Lisa Stansfield

Lisa Stansfield – British singer, songwriter, and actress. Lisa Stansfield was born in Manchester, UK on 11 April 1966. Her mother was an actress, who fostered the girl’s love for music. Since childhood, Stansfield enjoyed R&B. She was a big fan of Barry White and Marvin Gaye, who were popular in the 1970’s. In 1980, while still in high school, Stansfield won a local contest Search for a Star. During her performance, the representatives of Devil’s Records noticed her and offered to sign a contract. This led to the release of a single “Your Abbis”, which Lisa recorded in 1981. The song was used in a movie filmed by the label. It didn’t make it into the charts but gave Stansfield career a good jump start. In 1982, the young woman signed a contract with Polydor label. With it, she recorded a couple of singles, including “Listen To Your Heart” and “I’ve Got A Feeling”. The songs didn’t appear in the charts but helped Stansfield gain recognition. In 1984, together with Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, Lisa formed a band called Blue Zone. The group stayed together for four years. The musicians released one studio album and a few singles. Their most popular song was “Jackie”, which reached the 54th spot of Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. It was a cover of Elisa Fiorillo’s song, written for an extremely popular 80’s movie Summer School.

In 1989, Lisa decided to go back to her solo career and signed a contract with Arista label. Ian and Andy continued working with her and helped Stansfield record the debut album, Affection, which came out in November. The LP was very successful. It reached the second spot on UK Albums Chart and the 9th place on Billboard 200. In Europe, the album conquered Australian charts and reached high positions on German, Italian, and Spanish charts. It earned several platinum certifications, including one from RIAA.

The most popular single from the LP, "All Around the World", topped charts all over the world, including UK Single Chart. It earned a platinum status in the USA and several gold certifications in Europe. The song brought Lisa an ASCAP award, two nominations for BRIT Awards and one for a Grammy. In 1991, Stansfield released another album, Real Love. It reached the third spot on UK Albums Chart and the 43rd position on Billboard 200. The LP was less popular than its predecessor but still fared well on the world charts and earned two platinum certifications in the UK. The single “All Woman” topped Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Many fans wanted to book Lisa Stansfield for their events.

In 1993, Lisa participated in a successful project with George Michael and Queen. She released an EP Five Live, which topped UK Albums Chart. In 1997, Stansfield presented an LP, Lisa Stansfield, which became her last album to date to make it into the top-10 of UK Albums Chart. The album earned gold statuses in the UK, Spain, and Switzerland. It featured such hits as “People Hold On” and “The Real Thing.” In 1999, Lisa decided to pursue an acting career. She landed the leading role in the movie Swing for which she recorded a soundtrack. Later, Stansfield appeared in seven more movies but mostly had supporting roles. Perhaps Stansfield’s work in the acting industry had a negative effect on her music career. The singer’s popularity started to wane. She recorded four more albums, each one of which appeared in the charts but was much less popular than her first LPs. In April 2018, Lisa released a new LP, Deeper, which managed to get rather close to the top-10 of UK Albums Chart. In the German albums chart, the LP climbed to the 7th position. Stansfield continues recording new songs and performing live.