Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition Search for a Star. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first singles, Stansfield, along with Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, formed Blue Zone in 1983. The band released several singles and one album, but after the success of Coldcut's "People Hold On" in 1989, on which Stansfield was featured, the focus was placed on her solo career.
Stansfield's first solo album Affection (1989) and its worldwide chart-topping lead single "All Around the World" were major breakthroughs in her career. She was nominated for two Grammy Awards, and Affection is her best-selling album to date. In the following years, Stansfield released Real Love (1991), So Natural (1993), and Lisa Stansfield (1997). In 1999 she appeared in her first film, Swing, and also recorded the soundtrack for it. Her next albums included Face Up (2001), Biography: The Greatest Hits (2003), and The Moment (2004). Thereafter, Stansfield took a break from music and focused on her film career. In 2008, she starred in The Edge of Love and in 2014 she appeared in Northern Soul.
Stansfield released her seventh album Seven on 31 January 2014. Its lead single "Can't Dance" was digitally released on 16 October 2013. She promoted the album with the European Seven Tour in 2013 and 2014. Her most recent album Deeper was released on 6 April 2018. In June 2018, following a string of sold-out tour dates in Europe, Stansfield announced her North American Tour, which began in October 2018.
Stansfield has won numerous awards, including three Brit Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards, a Billboard Music Award, World Music Award, ASCAP Award, Women's World Award, Silver Clef Award and two DMC Awards. She has sold over 20 million albums worldwide, including five million of Affection. In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 46th-most-successful dance artist of all time.
Early life and career beginnings
Stansfield was born at the Crumpsall Hospital in Manchester, England to Marion (died 27 September 2013) and Keith Stansfield. She has two sisters, Karen and Suzanne. She grew up listening to soul music, and stated that her mother's affinity for records by Diana Ross and the Supremes was her first musical influence, Stansfield citing Marvin Gaye, Chic and Barry White as other primary musical influences.
In 1980, Stansfield won the Search for a Star singing competition, held at the Talk of the Town nightclub. In 1981, her first single "Your Alibis" was released by Devil Records. In 1982, she appeared on the television show Bring Me the Head of Light Entertainment on Granada Television. At the same time, Stansfield signed a recording contract with Polydor Records.
In 1983, Johnnie Hamp produced for Granada Television a documentary directed by Pete Walker, Born in the Sixties: Lisa Stansfield. It was a profile of the aspiring singer, and it included her comments and those of her mother and sisters, and some songs sung by Stansfield. Also in 1983, she co-hosted the children's television music programme Razzamatazz and appeared on another children's television series The Krankies Klub. Between 1982 and 1983, Stansfield released her three new wave pop singles on Polydor: "The Only Way", "Listen to Your Heart", and "I Got a Feeling". Her early recordings were collected and released on the compilation album In Session in September 1996.
Music career
1984–1988: Blue Zone
In 1984, Stansfield and former schoolmates, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, after having worked together on a school musical production ("Schizophrenia" (1982), directed by drama teacher Jeanette Dawson and described briefly by Alastair on the Manchester Digital Music Archive in 2007), began to collaborate musically and, in 1986, formed the band Blue Zone. In October 2013, it was announced that the release date of the album had been pushed back to 31 January 2014 in Germany, and 10 February 2014 in the United Kingdom. The first single, "Can't Dance," premiered on Ken Bruce's BBC Radio 2 show on 14 August 2013, and was digitally released on 16 October 2013.
Seven, which was produced and written in the United Kingdom by Stansfield and Ian Devaney, features the tracks "Can't Dance," "The Rain," "Stupid Heart," "Conversation," "The Crown," "So Be It," and "Picket Fence." The album peaked at number 13 in the UK. A deluxe edition featuring bonus material was also released. Stansfield toured the United Kingdom in November 2013, and her Seven Tour continued in Europe in May and June 2014. The tour ended with a series of concerts in the United Kingdom in September 2014 and other European countries in October and November 2014. In October 2014, Seven was re-released as Seven+ including one new song and fifteen remixes.
