All Around the World

This song about searching for a lost love is the biggest hit for Lisa Stansfield, a white soul singer from England. It was the first ever US R&B #1 hit by a white UK female, and topped the charts in about a dozen countries.

The spoken intro came about when Stansfield, her boyfriend Ian Devaney, and other band member Andy Morris were sitting around the piano. Andy played some chords and Lisa began talking in a low voice, in a Barry White way. They liked the way it sounded and put it on the record. Stansfield, Devaney and Morris are the writers on the track.

The "ya ya ya ya"s in the chorus were put in as a placeholder until Lisa could come up with real lyrics. The nonsense placeholder worked so well, however, that they left it in.