MEMORIES:
kendra remembers...I was a fan of Mr.Ocean,back in the day. He made plenty of great tunes,but my fave is 'LoverBoy'. More »
Posted on 03/04/08
Release History:
1980 - City Limit
1981 - Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)
1982 - Inner Feelings
1984 - Suddenly
1986 - Love Zone
1988 - Tear Down These Walls
1989 - Greatest Hits
1993 - Time to Move On
1997 - L.I.F.E.
Members:
“Now we're sharing the same dream, and our hearts they beat as one…”
The unforgettable international hit "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)" made the British pop-soul star Billy Ocean a break-out success in 1984. Over four years in the mid-1980s Ocean had three #1 hits and seven in the top ten. His technique of combining r&b and dance material with pop music production resulted in songs that grooved as happily on your car stereo as they did in the dance clubs.
Born Leslie Sebastian Charles in Trinidad in 1950, Ocean was always a musical child. At the age of eight he moved with his parents to England, where as a teenager he became active in the London club scene. Working a night job at Ford Motors while pursuing his music by day, Ocean released his first single, “Scorched Earth,” in 1974. He had his first hit the following year when the Motown-style “Love Really Hurts Without You” went to #2 on the British singles chart and #22 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Billy Ocean’s success continued through the 70’s and early 80’s with hits like "L.O.D. (Love On Delivery).” Jane Fonda used Ocean’s 1982 r&b hit “Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)” on her famous Workout Album. He wrote songs for other artists like LaToya Jackson. But his huge crossover success came two years later when "Caribbean Queen" hit #1 on both the pop and r&b charts. The funky but sophisticated sound, soulful vocals, and killer hook added up to a worldwide hit.
With modified lyrics the song was released for other markets as "African Queen" and "European Queen,” with just as much success. But Ocean wasn’t coasting on one monster hit – he scored again in 1985 with the electrified funk tune “Loverboy” and the sweet ballad “Suddenly.” “Suddenly” was also the title track of Ocean’s album, which hit the Top 10 in its own right on both sides of the Atlantic.
Billy Ocean kept rolling in 1986 with "When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going." Featured on the soundtrack of the hit movie The Jewel of the Nile, the song hit #2 on the charts, aided by a popular video in which Ocean performed the song along with Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas, and Danny DeVito, the stars of the film. His 1986 album Love Zone included his second #1 hit, "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)," and another Top-20 hit, "Love Is Forever."
In 1988, Billy Ocean again topped the charts with "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car,” from the soundtrack of the hit film License to Drive. The song, which effortlessly melded danceable grooves with a rockin’ attitude, was also included on Ocean’s Top-20 album Tear Down These Walls, which produced the hit single “The Colour of Love.”
The inevitable Greatest Hits album appeared in 1989, but Ocean didn’t rest on his laurels. In 1990 he and Fresh Prince worked together on the single "I Sleep Much Better (In Someone Else's Bed)." Billy Ocean recorded several more albums that did not produce hits, but his importance continued to be felt in the music world, especially in Europe. His final studio album for Jive Records was recorded with the American r&b star R. Kelly, who acknowledged the influence of Ocean’s pop-soul crossover style. And the popular Irish group Boyzone had a #1 hit in 1999 with their remake of "When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going."
Today Billy Ocean remains a vital musical force, touring Europe and lending his expertise to students at the Tech Music Schools of London. In America, Billy Ocean’s importance to popular culture was underlined by a major character’s obsession with the star on the popular TV show Everybody Hates Chris. While he may no longer be churning out the hits, his influential pop-soul style lives on.
