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
Make Love To Ya
Lisa Stansfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'll explain somehow
The way I feel about the way we are
I know no other way that just to say it straight
I want to shout it from the rooftops
Cause you wake me up and light me up
When your eyes start dancing with my mind
I wanna tell you time after time
Every little thing that I do reminds me of you
All I wanna do is make love to ya
I breathe in and breathe out in every breath there's no doubt
All I wanna do is make love to ya
You've put a spell on me
And baby hopefully you'll never break the spell I'm under
Whatever this shall be
I know you've made me see a feeling louder than the thunder
Cause you wake me up and light me up
When your eyes start dancing with my mind
You fill me up and cheer me up
I wanna tell you time after time
Every little thing that I do reminds me of you
All I wanna do is make love to ya
I breathe in and breathe out in every breath there's no doubt
All I wanna do is make love to ya
Every little thing that I do reminds me of you
All I wanna do is make love to ya
I breathe in and breathe out in every breath there's no doubt
All I wanna do is make love to ya
I've got to say it now
But I'll explain somehow
The way I feel about the way we are
I know no other way than just to sat it straight
I want to shout it from the rooftops
Cause you wake me up and light me up
When your eyes start dancing with my mind
You fill me up and cheer me up
I wanna tell you time after time
Every little thing that I do reminds me of you
All I wanna do is make love to ya
I breathe in and breathe out in every breath there's no doubt
All I wanna do is make love to ya
"Make Love To Ya" by Lisa Stansfield is a love song that expresses the deep connection the singer has with her partner. The lyrics convey how the singer feels about her significant other and her desire to be with that person. The song begins with the singer stating that she is going to say what she feels and explain it, no matter how difficult it may be. She then goes on to describe her connection with her partner and how they make her feel. The dancing of their eyes feels like it lights her up from within and fills her with cheer. She wants to shout out her love for this person to the world.
The chorus of the song repeats the lines “Every little thing that I do reminds me of you…” which conveys that every little thing reminds the singer of her partner. She wants to be with them because she breathes in and out and feels their presence in every breath. She is under their spell and hopes that they never break the spell. The feeling that the singer has is louder than thunder, and she is eager to shout it from the rooftops. The song repeats the chorus again, showing that the singer's thoughts are consumed with the person she loves, and all she wants to do is make love to them.
Overall, "Make Love To Ya" is a straightforward and honest love song that describes the singer's deep love for her partner. It shows the connection that the singer has with her love and how their mere presence brings her joy and lightness.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got to say it now
I feel the need to express my emotions at this moment
And I'll explain somehow
I'll try to provide some context to help you understand how I feel
The way I feel about the way we are
My emotions relate to our current state of being
I know no other way that just to say it straight
I can't think of any other way to communicate this other than being frank
I want to shout it from the rooftops
I feel so strongly about this, I want to announce it to the world
Cause you wake me up and light me up
You energize and inspire me
When your eyes start dancing with my mind
I'm captivated by your gaze, it stimulates me intellectually
You fill me up and cheer me up
You complete me and make me happy
I wanna tell you time after time
I want to express my love over and over
Every little thing that I do reminds me of you
I see you in all that I do, you're always on my mind
All I wanna do is make love to ya
I desire physical intimacy with you
I breathe in and breathe out in every breath there's no doubt
You're on my mind with every breath, I'm sure of my feelings
You've put a spell on me
You've enchanted me, I'm under your influence
And baby hopefully you'll never break the spell I'm under
I hope you'll never stop having an impact on me
Whatever this shall be
Whatever happens between us
I know you've made me see a feeling louder than the thunder
You've caused me to feel something incredibly powerful
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDY MORRIS, IAN OWEN DEVANEY, LISA JANE STANSFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind