It’s been such a roller coaster I needed a night of mind-numbing tv watching. Most of you didn’t see this post the first time so enjoy!
I heard this song at the supermarket the other day and it stayed in my head. The groove is solid and I remember being surprised that the singer was an Englishwoman. In the wake of this song’s success, she did a world tour and I got to work her concert as an Usher at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto on May 18, 1990. This was the first pop concert the Elgin did so it was a big deal. It was a fun show and you could tell she was having the time of her life. (It seems the last time she was here in Toronto was in 2018.)
This song is pretty well documented. The songwriters did this interview in the Guardian about its genesis. Stansfield had this to say:
All Around the World was something we wrote together. I came into the studio, and Ian was messing around at the piano. He had a melody, and I just started singing: “Been around the world and I, I, I…” Everyone laughed but Ian said, “Wait, it’s really good, that.” It just came into my head – it was nonsense, but had a really good feel to it. “I, I, I” became the main hook. We’d no idea how massive it would become.
As for that spoken word intro? Ian Devaney, co-songwriter and producer explains:
The song’s hugely influenced by Barry White…The album version of his single Let the Music Play has a spoken intro that goes on for about a minute and a half. So on All Around the World, we did a shorter spoken intro as an unashamed pastiche or tribute. We were nervous about what he might say about it, but he was very sweet. We met him several times, and Lisa and Barry really got on and rerecorded it as a duet.
This song hit #1 on a lot of charts, including the American R&B list, making her the first white woman from the UK to do that. But all of that is just background. Enjoy your song of the day!
Such a cool Barry/Lisa duet! Never heard that before.....well familiar with Lisa's original, and mad props to her for seeking out her "mentor" to share her song with! And, good on Barry for doing it...what a fun video with all Barry had to add, vocally and visually! Thanks, MK!