Leslie Sebastian CharlesMBE (born 21 January 1950), known professionally as Billy Ocean, is a Trinidadian-born British singer and songwriter. Between 1976 and 1988, he had a series of hit songs in the UK and internationally.
After releasing several recordings under other stage names, he achieved breakthrough success with the 1976 single "Love Really Hurts Without You". It was the second single released under the stage name Billy Ocean and peaked at no. 2 in the UK and no. 3 in Australia. Later that year, he achieved two additional top 20 singles in the UK. In 1977, his single "Red Light Spells Danger" also peaked at no. 2.
After a period of limited chart success, he released the single "Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)" in 1984. In the UK, the song peaked at no. 6. In the U.S., it entered the Billboard Hot 100 at no. 85 but peaked at no. 1 10 weeks later. Ocean won the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for the song. It also charted in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and across Europe under three different titles.
In recognition of his success and influence, Ocean has received a number of awards. In 2002, he was presented with an honorary doctorate of music by the University of Westminster. In 2010, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the MOBO Awards. The following year, he became a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.[1]
Early life and stardom
Ocean was born on 21 January 1950 in Fyzabad, Trinidad and Tobago, to Hainsley Charles, a Grenadian musician,[2][3] and his wife Violet.[4] He moved to Romford, Essex, England, when he was 10 years old, shortly before Trinidad and Tobago became independent in 1962. He was exposed to music at an early age. During his teenage years, he sang regularly in a London nightclub[3] while also working as a tailor in London's Savile Row.
He was discovered by his first manager, John Morphew, who recorded a double A-side single at Pye Studios in London with a full orchestra. However, the ballad-singing style of Ocean was going out of fashion, and Morphew was unable to get any major label to release it. It remains unreleased. Ocean's father — who had countersigned the management contract as Ocean was underage — asked Morphew to release him from the recording contract, which he did without penalty. In 1969, he joined a local band, the Shades of Midnight, playing in the Shoreditch area of London. He recorded "Nashville Rain", his first single, backed with "Sun in the Morning", in 1971 for Spark Records under the name Les Charles, and for two years fronted a studio band called Scorched Earth, with whom he released "On the Run" backed with "Let's Put Our Emotions in Motion" in 1974.[citation needed]
In an interview with Myf Warhurst on ABC Radio Melbourne, Ocean stated that the story of his stage name being taken from the local Ocean Estate, Stepney in London's East End,[5] where he was living at the time, was incorrect. According to the interview, the name was derived from a local football team that was in his home town in Trinidad and Tobago, who called themselves "Oceans 11".[6] In 1976, he recorded his debut studio album Billy Ocean, with its first single release, "Love Really Hurts Without You", charting at no. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and no. 22 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
He enjoyed club success from the songs "Are You Ready" and "Stay the Night" from his second studio album City Limit — both of which were later covered by La Toya Jackson. More successes ensued, including "L.O.D. (Love on Delivery)". He also wrote and composed songs for other artists. In 1981, he gained an entry on the U.S. R&B chart with "Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)".[citation needed]
Between 1976 and 1982, Ocean released four studio albums: Billy Ocean (1976), City Limit (1980), Nights (Feel Like Getting Down) (1981) and Inner Feelings (1982)[7] through his record label GTO, none of which scored success on any musical charts, aside from his biggest single up to that point, 1976's "Love Really Hurts Without You", which was a top 40 and a top 10 hit in both the UK (no. 2) and the U.S. (no. 22).[7]
As Sony Music acquired GTO Records in 1978, Ocean was shifted to Jive from Epic, in which he received a second breakthrough in his career in the early 1980s. Late 1984 saw the release of his fifth studio album Suddenly and its main single, "Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)" becoming successes on the charts.[7] "Caribbean Queen" became Ocean's first no. 1 single on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Black Singles charts in late 1984, and the album debuted in the top ten, peaking at no. 9 on both the US Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart simultaneously in the U.S. and UK.[7]Suddenly reached gold in the UK, and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). He also recorded with Scott Walker in 1984, singing harmony vocals on "Track Three" from Walker's eleventh studio album Climate of Hunter.
In February 1986, Ocean's music video for "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" was banned by the BBC, owing to such non-union members as the American actors Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito, all three of whom were cast members of Romancing the Stone (1984) and The Jewel of the Nile (1985), miming to the backing vocals.[8][9][10] In 1987, he was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist.[11] He was the most popular British R&B singer-songwriter of the early to mid- 1980s.[12]
Ocean's eighth studio album Time to Move On (1993) failed to produce any major successes, but his 1989 Greatest Hits collection has been a steady seller over the years, and his 1997 compilation album L.I.F.E. – Love Is for Ever made no. 7 on the UK Albums Chart. Ocean's last studio album for Jive Records was Time to Move On, which he recorded in Chicago with R&B star R. Kelly.
In 2002, the University of Westminster in London awarded Ocean an honorary doctorate of music.[13] The awards ceremony took place in the Barbican Centre in London.[14] He continues to tour and record in Europe. Ocean is now a patron for Tech Music Schools in London,[15] made up of Drumtech, Vocaltech, Guitar-X and Keyboardtech. He regularly visits to hold clinics and seminars for the students.
In 2004, "Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)" was re-released as a digital single for its 20th anniversary, shooting up to no. 25 on the Billboard digital singles chart and garnering radio play across the United States and UK. A remix of the single by will.i.am was released in 2005.
In February and March 2008 he toured Australia and the Far East. His ninth studio album Because I Love You was released on 2 February 2009.[16]
In April 2010, an 18-track compilation album was released in the UK by Sony Music titled The Very Best of Billy Ocean to tie in with a 30-date tour of the UK and Ireland. Featuring Ocean's biggest hits, the album debuted in the UK Albums Chart at no. 17.[17]
In 2012, Ocean made a cameo in the British comedy film Keith Lemon: The Film as Lemon's father. In January 2016, Ocean appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to perform some of his hits as part of a promo tour for his new album. Ocean toured the UK during March and April 2017.
Ocean recorded a new studio album in mid-2019 at Eve Studios in Stockport, working again with producer Barry Eastmond as co-writer. The album One World was to be released on 17 April 2020.[20] After a delay, it was later released on 4 September 2020.[21]
Ocean decided to become vegetarian after the loss of his mother, who died from ovarian cancer in 1989.[24] He is a member of the Rastafari movement.[25]
