Lisa Stansfield

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.

Stansfield was born at the Crumpsall Hospital in Manchester, England. Her parents are Marion (d. 27 September 2013) and Keith Stansfield, and she has two sisters, Karen and Suzanne. 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.