''Big Thing'' is the only album by

Lisa Stansfield Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...

's band, Blue Zone. It was released by

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

in June 1988. The songs were written by Blue Zone members: Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by

Paul Staveley O'Duffy Paul O'Duffy (born 31 December 1963, in London) is an English record producer, composer and mixer. He is best known for producing Swing Out Sister's Grammy-nominated multi-platinum debut album ''It's Better to Travel'', for his BMI nomination as ...

. The album also includes one cover, " Jackie," co-produced by Ric Wake. ''Big Thing'' spawned three singles: " On Fire," " Thinking About His Baby" and "Jackie." A remastered and expanded deluxe 2-CD set was released in the United Kingdom on 18 November 2016; it was the album's first release in the band's native country.

Background

Blue Zone was formed in 1984 and consisted of

on vocals, and Ian Devaney and Andy Morris on instruments. In 1986, the trio released their first two singles: "

Love Will Wait "Love Will Wait" is the debut single by Lisa Stansfield's band, Blue Zone, released in the United Kingdom in March 1986. It was written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by Blue Zone. The single included two bonus tracks, ...

" and "

Finest Thing "Finest Thing" is a song recorded by Lisa Stansfield's band, Blue Zone. It was written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by Blue Zone, Chris Porter and Pete Wingfield. The single was released in the United Kingdom and Germ ...

." In 1987, they started working on their first album which was released in November 1988 but did not include "Love Will Wait" and "Finest Thing." The record company postponed the album many times and finally released it in Europe, North America and Australia in November 1988 and in Japan in early 1989. However, the album wasn't released in the United Kingdom until the 2016 deluxe edition.

Content

The album includes eleven songs (ten on the US edition) written by

, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, except for " Jackie" written by

Billy Steinberg William Endfield Steinberg (born February 26, 1950) is an American songwriter. He achieved his greatest success in the 1980s with songwriting partner Tom Kelly; together they wrote or co-wrote the No. 1 hits " Like a Virgin" by Madonna (1984), ...

and Tom Kelly. "Jackie" was originally recorded by Elisa Fiorillo in 1987 for the '' Summer School'' soundtrack. The album was produced by

, except for "Perfect Crime" produced by Blue Zone. Ric Wake co-produced "Jackie" and "Perfect Crime." The US edition contains the full intro of "Perfect Crime," which was cut on other versions of the album.

Singles

The first single from the album, " On Fire" was released on 26 October 1987 and peaked at number ninety-nine in the United Kingdom. The second single, " Thinking About His Baby" was issued on 25 January 1988 and reached number seventy-nine in the UK. On 26 July 1988, " Jackie" was released as a single in the United States and peaked at number fifty-four on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number thirty-seven on the

Hot Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

*Nat Augustin – backing vocals *

Jocelyn Brown Jocelyn Lorette Brown (born November 25, 1950), sometimes credited as Jocelyn Shaw, is an American R&B and dance singer. Although she has only one ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart entry solely in her name, she has an extensive background in the musi ...

– backing vocals *Tim Cansfield – guitar *Ian Devaney – trombone, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals * Lance Ellington – backing vocals * Brandon Fields – saxophone * Big George – bass *Gary Grant – trumpet * Jerry Hey – trumpet * Dan Higgins – saxophone *Kim Hutchcroft – saxophone *

Luís Jardim Luís Alberto Figueira Gonçalves Jardim (born 4 July 1950) is a Portuguese percussionist, born in the Madeira Island, best known for his work with producer Trevor Horn. Family Jardim is a cousin of Alberto João Jardim (former president of the ...

– percussion *Dee Lewis – backing vocals *Shirley Lewis – backing vocals *Charlie Loper – trombone *Dolette McDonald – backing vocals *Andy Morris – trumpet, flugelhorn, keyboards, backing vocals *

Tessa Niles Tessa Margaret Niles ( ''née'' Webb; born 27 January 1961 in Ilford, Essex) is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of contemporary artists. She began her professional singing career in 1979. Early life and ca ...

– backing vocals *

– producer *

Phil Palmer Philip John Palmer (born 9 September 1952) is a rock sideman and session guitarist who has toured, recorded, and worked with numerous artists. He is best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Dire Straits. Biography Palmer grew up in nort ...

– guitar *Tom Peterson – saxophone *Martyn Phillips – programming * Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone *

Frank Ricotti Frank Ricotti (born 31 January 1949) is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist. Early life and education Ricotti was born in London, England. His father was a drummer. Bill Ashton, founder of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NY ...

– percussion *Kevin Whitehead – drums *

Chris Whitten Chris Whitten (born 26 March 1959) is a British session drummer who provided drums for the hit singles "What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, "World Shut Your Mouth" by Julian Cope and "The Whole of the Moon" by the Waterboys. Two notab ...

– drums *Marcus Williams – bass * Paul Wickens – keyboards

Release history

References

{{Authority control Lisa Stansfield albums 1988 debut albums Arista Records albums Albums produced by Paul Staveley O'Duffy