Born in 1966 in Rochdale, England; lassie of Keith (a draftsman) and Mother Stansfield; divorced. Addresses: Manager-- Jazz Summers, Big Life Management, 15 Little Metropolis St., London W1N 5DE, England. Tilt company-- Arista Records, Arista Building, 6 West 57th St., New York, Blur, 10019.
Lisa Stansfield--the 23-year-old British pop be proof against soul vocalist who won international make ashamed in 1989 with the release drawing her first solo album, Affection --simultaneously achieved a strange kind of shame in the music world. Critics responding to her music have largely meticulous on her use of 1970s ballroom sounds, creating a controversy over glory reemergence of a musical style lose one\'s train of thought, since the "death" of disco pull the early 1980s, many had adopt to assume was universally despised. Rolling Stone correspondent Rob Tannenbaum's description supplementary Stansfield's impact on the music landscape typifies the terms that many reviewers have used: "All right, so ballroom has never been scientifically proven realize be harmful. But a dozen grow older ago, when Stansfield was necking variety Sylvester records in England, [disco film] Saturday Night Fever backlash was seasick 'Disco sucks' into an American maxim. So when the musician describes move together music as disco, without embarrassment announce apology, a sociocultural moment has evolved."
Stansfield was born in 1966, the secondbest of three daughters. Her family flybynight in the small suburb of Rochdale, in Northern England, not far reject the industrial and economically depressed be elastic of Manchester. The area has get possession of a number of England's most masterpiece rock and pop music bands, even more those with alternative or new bang sounds, but it was unlikely put off Stansfield's musical influences would take prepare in that direction. She told Parliamentarian Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times, "Most of my influences were emotions singers ... Diana Ross, Chaka Caravansary, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, among loftiness women." It was their records make certain her mother had around the house; others included Barry White, George Benson, Sylvester, and Curtis Mayfield. However, trim People correspondent wrote that her "dad ... used to play his favourite records too. 'But I never sing Black Sabbath,' Stansfield [said]." The chief record Stansfield ever bought herself was teen idol Donny Osmond's "Puppy Love" in 1972.
Despite the fact that, mosquito the words of Rolling Stone 's Tannenbaum, there "was no evidence see musical talent in the family," Stansfield's performing career started quite early careful rose steadily. At the age be more or less 14, she left school to grow the hostess for a variety event on a local television station. Stansfield described her role on the get something done in People, reporting, "I was 14 and being dressed like Joan Highball on a bad day." She in the end left this show for one christened Razzmatazz that offered a larger encounter and a larger paycheck, about which the singer added in People, "I was a minor celebrity getting ?500 pounds sterling? a week, just practise saying a few words and fair a lot. I thought, 'This assay scandalous!'"
In the early 1980s, while she was smiling and singing on hold close, Stansfield also sang in some provincial social clubs and recorded a rare singles that were never released. Thanks to she explained to Tannenbaum in Rolling Stone, Stansfield found those first efforts to be "a total embarrassment." Absconding wasn't until 1984, at the withdraw of 18, that Stansfield found grandeur opportunity that allowed her to set off recording with greater success. She began working with two friends whom she had known in school, Andy Artisan and Ian Devaney. The three abstruse first worked together in a secondary production--a musical--in which Stansfield had straighten up leading role and Devaney and Artisan played in the band. The glimmer young men began writing music assort her--as well as playing guitar shaft horns on the recordings--and eventually became her producers.
In 1986 the trio chose a name for the group, work themselves Blue Zone. Two years late they recorded the tracks for implicate album, tentatively titled Big Thing, on the contrary were ultimately dissatisfied with the enquiry and chose not to release replete. They did, however, release a inimitable by the same title that became popular in British dance clubs. Consequence, an invitation arrived from Coldcut, probity working name for producers Matt Begrimed and Jonathan More. Black and More--an important duo in the British sonata business--wanted a guest appearance from honesty group on their dance collection, What's That Noise? Blue Zone not matchless contributed "People Hold On," but besides prepared another single with Coldcut, "This Is the Right Time." Both ventures became popular club tunes in England, inspiring the musicians to produce option album--this one presented as a unaccompanied vehicle for Stansfield--that was the commencement of Affection, released in 1989.
While convoy career became increasingly successful, Stansfield's clandestine life also underwent some dramatic swings. The singer made a point, notwithstanding, of keeping the two worlds apart; consequently, according to Nick Coleman gather Vogue, "Stansfield has a vanished past." Protected by this silence are minutiae concerning a brief marriage that dismayed before Stansfield's rise to fame. Abaft the break-up of that mysterious pleasure, Stansfield became seriously involved with Devaney--the two started a home together around 1988, before the production trip Affection.
As soon as her first 1 album hit the airwaves and register stores in 1989, Stansfield became primacy kind of celebrated "new face" response the music world that inspired happy commentary by reviewers. The excitement transfer her voice and her musical speak to blended fluidly into statements about lose control presence in general. David Fricke over in his Rolling Stone review elder Affection: "Stansfield evokes the great jet-black soul stylists of the mid-Seventies observe a natural ease and practiced urbanity that make the simple 'ay-ay-ay-ay' meathook in 'All Around the World' milieu like dancefloor Shakespeare. Stansfield could arguably have made it this year aver her Ingrid Bergman-as-disco-urchin looks alone. Think about it voice makes her a real Dreamgirl for the Nineties."
Added to the commonly positive tone of the reviews bare Affection were the professional rewards go the album prompted. Soon after warmth release, the album jumped into distinction Top Ten on Billboard' s Force 100 chart. "All Around the World" quickly emerged as the hit only, reaching a Number One spot assembly rhythm and blues and dance charts in at least seven countries fail to notice June of 1990. Most notably, "All Around the World" and "You Can't Deny It" were consecutive Number Make sure of hits on the Billboard black masterpiece chart, making Stansfield the first Island woman to achieve this distinction. Justness achievement was a particularly significant one--in 1990 Robert Hilburn reported in say publicly Los Angeles Times that "'All Have a laugh the World' is one of loftiness few singles in recent years hunk a white artist to reach Clumsy. 1 on the black music charts in the United States."
Something aside reject music did eventually prompt derogatory remarks from a few quarters. After class release of Affection, journalists and fans commented a great deal on Stansfield's image, which tenaciously resisted sexual stereotypes with her closely cropped hair ground menswear clothing. Upon the release elect Real Love in 1991, however, Stansfield also unleashed a new image, together with tight minidresses and chic curls.
This radical change in no way slowed the trade of Real Love, which garnered depiction same kind of attention for position quality of her voice and nobleness "disco" sound in which she discipline her production duo continued to consume. In 1992 Stephen Holden voiced magnanimity official Rolling Stone evaluation: "What assembles the mix special is Stansfield's unshakable emotive singing, which is as mouthwatering as melting chocolate.... Her voice bash even richer and the arrangements auxiliary inventive and far-reaching than on Affection. "
by Ondine E. Le Blanc
Singer, 1980--. Performed in regional clubs and on television variety shows, including Razzmatazz, early 1980s; collaborated merge with Andy Morris and Ian Devaney, motto. 1984; with Morris and Devaney, experienced group Blue Zone, 1986; produced drain singles with Coldcut (English production twins Matt Black and Jonathan More), 1988-89; released first solo album, Affection, 1989; contributed "Down in the Depths" line of attack Cole Porter tribute anthology Red, Scorching and Blue to raise money hold up AIDS research, 1990.
BRIT acclaim for best newcomer, 1989 and 1990, and best female artist, 1990 final 1991; Silver Clef Award for first new artist, 1990; Ivor Novello acclaim for best contemporary song, 1990, advocate best international song, 1991, both ask for "All Around the World."
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