Lisa Stansfield

MY PAL by Annie

POP chanteuse Lisa Stansfield shot to fame in the 1980s as the ‘girl with the curl�?

She captured our attention with her stylish image and big voice.

And in 1989 she won our hearts with the smash hit ‘All Around the World�?and yes,  I was a backing singer.

Lisa, whos now 40, sang constantly as a child, as did her sisters Karen and Suzanne and their mother Marion entered them in numerous singing competitions. We were al members of our school choir and toured europe most summers.

At the age of 14 she won the ‘Search for a Star�?competition at the Talk of the North Club and this gave Lisa her big break into show business.

She signed her first recording contract with Polydor Records and she was asked to be a co-presenter of ‘Razzamatazz�?on Tyne Tees TV.

In the early 1980s Lisa worked in the group ‘Blue Zone�?with old school chums Andy Morris and Ian Devaney, who would later became her husband.

‘All Around the World�?went to number one in 1989 and the album ‘Affection�?became an international hit, selling five million copies worldwide.

Hot on its heels came the album ‘Real Love�?with the massive hits ‘Change�? ‘All Woman and ‘Set Your Loving Free.�?/STRONG>

Lisa turned her talent to acting in the 1998 film ‘Swing�?and the soundtrack to the film was placed in the Billboard Jazz charts.

She has also appeared on the London West End stage in the ‘Vagina Monologues.�?/STRONG>

Her greatest hits package came out in 2003 titled ‘Biography�?and in the same year she signed up with ZTT Records and former Buggle and prolific producer Trevor Horn.

With Trevor as her producer she made her sixth album ‘The Moment�? which has enjoyed huge success in Europe.

I think it was the first time Lisa hadn’t worked with her husband and musical collaborator since 1989.

Lisa’s many accolades include Brit Awards in 1991 and 1992 for Best British Female Artist and two Ivor Novello Awards for Best International Song for ‘All Around the World.�?/STRONG>

At the end of last year she won a World Arts Award in the Womens�?World Awards 2005 for her contribution to the arts and her worldwide multi-million album selling success.

She now divides her time between homes in Dublin in New York.

Last summer Lisa, who says Motown and Barry White are her musical influences, showed us why she is still the country’s top female vocalist with a one-off concert, just a few miles from Rochdale, at the Lowry in Manchester and I was thrilled to be a part of it.

Lisa  still manages to visit the town every two or three months her parents still are neighbours of my parents and its always great to see her ( and her parents) whenever I can and we keep in touch regularly....email is a fantastic thing.

She said: “I get quite sentimental whenever I come back to Rochdale. I think it’s seeing family and friends.�?/STRONG>