Back in the early to mid 90's before the internet had truly taken hold, fans found other means to communicate with each-other. Most read the latest snippets and updates via the official Lisa newsletter as well as a fanzine called Soul Deep. In one particular edition, I remember a small article about a fan who owned a most unusual scooter which he had personally customized and bedecked with images of Lisa across it. Those photos were initially published in black and white, but the images really did not do the bike the justice it deserved to show it off in it's full glory. 

At random, several months ago, I came across a Twitter post featuring some photos of this unique bike which pleased me no end. Ray Ward, a fan of Lisa since her first studio album, even named his unique scooter, 'Affection' in honour of Lisa's 5 million seller. 

My intrigue got the better of me and as I'm not one to hang around, I wanted to  find out some more about Ray and his infamous scooter.

'Affection' the scooter owned and cherished by Ray Ward

Bev: Hi Ray, thanks for taking the time to chat to the fansite. Tell me, how long have you been a fan of Lisa Stansfield and when did you first discover her music?
Ray: I have been a fan of Lisa's from the offset, really since the launch of the first studio album 'Affection'. 

Bev: What was it about Lisa that you first admired?
Ray: Her soulful voice and her as a person. She seems so down to earth. 

Bev: Have you ever had the fortunate opportunity to have met the lady herself?
Ray: No I'm afraid I haven't.

Bev: You own a rather unique object that seems to turn a few heads. Can you tell us a about it?
Ray: I acquired a motor scooter quite a few years before I decided what I wanted to do with it. I really wanted to do something new at the time, as other people were doing mythical or Motown, Northern Soul themed scooters. So I thought it was time to bring something new onto the scene and I thought 'why not someone from a soul background'? Then I thought of Lisa. 

Bev: It must have set you back a bit customizing it?
It took a lot of money, time and thinking. Luckily enough I had a lot of the best people in the country who were able to help me out and do some work on it for me. It's a Vespa P150X. It has many one off parts which have been especially hand engraved. I believe those touches helps to make my scooter unique. My close friend Andy Horne helped making the one off parts, like a foot rack, in order that I kept my feet off the paintwork. This was really a one off and a first of it's kind.

Bev: I bet it was! So when and where did you purchase your scooter?
Ray: I purchased it in 1987 from my friend Gary and it was just a bog standard scooter at the time in a plain burgundy colour. I was the third owner when I acquired it. It certainly didn't look anywhere like it does now!

Bev: Who did the artwork on it?
Ray: A fantastic airbrush artist called John Spurgeon, who is still trading to date at Aerographics in Norwich.  Truly a very talented man.

Bev: So what made you decide to have Lisa Stansfield adorned across your scooter?
Ray: Some of the modern art work on her album covers led me to think that it would really look nice and stylish if I was able to feature those images onto the scooters the panels, and it went from there.

Ray Ward - on his bike!

Affection images on each panel

Bev: I remember in the early 90’s seeing an article about your scooter appear in an edition of the Lisa fanzine 'Soul Deep'. How did that come about?
Ray: After turning up to a number of concerts in hope that other people saw the bike, it was just easier for me to send over photos of my bike to Fanzine and they made a little article about it.

Bev: Has your scooter ever featured in other magazines or shows? Ray: It has  been in 'Scootering Magazine' a number of times and in the early 1990's it also featured in there with a double page spread. Also it has just recently featured in a section called "Rust or Dust". which looked at how bike owners had looked after their scooters since the 1990's. Additionally it was shown at numerous custom shows and scooter rallies since the early 90's whereby I gained quite a lot of trophies. Bev: Do you still ride it around much? Ray: Yes! I've been riding it around quite a bit just lately. It has always been kept for sunny days, but have needed to use it more recently to get to work on it.

Soul Deep the Lisa fanzine, with the original article about Ray Ward's scooter.

Bev: Bearing in mind that your scooter is getting on a bit, would you be tempted to part with it, assuming that the price was right?
Ray: No...! It's got far too much of me in it and certain parts on this bike could never be re-done again . So no way!

Bev: If you had just one wish to take someone on the back of your scooter, who would that be and why?
Ray: I think that I will still stick with having my wife on the back, as she puts up with my moods, tantrums and shortage of money especially at the time when I was building this scooter. My wife really does enjoy going on the back of the bike, just as  much as I do really. 

Bev: Will you be going to see Lisa on her UK tour in September? If so which gig and should the other fans look out for you turning up on your scooter?
Ray: Yes, actually I'm taking my wife and we are going to the London concert on 10th September. It will be around the date of our wedding anniversary as well.  But sadly we will be leaving the bike at home  that night and travelling by train, as I don't like the idea of leaving the bike parked up outside  somewhere unfamiliar.

*Thanks to Ray Ward for allowing us to feature his unique scooter on the official fan-site. 
How much of a dedicated Lisa fan are you? Do you own something unique or have an extraordinary collection that you would care to share?  Send  us your details  here at  Contact and if deemed appropriate we will  look to feature some of the most interesting stories over the coming months.

Interview with  nativemonster.com By Elizabeth Joyce

When I was younger, I was always aware that people were looking at me,” says Lisa Stansfield in her amazing can’t-take-Rochdale-out-of-the-girl accent. 

“I used to worry what people thought of me.”

A pause. And then a glorious northern cackle.

“But these days I couldn’t give a s**t!”

This theme of self-acceptance runs through her latest hit album, Seven as a glistening defiant thread. Songs such as So Be It and Carry On are all about strength and belief – clearly something that’s important to the 48-year-old soul singer.

“Everyone has the right to that,” she continues. “As long as you’re not hurting anyone, you should be yourself. You should have room to do what you really want to do and feel the way you do.”

See also: My perfect weekend: Lisa Stansfield 

But does she think that today’s fame-obsessed popstrels, the likes of Rihanna and Miley, are truly being themselves? Or are they just lost in a sea of selfies and social media? After all, Lisa herself has always had a very healthy, almost take-it-or-leave-it approach to the limelight.

“Well, there has always been different types of artists – X Factor types, very manufactured types, very poppy artists – and some you admire and some you don’t. But they’re all doing different things for different types of people.

“Artists like Rihanna or Beyoncé –  who, by the way, I think is incredible – are just enjoying themselves and I think as long as they’re not hurting anyone, then that’s fine. And I’m on social media myself, I like to keep an eye on things; see what my fans are thinking, what they like and what they don’t. It’s amazing to look at your demographic closer.”

And it was looking at this demographic, and the other artists out there who catered to it, that inspired Lisa to make Seven – a full decade after the release of her last album.

“I waited for the right time for getting in there and getting into it. Music changes all the time but trends always come round again and I looked out at the other artists out there – the likes of Amy Winehouse, Emeli Sandé and Adele – and thought ‘these are my sort of artists, there is room for me out there’. 

And the reaction I’ve received since has been amazing, incredible.” Famed for telling stories through song, Ivor Novello-winning Lisa has stayed true to her talents for this record.

“A lot of the album is about the trap that a woman has got herself into – an unrequited, doomed or mismatched love – and how to get herself out of it if she can,” she explains.

“I think we all suffer the same pain, all feel the same happiness and we all have the same emotions within us. My life isn’t very racy or exciting so I make things up, tell stories. I like telling stories.”

And she’ll be bringing those stories to life when she hits the road for a UK tour later this year, performing at Birmingham Symphony Hall on September 5.

“It will be all about the songs, all about the music. It’s no big extravaganza, no dancers bursting out and doing routines. People just want to hear me sing and I don’t want them to feel cheated or short-changed so that’s what they’ll get.”

The gigs will be a mixture of old and new songs, including the hits All Woman, The Real Thing and, of course, the monster that is All Around the World.

“I see these songs as really old friends: sometimes you get on with them and sometimes you don’t. But if it wasn’t for these songs, I wouldn’t be here doing what I’m doing so I’m always appreciative – they’ve helped me on the way, they’ve moulded me.”

Lisa, whose career started after winning the Manchester Evening News’ Search for a Star contest and then forming Blue Zone with school pal and now hubby, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, will be hitting the road for 10 dates up and down the country with her trusty band.

“After all these years on the road together you just learn when not to speak to someone on the bus and when you can have a laugh with them,” she chuckles. “You learn who’s grumpy in the mornings and who’s moody at night. And I’m including me in that – trust me, I can be grumpy.”

In between albums, it’s been acting that’s kept Lisa satisfied, with roles in The Edge Of Love, Miss Marple and Goldplated.

As well as a high-profile stage debut in the West End production of The Vagina Monologues with Anita Dobson and Cecilia Noble, she was also offered the role of Corrie’s Rovers Return landlady Stella Price in 2010, which was eventually taken on by Michelle Collins.

She turned it down because it was a three-year commitment, saying at the time: “You get into a role and people see you as that character, so they’d be confused because they know me as Lisa Stansfield. It would freak them out if I was pulling pints at the Rovers.”

Music, she tells Native Monster, will always come first.

“You get acting offers all the time and, if the quality is there, you’ve got to go for it. But music will always be the priority. If there was an acting job that came up but clashed with a tour, there is no way I would do it.”

That said, Lisa is part of a major film due to be released later this year: Elaine Constantine’s Northern Soul, starring Steve Coogan and Ricky Tomlinson.

“I’ve known Elaine for ages – she grew up in the next town to me,” she says. “It was sort of a given that I’d be in the film, although only when I saw the script did I discover I was to be the naggy old mum! It’s a new role for me because I don’t have kids, but I enjoyed bossing my screen son, Elliott around. And I get to shout at my dad, Ricky Tomlinson, which was fun. He was hilarious, he never stopped telling jokes and we found out at the end of one of the days it was his birthday and he hadn’t told anyone – we got him a cake though.

“It’s such a great film, I’m only in three or four scenes but I feel really lucky to be a part of it. The film looks incredible but I knew it would. Elaine has wanted to make a film about Northern Soul since she was 14. She says she doesn’t know what she’ll do with her life when it’s finished, but when the film wins lots of awards, she’ll make another one. Well, I hope she does because she’s a great director. Her attention to detail is stunning and the emotion she captures is amazing.”

And for Lisa? What next for her?

“Simple really,” she smiles. “More touring, more acting and, hopefully, a new album out in the spring. It’s all go.”