In November 2014, Edsel Records released The Collection 1989–2003, a thirteen-CD and five-DVD box set, with five of Stansfield's studio albums and many rare additional tracks, remixes, promo videos, live concert footage, and new interviews. All albums were also released individually. The Live in Manchester album/video was released on 28 August 2015.
2017–present: Deeper and touring
In October 2017, Stansfield announced her new album Deeper, and a European tour. It was released on 6 April 2018. In the UK, Deeper reached number 15 on the UK Albums Chart, while the single "Everything" reached number one on the Soul Chart. In the U.S., the single "Never Ever" reached number six on the Billboard Dance chart. This marked her first appearance on that chart in 20 years, after "I'm Leavin'" topped the chart in 1998.
In June 2018, following a string of tour dates in Europe, Stansfield announced her North American Tour to begin in October. Her first in North America in two decades, the tour began on 9 October in Toronto and included stops in Montreal, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and more, before concluding in San Francisco on 26 October. In October 2019 Stansfield embarked on Affection 30th Anniversary Tour celebrating 30 years of her debut album. In November of that year the album was reissued on vinyl.
Acting career
In May 1999, Stansfield made her film debut. She played Joan Woodcock in the Nick Mead-directed movie Swing, also starring Hugo Speer, and recorded songs for the soundtrack. The album, full of jazz and swing tracks, was released on 10 May 1999. Swing soundtrack received positive reviews from music critics, and peaked at number six on Billboards Top Jazz Albums chart.
In February 2002, she made her stage debut in The Vagina Monologues at the Arts Theatre in the West End of London, together with Anita Dobson and Cecilia Noble. Stansfield played herself in the comedy series Monkey Trousers in mid-2005. In late 2006 she appeared in the drama series Goldplated, playing Trinny Jamieson.
In September 2007, Stansfield appeared in another television series, Agatha Christie's Marple. She played Mary Durrant in the episode titled Ordeal by Innocence. Stansfield dubbed one of the characters (Millie, an elf) for the English version of the Finnish animated film Quest for a Heart, released in December 2007. She also recorded the title song, written by Charlie Mole and Lee Hall. Stansfield joined the cast of the 2008 film The Edge of Love, directed by John Maybury, playing the role of Ruth Williams.
In 2009, she starred in the Nick Mead-directed documentary Dean Street Shuffle playing herself. In 2012, she performed a role in Elaine Constantine's film Northern Soul. Set in 1974, it is an independent docudrama about the social phenomenon and generation of the northern soul music and dance movement, and was released in 2014.
Personal life
In 1987, Stansfield married Italian designer Augusto Grassi, whom she had met during a holiday in Tunisia. A ceremony was held in the Sacred Heart Church in Rochdale. The couple moved to Zagarolo, Italy, but their marriage lasted only four months. Following the end of the marriage, Stansfield returned to Britain. After many years of friendship and engagement, she and Ian Devaney married on 25 July 1998. The minimalist ceremony was held in Washington Square Park in New York City, and the only guests were her parents and his mother.
In 2008, Stansfield sold her six-bedroom Victorian house "Mount Henry" on Torca Road in Dalkey, Ireland, for €6 million to Yorkshire business tycoon Ed Clark.
Discography
;Studio albums
- Affection (1989)
- Real Love (1991)
- So Natural (1993)
- Lisa Stansfield (1997)
- Face Up (2001)
- The Moment (2004)
- Seven (2014)
- Deeper (2018)
Filmography
- 1999: Swing
- 2005: Monkey Trousers
- 2006: Goldplated
- 2007: Agatha Christie's Marple
- 2007: Quest for a Heart
- 2008: The Edge of Love
- 2009: Dean Street Shuffle
- 2014: Northern Soul