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
There Was I
Lisa Stansfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chorus:
There was I
Taking every step for you
There was I
Taking every breath for you
And all the time you were with her
I loved you
I spurred you on
Never wanting for myself
Adored you
For what I don't know
Cos you were loving someone else
And now you're spitting in my face
Telling me that someone else
Has taken my place
Chorus
Important
Oh how important you were to me
Eternal
That's what I thought our love would be
But now you're spitting in my face
Telling me that someone else
Has taken my place
Chorus
And now you're spitting in my face
Telling me that someone else
Has taken my place
Chorus (x 3)
The song "There Was I" by Lisa Stansfield is a heart-wrenching ballad about unrequited love. The song's chorus repeats the line "There was I, taking every step for you, taking every breath for you," suggesting that the singer was completely devoted to the object of their affection. However, throughout the song, the singer reveals that while they were giving everything they had to this person, that person was with someone else. The singer declares their love for the person and admits to spurring them on, but also acknowledges that they never wanted anything for themselves. The final stanza expresses the ultimate betrayal - the person the singer loved is now telling them that someone else has taken their place. Throughout the song, the singer's voice is powerful and emotive, communicating the deep pain and longing felt by the singer.
One interesting fact is that this song was written by Lisa Stansfield, her husband Ian Devaney, and Andy Morris. Stansfield and Devaney have been collaborators for many years, working together on a number of her biggest hits. Prior to her solo career, Stansfield was the lead singer of the British band Blue Zone, which also featured Devaney.
Another interesting fact is that "There Was I" was released as a single in 1992, and became a top 40 hit in the UK. It was featured on Stansfield's album "Real Love," which was a commercial success, charting in several countries including the US, UK, and Japan.
Line by Line Meaning
There was I
I was there, dedicated and committed
Taking every step for you
Making every move with you in mind
Taking every breath for you
Breathing and living for your happiness and success
And all the time you were with her
While you were with someone else
I loved you
I had affection for you
I spurred you on
I encouraged and motivated you
Never wanting for myself
I never put my own desires first
Adored you
I loved and worshipped you
For what I don't know
Without understanding why, just because
Cos you were loving someone else
Because you were in love with someone else
And now you're spitting in my face
You're disrespecting and betraying me now
Telling me that someone else
Informing me that another person
Has taken my place
Has replaced me in your life
Important
Significant and essential
Oh how important you were to me
How much you meant to me
Eternal
Enduring forever
That's what I thought our love would be
I believed our relationship would last forever
Chorus
Repeating the main statements and emotions in the song
Contributed by Mila I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@robertaeveritt-witts1998
My dad produced this song, to see it’s had 57 million views is just amazing! So proud ❤️❤️
@renegaderunner332
Your dad had good taste!
@adamflax2012
Gorgeous production...dad did it up lovely🔥
@AnsweritsMom
Respect to your pops
@jackiehoughton9727
Awesome 💜
@lyricandrelltaylor4985
One of my favorite songs hands 🙌🏾 down to your dad
@ramlonghorn6237
Been around the internet, and I I I, I cant find good shit like this anymore.
@topwreckfleece6160
LMAO!!
@stevies6251
Jeff Ament 😂😂😂😂
@80KLady
🤣🤣🤣