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
Real Love
Lisa Stansfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How I've tried to always find a love and understanding
To always see the light of day and to know that I am living
All my life I'll never take if I'm not giving
Only when the rain comes down Only when the lightning strikes me
Will I find the answer for myself
Be the best nothing less than wonderful It`s got to be real this time
What's waiting there inside
It's got to be real
Knowing love know it can be powerful
It's got to be really love So we can rise above
All my life I try to see the love inside myself
And I keep on trying in no uncertain terms
To let my light shine through
Only when the rain comes down
Only when the lightning strikes me
Will I find the answer for myself
To always see the light of day and to know that I am living
All my life I'll never take it
I'm not giving
Only when the rain comes down
Only when the lightning strikes me
Will I find the answer for myself
It's got to be real
Be the best nothing less than wonderful
The singer of Lisa Stansfield's "Real Love" opens the song with the admission that they have spent their entire life searching for "that special thing," or true love. They have always tried to find love and understanding, to see the light of day and know that they are truly alive. They vow to never take without giving in return, making it clear that they believe love should be reciprocal. They believe they will only find the answer they seek when the rain comes down and the lightning strikes them, both metaphorical examples of the challenges and hardships that they must overcome to truly understand what real love is.
The chorus emphasizes the importance of the singer finding real love, insisting that it must be the best and nothing less than wonderful. It must be powerful enough to help them rise above life's challenges, and they must know that their love is real for them to achieve this. They proclaim that they are continually trying to see the love inside themselves and let their light shine through, as they believe this is the path to discovering true love.
Overall, the song asks the listener to consider what real love is and how to find it. The singer recognizes that true love is difficult to find and that it requires hard work, being vulnerable and overcoming walls and fears to achieve a deeper and more meaningful connection.
Line by Line Meaning
All my life I keep on seerching for that special thing
Throughout my life, I have been continuously looking for something extraordinary and unique.
How I've tried to always find a love and understanding
I have put in a lot of effort to find a relationship based on love and mutual understanding.
To always see the light of day and to know that I am living
I want to see the positive side of life and feel that I'm truly living.
All my life I'll never take if I'm not giving
I believe in giving before taking, and this principle applies to all areas of my life.
Only when the rain comes down Only when the lightning strikes me
It's only during tough times that I may find the answers to my questions or the solutions to my problems.
Will I find the answer for myself
I need to find my own answers and take control of my life.
It's got to be real
I am looking for authentic and genuine relationships and experiences.
Be the best nothing less than wonderful It`s got to be real this time
I want something exceptional, and this time it has to be real.
What's waiting there inside
I wonder what possibilities and opportunities are available for me.
Knowing love know it can be powerful
I am aware of the transformative power of love.
It's got to be really love So we can rise above
Genuine love can make us overcome any challenges that we may face.
All my life I try to see the love inside myself
I have been trying to recognize and appreciate the love within me.
And I keep on trying in no uncertain terms
I am committed to persevering and not giving up on my quest for love and happiness.
To let my light shine through
I want to showcase my true self and share my inner light with others.
Only when the rain comes down
Again, it's during tough times that I may discover my true self and the answers to my questions.
All my life I'll never take it
I don't believe in taking things for granted or expecting things to be handed to me without putting in the necessary work.
I'm not giving
I will always give my best and be generous with my time, energy, and resources.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDY MORRIS, IAN OWEN DEVANEY, LISA JANE STANSFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind