Lisa Jane Stansfield was born April 11, 1966, in Manchester, England, but was raised in Rochdale after she moved with her family at age 11.
Like most pop/soul/R&B singers, Lisa was introduced to music thanks to her mom's Diana Ross and the Supremes records (she later fell in love with Marvin Gaye and Barry White, as is evident in her later recordings). Although she had no voice lessons, Lisa entered talent shows to practice singing, and thanks to her innate gift, she won some competitions.
Not only a powerful voice, but also an electrifying beauty, Lisa was discovered by a television producer, who cast her as a presenter in the '80s Granada television children's program, Razzamatazz. She soon realized that TV was not the path she was aiming for, and in 1983, she joined forces with her former schoolmates, Andy Morris and Ian Devaney (Lisa's future husband), to form the group Blue Zone (known as Blue Zone UK in the US).
Signed on Rockin' Horse Records and ultimately Artista, Blue Zone saw success in the nightclub scene, with their album Big Thing and the single "Jackie". Morris and Devaney had previously worked with the DJ mixers otherwise known as Coldcuts, which is how Lisa was brought to the production team; Lisa's group members spoke highly of the blue-eyed songstress, which led to her collaboration on Coldcut's 1989 single, "People Hold On". |
