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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZSTANSFIELD, Lisa(b 11 April '66, Rochdale) British soul singer, the Rochdale diva, with a remarkably fine voice, discovered as she sang along with Diana Ross on her mother's radio. She hosted her own TV show at 16; sang with Blue Zone; single 'People Hold On' (with group Coldcut) was no. 1 UK '89 and a club hit USA; debut album Affection '90 entered the UK chart at no. 2 and went top ten USA, where single 'All Around The World' reached no. 3 pop and no. 1 R&B: black audiences were surprised that she was not a sister; the song won Brit and Novello awards in UK. She was invited to try out for a role in film Indecent Exposure on the strength of her picture on a poster, but turned down a role in Four Weddings And A Funeral because of a tour: 'I don't want an acting career now. That can wait.' Real Love '91 was top 50 album USA but So Natural '93 did poorly on both sides of the pond; 'I was tired, I'd been working non-stop. That album was a wake-up call.' She sang with George Michael and Queen at a Freddie Mercury tribute concert for AIDS charities; People Hold On by Lisa Stansfield vs the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels made officially available 'The Bootleg Mixes' of the '89 hit, but fans were still waiting for new material. 'I have cupboards full of songs we worked on, but I kept thinking there must be more inside me that I could drag out.' Lisa Stansfield '97 was slickly co-prod. by Ian Devaney and Peter Mokran (Michael Jackson etc) and will be a comeback unless she has tried too hard; she may be more talented than she thinks, and imprisoned by pop values. (Quotes from profile by Cassandra Jardine in the Daily Telegraph.) |