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
Wake Up Baby
Lisa Stansfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then you walked right out, you were as cold as ice
How could you be mean, to treat me so unkind
Now I'm on my own, in a cold and lonely life
[Chorus]
Wake up baby
Can't you see I'm half insane
'Cause you know I'm not to blame
You know you're crazy to throw it all away
So won't you wake up baby
Baby
Take the time to look, look into my eyes
Then you'll see this girl will always love you right
She will always try to give you what you need
So askin' you, I'm beggin' and I'm pleadin' with you
[Chorus]
Can't you see you're just killin' me
I'm on my own and I'm all alone
Don't cha know that you're not at home
I can't sleep at night I get so uptight
Whatcha been is bad to me
If you had heart boy, you'd be smarter
Lied, cheated and mistreated
Listen baby, you're out of order
The lyrics of Lisa Stansfield's "Wake Up Baby" are emotional and heartfelt. The song is about a woman who has been treated badly by her lover who has now walked out of her life. The lyrics refer to the way this person walked into her life and then walked right out, leaving her alone and feeling cold and lonely. She is confused about why her lover would be so mean and treat her so unkind, and she is left on her own to deal with the pain.
The chorus of the song is a plea for her lover to wake up and see that he is tearing her apart. She tells him that she is half insane and that he is crazy for throwing away what they had. She begs him to open his eyes and realize that she has always loved him and will always try to give him what he needs.
The final verse of the song describes the impact that this person's behavior is having on the woman. She is unable to sleep and is constantly uptight, and she feels like her lover is not at home even when he is physically present. She is angry about being lied to, cheated on, and mistreated, and she tells him that he is out of order.
Overall, the lyrics of "Wake Up Baby" convey a deep sense of sadness and frustration, as the woman begs her lover to see the damage that he is causing and to try to make things right.
Line by Line Meaning
Just the way you walked, walked into my life
You came into my life unexpectedly, just by walking in.
Then you walked right out, you were as cold as ice
You left without explanation or remorse and were completely unfeeling.
How could you be mean, to treat me so unkind
You treated me poorly and without compassion, and I don't understand why.
Now I'm on my own, in a cold and lonely life
I am now alone, and my life feels empty and loveless.
Wake up baby
Realize what you're doing and change your ways.
Can't you see I'm half insane
My feelings are so strong and irrational, they're driving me to madness.
Cause you know I'm not to blame
You are responsible for the situation we're in, not me.
You know you're crazy to throw it all away
You're making a foolish and illogical decision by ending our relationship.
So won't you wake up baby
Please, I need you to see the truth and make things right.
Take the time to look, look into my eyes
Pay attention, and really listen to what I have to say.
Then you'll see this girl will always love you right
If you actually take the time to see, you'll realize that I will always love you properly and treat you well.
She will always try to give you what you need
I will do my best to give you everything you require.
So askin' you, I'm beggin' and I'm pleadin' with you
I'm begging you to see things from my perspective and to reconsider your actions.
Can't you see you're just killin' me
You're causing me a great deal of pain and emotional harm.
I'm on my own and I'm all alone
Since you left, I have had to face the difficulty of living and being alone.
Don't cha know that you're not at home
You're not comfortable or happy with your current situation, but you're not doing anything to change it.
I can't sleep at night I get so uptight
I am suffering so much that I find it difficult to relax or even sleep at night.
Whatcha been is bad to me
Your behavior towards me has been negative and hurtful.
If you had heart boy, you'd be smarter
If you had empathy and emotions, you would make better choices and treat me better.
Lied, cheated and mistreated
You've lied to me, been unfaithful or deceptive, and generally treated me poorly.
Listen baby, you're out of order
Your behavior and choices are completely inappropriate and unacceptable.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDY MORRIS, IAN OWEN DEVANEY, LISA JANE STANSFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind