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
When Are You Coming Back
Lisa Stansfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell me when you're coming back
When are you comin' back, when are you coming back
When are you comin' back, when are you coming back
(When are you comin' home, baby, baby)
When are you comin' back, when are you coming back
When are you comin' back, when are you coming back
I still feel your lips on mine, still feel your touch
Safe inside your arms is where I want to be, can't stand this space
Boy, I'm gettin' lonely, and out of place
Don't stray for too long
(Till the next time)
Go back to my arms
Don't stray for too long
(Till the next time)
Go back to my arms
[Chorus]
I sit here and wait patently for the telephone
Funny how I miss you, and I miss you so
When you're not at home
Don't stray for too long
(Till the next time)
Go back to my arms
Don't stray for too long
(Till the next time)
Go back to my arms
[Chorus x2]
Don't stray for too long
(Till the next time)
Go back to my arms
Don't stray for too long
(Till the next time)
Go back to my arms
[Chorus]
The lyrics to "When Are You Coming Back?" express the pain of missing a loved one who has left, with the singer yearning for their return. The chorus repeats the question "When are you coming back?" as a desperate plea for the other person to return to their arms. The first verse describes the physical sensations the singer still feels despite their partner's absence, longing to be close again. The second verse reveals that the singer is waiting by the phone, desperate for any contact from their missing partner.
Throughout the song, the recurring need for physical closeness is emphasized, with the singer feeling incomplete and out of place without their lover. The lyrics also acknowledge the possibility that the partner might stray but ultimately return, with the chorus urging them not to stay away too long. The song is a relatable expression of the pain and longing that comes with missing someone you love, while also highlighting the importance of physical closeness in relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Tell me when you're coming back
Expressing the intense longing for the return of a loved one
When are you comin' back, when are you coming back
Asking repeatedly for a specific date or time for the loved one to return
You were in my arms yesterday, and now you're gone
Reminiscing about the happiness of being together, and now feeling lost without their presence
I still feel your lips on mine, still feel your touch
Remembering the physical connection they shared and wanting it to be real again
Safe inside your arms is where I want to be, can't stand this space
Feeling incomplete and longing for the warmth and comfort of their loved one's embrace
Boy, I'm gettin' lonely, and out of place
Experiencing feelings of loneliness and discomfort due to the absence of their loved one
I sit here and wait patently for the telephone
Waiting anxiously for a call from their loved one and feeling restless due to the lack of communication
Funny how I miss you, and I miss you so
Expressing the irony of how much they miss their loved one and the impact their absence has on their emotions
Don't stray for too long
Urging their loved one to return to them soon and not to stay away for an extended period of time
(Till the next time)
Acknowledging that there will be a next time they will be apart, but hoping it won't be for too long
Go back to my arms
Expressing the desire for their loved one to return and be close to them again
[Chorus x3]
Repeating the plea for their loved one to return and expressing the intense longing they feel
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDY MORRIS, IAN OWEN DEVANEY, LISA JANE STANSFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind