Before Amy Winehouse, Adele and Sam Smith, Lisa Stansfield brought British soul across the pond. But her 1989 signature song, “All Around the World” — which, true to its title, became an international smash — wasn’t supposed to have one of its most memorable hooks.
“Ian [Devaney, the co-writer and co-producer] said, ‘I’ve got this line for this song, but I can’t think of any words for it,’ ” says Stansfield, 52. “So he played it, and I go, ‘Been around the world and I, I, I …’ I didn’t know what to put on the end of it. Eventually we said, ‘Why don’t we just leave it like that?’ And that’s like the biggest, most famous part of the song.”
Certainly, Stansfield will be belting out “All Around the World” when she headlines Highline Ballroom on Sunday as part of “The Deeper Tour North America,” her first time playing the US in more than 20 years.
“I think most people in America think that I’ve just been sitting on my ass eating chocolates and watching TV for 20 years,” says Stansfield, who released her “Deeper” album in April. “I suppose coming back is reminding people that I’m still alive.”
While Stansfield has been missing on the concert stage in New York, she’s actually been all around the city. That’s because she and Devaney — who, in addition to being Stansfield’s producer and songwriting partner, is also her husband — lived in the Chelsea Mercantile building until just a few years ago. Currently based in London and Manchester, England, they hope to make another home in New York in the next year or so.
They got married in Washington Square Park, and returned there to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary on July 25. “We went back and saw the tree where we got married under,” she says. “ When we got married, it was like a little baby tree, but 20 years later it’s like a fully grown adult tree.”
And Stansfield’s relationship with “All Around the World” has grown into a kind of marriage, too.
“Throughout the [almost] 30 years that I’ve had with that song, I’ve fallen out with it. We’ve had good times and bad times. Sometimes I put up with it, and other times I just really love it.”