a mixture of both joy and sadness in her relationship with the other person.
Never knowing when we'll we meet again
The singer cannot predict when she will next see the other person.
In another world I would say goodbye
The singer wishes she could say goodbye to the other person, but cannot in this reality.
But in this one I'm flying
The singer is enjoying her feelings of elation despite the risks.
No, no, no, no
The singer is emphatic.
But when we're dancing slowly
The singer enjoys the slow dancing of their relationship.
When you hold me
The singer enjoys being held by the other person.
I know
The singer is certain about her feelings for the other person.
No, I can't let you go
The singer is still unable to let go of the other person.
It's love without a name
The singer acknowledges that their love lacks a clear definition.
'cause I love you baby
The singer tells the other person that she loves him.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Ian Owen Devaney, Lisa Jane Stansfield, Richard Simon Darbyshire
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind