Lisa Stansfield

Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is a British singer, songwriter, and actress.

Her family moved to Heywood in 1976, then to Rochdale in 1977.

Stansfield attended Siddal Moor School (Heywood), Redbrook Middle School where she won the annual talent contest, and Oulder Hill Community School (both in Rochdale).

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.

Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition Search for a Star.

In 1980, Stansfield won the Search for a Star singing competition, held at the Talk of the Town nightclub, and 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.

Between 1982 and 1983, Stansfield released her next three singles: "The Only Way," "Listen to Your Heart," and "I Got a Feeling."

After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first singles, Stansfield, along with Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, formed Blue Zone in 1983.

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.

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.

They wrote some songs, produced a demo, and took it around to record labels.

The small indie label Rockin' Horse Records signed them in 1985, and one year later the label was bought up by Arista Records.

After releasing their first two singles in 1986, "Love Will Wait" and "Finest Thing", Arista issued "On Fire" in October 1987.

Just as the single was climbing the charts (number ninety-nine in the United Kingdom), it was withdrawn by the record company in the wake of the King's Cross fire.

The band's next single, "Thinking About His Baby," was released in January 1988 and reached number seventy-nine in the UK.

Its B-side, "Big Thing," became popular on the radio and in the clubs.

In July 1988, "Jackie" was issued as a single outside the UK, reaching number thirty-seven on the Hot Dance Club Songs and number fifty-four on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

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).

Her early recordings were collected and released on the album In Session in September 1996.

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.

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 parents are Marion (d. 27 September 2013) and Keith Stansfield, and she has two sisters, Karen and Suzanne.

Stansfield released her seventh album Seven on 31 January 2014.

In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 46th-most-successful dance artist of all time.

Stansfield was born at the Crumpsall Hospital in Manchester, England.

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.