Listen back to Lisa's acoustic performance of Billionaire on BBC Radio 4 recorded a couple of days ago
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Lisa appeared on one of her favourite TV cooking shows 'Saturday Kitchen'. The 1hr30m show is available to UK viewers only. However if you have a VPN application installed on your PC/Laptop this will allows you to see blocked programmes from overseas. the show is available to access via the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers) link until the end of April 2018. BBC iPlayer link  Lisa performed an acoustic version of Billionaire in the BBC Radio London studios. In addition to that, radio presenter Robert Elms played an exclusive track from the new album Deeper called 'Love Of My Life'. Listen back by clicking on the audio link below.  Interview by: John Anson - Features Editor for The Bolton News LISA Stansfield is in a good mood - and she has every right to be. Next week she releases her first album for four years, Deeper, and then sets out on a full UK tour. Always an entertaining interviewee, there’s a extra sparkle to the conversation as she reveals: “I’m so excited about everything right now. It’s like I’m really going for it - there’s no stopping me.” On Deeper, Lisa is credited as being executive producer working with husband and songwriting partner Ian Devaney and Mark Cotgrove.  “We never have vision of what an album’s going to be like when we go in to studio. You always have existing songs or parts of songs and I think we maybe had about five ideas to start off with. You write them down and work on them because you have to start somewhere and maybe two of those will be stronger compared to the other.
“Then we’ll do another set of songs where one or two more might come through and gradually you can see a pattern start to emerge and things start to make sense.“It’s like solving a Rubik’s cube. You’ve got all the ingredients, you just have to put them all in the right places.” The album is a wonderful blend of soul and funk allowing Lisa’s voice to shine through. “It was just lovely sitting down at the end of it all and going to London and doing the final cut for the album,” she said. “There was just me, Ian and Mark sat in the cutting room listening to it and it was exactly what we wanted. We’re ready to let it go now.” Lisa Stansfield became a star almost overnight when her debut album Affection was released in 1989. The album included the single All Around the World which topped the charts and led to various award nominations. Now 51, Lisa retains her strong Rochdale accent and her keen sense of humour. But there’s also a maturity and a confidence of a performer at the peak of her powers. “When you put out an album out you are concerned about it,” she said. "It’s like your little baby. But then you see it doing its own thing, you know it’s going to be all right. “I think this album might just have legs,” she said with a mischievous grin. Working as closely as Lisa does with husband Ian would not be an ideal scenario for many couples. “We’ve been doing it for a long time,” she said. “I was 18 when we started the band so we were working together for five years before we actually got together, so we were very good friends. “When we did finally get together, we had done all those things in front of each other that normally when you become a couple it takes you a really long time to go through. “All of that was out of the way so we didn’t have to worry about it. We just had the love and soppy bits to do and we found that quite easy!” Lisa is now getting ready to head off on the road. “I have to say we have a very, very good band,” she said. “They are as my grandma used to say ‘as tight as a crab’s arse’.“So to have fun on top of that isn’t a big effort. But the people who make the show are the audience. They have got the music they just have to get up and dance, we love it when they do. “There are so many different types of people come to the gigs and they all have the same things in their hearts which is lovely. Out of the room they would not mix in the same circles or talk to each other but when they come to the show we are all on the same side – we are all in the same army.” Deeper the new album by Lisa Stansfield is out next Friday. She plays the Lowry, Salford Quays, on Sunday, April 15. Details from 0843 208 6000 or www.thelowry.com Interview by Graham Clark, Features Writer - Interview With Lisa Stansfield, 29th March 2018, 14:25 PM
She still has one of the most distinctive voices in pop and judging from the ticket sales of her forthcoming tour, Lisa Stansfield is as popular as ever. Her new album, Deeper, is released on 6 April. Written by Lisa and her song writing partner Ian Devaney, the album is her 8th studio album. As she prepares for rehearsals for the tour I asked her about the new album and the tour. WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE NEW ALBUM? I think we've tried to create something special with this album, I'm really excited about it. If you listen to the songs they have real energy. I'm looking forward to going out on tour with the album, we are just deciding which tracks off the album to play live, but there will definitely be Billionaire and also the opening track off the new album Everything plus Never Ever. YOU ARE VISITING YORK ON THE TOUR, HAVE YOU BEEN THERE BEFORE? Yes, I have - I love York, it is a beautiful city and easy to walk around. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CURRENT MUSIC? I don't really like to listen to the radio or music when I am recording as it sticks in your head and you end up writing a song that sounds like you have just heard and end up singing someone else's song! I really like the Rag N Bone Man album, he has such a good voice and the songs are good too. Dua Lipa is another new artist that I like. WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SING A DUET WITH? Rag N Bone Man would be good! I did a duet with Luther Vandross that worked quite well. When we recorded it together he told me off for smoking too much so I told him off for eating too many sandwiches! I UNDERSTAND THAT IRIT, A PROMISING NEW ARTIST IS GOING TO BE THE SUPPORT ACT ON THE TOUR That's right, she has just released a new album, I haven't heard it yet but I hear that it is good. YOU HAVE LIVED IN DUBLIN, BUT ARE BACK NOW LIVING IN THE UK I'm actually in Rochdale at the moment - the town has changed so much over the years, they have spruced it up a lot, there are a lot of new buildings and you can still go for a walk along the river. There is a Statue to Gracie Fields too by the Town Hall. These days though we tend to split our time between London and Manchester. The people up here are a lot warmer and more open than down south. I was shocked and saddened by the atrocity at the Manchester arena last May at the Ariana Grande concert. I was reading today in the paper about one of the survivors who was injured in the bomb blast who is determined to walk again, it was such a positive message. HAVE YOU DECIDED ON THE SET LIST FOR THE TOUR YET? We start rehearsals this Thursday. It's nice to get all the band together to perform, there are 10 of us in the band including Andrea my backing singer who has worked with us for years. We are going through the set list at the moment but it's going to be a mix of old and new. People come along expecting to hear the hits so yes, we've got to do the classics like Change, All Woman and Been Around The World, but there will be some surprises in there too. People like to hear some new tracks, so Billionaire off the new album will be in there. I don't tend to go to too many gigs myself these days, George Michael was the last gig I went to. I would like to see Dua Lipa, Adele would be good too, I bet she's quite funny when she talks to the audience in between songs. DO YOU GET OFFERED ANY OF THESE 90's PACKAGE TOURS? I do, I get offers to do these all the time but I've still got a lot more in me yet - I am still writing and recording whereas most of the acts on these tours do not record much anymore. I will keep on doing this for as long as I can - every day is different on tour with the audiences whether we are in the north or the south, some audiences are very shy whilst others can be very exuberant, but it is always good to see them. It's going to be a great tour and everyone who comes to the show can enjoy themselves, no one is being judged you can let your hair down and have a good time and forget about the outside world. Yes, it's going to be a great night. Lisa Stansfield plays York Barbican on Thursday 19 April 2018
Lisa performed an acoustic version of the current single Billionaire in the studio's of BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends.
Lisa Stansfield talks about what influenced her new album "Deeper", what it has to do with her first two albums and what she likes about working from home. This article has been automatically translated from German to English Interview by DAGMAR LEISCHOW for RP "A new vacuum cleaner was a luxury for me" Dusseldorf. The 52-year-old about her childhood in modest circumstances, first successes and the day she gave her mother a Mercedes.Lisa Stansfield is known for her power of voice. Also on her new album "Deeper", which pops here as soulful and sometimes even pays tribute to the radio knows her distinctive voice to score. In May she presents the record at a concert in the Capitol Theater. In conversation, Stansfield's voice sounds deeper, rougher, her throat throaty. The song "Billionaire" gives the impression that love is more important to you than money. Stansfield Well, honestly, what good is it for you to have a lot of money when you are lonely? Who can not share his wealth with another person, has basically nothing. To love and to be loved, I consider more essential than a big bank account. Does that mean your money has not made you happier? Stansfield For me, wealth is an ambiguous affair. Sure, it's nice to be able to pay all the bills and afford something. On the other hand, money brings with it some uncertainty factor. You keep asking yourself: does my counterpart really care for me? Or just for my assets? Suddenly, people who have not talked to you for years come up to you and want to pump you. Thankfully, over time I have developed a sense of who my true friends are.  You did not face the problem earlier because you grew up in modest circumstances.
Stansfield There were only two rooms for my two sisters and me. That hit me as the middle one particularly hard, I always had to share a room with a sister - first with the oldest, then with the youngest. But that was not all. We had no central heating, so it was freezing cold in the morning. It took me a lot of effort to get out of bed at all. Did your situation suddenly get better when you had your first hit with "All Around The World"? Stansfield At first I only saw the impressive sales figures. It took a while for money to finally flow into my account. First, I bought a decent vacuum cleaner. That was already luxury for me. Just the thought of giving me something extravagant brought me sweat on my forehead. Which purchase would you like to congratulate? Stansfield I gave my mother a Mercedes. It was so nice to see her face when she got it. For her - a woman who knows poverty only too well - this car has definitely made a dream come true. Such gifts can not necessarily afford young artists nowadays. Are you glad that you made a good start in the late 80s when the music industry was booming? Stansfield I think I would have succeeded in the 21st century as a newcomer. Because my credo is: If you really want something, you will always find a way to realize your goal. Could you have imagined going to a casting show? Stansfield I have definitely participated in some talent shows. But that was a completely different level in my youth than it is now. I did not get on TV, I was not manipulated by others. I would never have agreed to that. Does not it appeal to you to sit on the jury of a casting show? Stansfield I have always refused such offers. Only "The Voice" I find reasonably acceptable. In other shows, the candidates appear like trained monkeys. They lose their personality. A musician should formulate what he has to say in his own words. Do you write your pieces together with your husband? Stanfield Yes. I am in the comfortable situation of owning a studio. That's why I never run out of time on a record production, but can work on my songs until I'm satisfied. You are actually a political person and have supported the Labor Party financially for a while. Why do not you reflect on Brexit or current world events in the "Deeper" titles? Stansfield Firstly, I do not see myself as a political artist, secondly, I do not want to depress my audience with everyday dramas. On the contrary: my music should make her forget the harshness of life. For this reason, my CD contains mostly good-mood songs like "Hercules", which are about going out at the weekend and just having fun. Source: RP Local radio station to Oldham, Rochdale & Tameside "Revolution 96.2" had Lisa as special guest in the studio this morning. She jumped straight in with the Breakfast Team chatting to presenter Elliot Eastwick. They spoke about the imminent release of the new album "Deeper" and played tracks from it and spoke about her fortchoming European and UK tour starting on 6th April. Here's Lisa's Manic Minute. Everything you need to know about Lisa Stansfield in 60 seconds!  |