Little bit of heaven - Lisa Stansfield

The last single taken from Lisa Stansfield's 1993 album 'So natural' was the dance track 'Little bit of heaven'. Written by Lisa Stansfield and her husband Ian Devaney, it was one of the few uptempo tracks on the album, and a bit of a return to form.

The single reached number 32 in the UK singles chart during a 4 week chart run. After this, Stansfield's career went into a nosedive, as subsequent albums failed to impress the recordbuying audiences.

My collection: 7" single no. 2091
Found: April 16, 1994
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'Little bit of heaven' / 'Gonna try it anyway'

So natural - Lisa Stansfield

After the big success of her first two albums and the track 'In all the right places' for the soundtrack of the movie 'Indecent proposal', Lisa Stansfield released her third solo album 'So natural' in 1993. It was her very first musical work almost entirely realized by the singer herself along with her husband and collaborator Ian Devaney. Previously, the pair had worked in a trio with Andy Morris, but he only shared writing credits on three tracks on this album.

It's all speculation whether this is really the cause, of course, but without Morris, Stansfield had a hard time maintaining her commercial success. The title track was released as a single, which reached number 15 in the UK singles chart but failed to reach the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1994
Found: HMV, London, October 18, 1993
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'So natural' / 'So natural (Roger's club mix)'

This is the right time - Lisa Stansfield

Released in August 1989, 'This is the right time' was Lisa Stansfield's first solo success, reaching number 13 in the UK singles chart. The single was released after Stansfield had a hit with the dance combo Coldcut in March that year. 'People hold on' reached number 11 in the UK singles chart and was a Europe-wide hit.

'This is the right time' was included on Stansfield's debut album 'Affection', the same album that would give her her breakthrough single, 'All around the world'.

My collection: 7" single no. 2033
Found: Sounds Familiar, London, October 19, 1993
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'This is the right time' / 'Affection'

In all the right places - Lisa Stansfield

Lisa Stansfield recorded 'In all the right places' for the soundtrack of the movie 'Indecent proposal'. The artwork of the sleeve contains a photograph of the two actors that starred in the movie: Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson.

The song was written by Stansfield with her producers Andy Morris and Ian Devaney, along with John Barry, who was responsible for the score of the movie. The single reached number 8 in the UK singles chart and number 20 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 2580
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, December 16, 1995
Cost: 4 guilders
Tracks: 'In all the right places' / 'In all the right places (Soul mix)'

Someday (I'm coming back) - Lisa Stansfield

Lisa Stansfield recorded 'Someday (I'm coming back)' for the soundtrack of the very successful movie 'The Bodyguard' starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. The track was released as a single in December 1992, one month after the release of Houston's dreadful theme song 'I will always love you'.

By comparison, Lisa Stansfield's single garnered much less attention from the media and record-buying public. The single reached number 10 in the UK singles chart and number 30 in the Dutch Top 40 - a stark contrast to Houston's undeserved number 1 hit.

My collection: 7" single no. 1801
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, December 11, 1992
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Someday (I'm coming back)' / 'Tenderly (live)'

Set your loving free - Lisa Stansfield

'Set your loving free' was the fourth single from Lisa Stansfield's second album 'Real love'. The track is full of Seventies disco sounds, but still sounds very modern. The real treat on this single is the non-album track, 'Whenever you're gone', a touching ballad about a woman who can't face the light of day when her lover is out of sight.

My copy of the single is interesting for its extra labels: each side of this single carries not one, but two paper labels. 'Set your loving free' reached number 28 in the UK singles chart and number 36 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1743
Found: Virgin Megastore, London, October 19, 1992
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Set your loving free' / 'Whenever you're gone'

Time to make you mine - Lisa Stansfield

As much as I like the song 'Time to make you mine' by Lisa Stansfield, even I have to admit that the music video was the real headturner here. With all the animation and Stansfield appearing to be naked in a field of flowers, some people definitely were in awe of this video.

The song, meanwhile, was the third single to be lifted from her second album 'Real love' in 1992. The single reached number 14 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1647
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, 1992
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Time to make you mine' / 'All around the world' (with Barry White)

All woman - Lisa Stansfield

'All woman' was released as the second single from Lisa Stansfield's second album 'Real love'. The single reachde number 56 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 20 in the UK singles chart and number 21 in the Dutch Top 40.

The title was also used for a series of compilation albums featuring songs performed by female singers.

My collection: 7" single no. 1587
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, February 22, 1992
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'All woman' / 'Everything will get better'

Change - Lisa Stansfield

There's a famous scene in the American sitcom 'Married... with children' in which Al Bundy judges a line of women with the qualifications 'Hot babe' and 'Cold shower'. Lisa Stansfield made a remarkable transformation from 'Cold shower' to 'Hot babe' in 1991, when she released her second album 'Real love'.

The first single from the album was 'Change', released in the autumn of 1991. It reachde number 10 in the UK singles chart and number 7 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1545
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, November 2, 1991
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Change' / 'A little more love'

I got a feeling - Lisa Stansfield

Before Lisa Stansfield hit it big in 1989, performing vocals on the Coldcut track 'People hold on', she tried her hand at solo singles for a couple of years. This was one of them: 'I got a feeling', a track written by Lamont Dozier and Brian and Edward Holland, better known as the Motown songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland.

This single, released in 1983, was not a hit, just like early singles 'Alibis' (1981), 'The only way' (1982) and 'Listen to your heart' (1983).

My collection: 7" single no. 2675
Found: Record Exchange, London, July 2, 1996
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'I got a feeling' / 'Red lights'

Someday (I'm coming back) - Lisa Stansfield

Lisa Stansfield recorded 'Someday (I'm coming back)' for the soundtrack of 'The Bodyguard', the 1992 movie starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. Stansfield had just had a very successful year with her album 'Real love' reaching number 3 in the UK albums chart and top 10 in several other countries. The album spawned four hit singles, and when this one was released as a single, it went to number 10 in the UK singles chart.

The 12" single featured a remix not found on the cd-single. (Another piece of evidence that the vinyl format was still the most interesting of all.) I bought the 12" single in London, which in the Nineties was just about the only place where they were still to be found.

My collection: 12" single no. 215

Found: Record Exchange, London, 1992

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Someday (I'm coming back)', 'Live together/Young hearts run free (live)' / 'Someday (I'm coming back) (Absolute remix)', 'Tenderly (live)'

Download: here