“When you are older and wiser, a lot of the ego has gone out of the window.”
Billy Ocean
Introduction
His songs are a stable diet of a radio playlist. The singer from Trinidad and Tobago has produced a string of barnstorming hits such as Love Really Hurts Without You, Red Light Spells Danger, Caribbean Queen and Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car. He is, of course, Billy Ocean, born Leslie Sebastian Charles on January 21, 1950, in Fyzabad, Trinidad and Tobago, to Grenadian musician Hainsley Charles and Violet. In 1960, the family upped sticks and moved to Romford. His father, Leslie, was a significant influence on Billy’s love for music, exposing his son to the beating heart of music and the infectious rhythms that run through the veins of every note that it creates.
Tailor Made
Ocean soon started playing in London clubs and financed his budding music career by working as a tailor in Savile Row. Spotted by John Morphew, John took a punt and became Billy’s manager, securing him a double A-side single at Pye Studios in London. However, the single was unable to gather traction and failed to secure major-label backing, meaning the single couldn’t be released. Billy was subsequently released from the contract at the request of his father and went on to become a member of the band ‘The Shades of Midnight’ in 1969. Under the stage name Les Charles, he released his first single ‘Nashville Rain’ on Spark Records in 1971, with ‘Sun In The Morning’ on the flip side.
He then fronted the band ‘Scorched Earth’ for two years and released the single ‘On The Run’ backed with ‘Let’s Put Our Emotions in Motion’ with them in 1974. It was during this time that he changed his stage name to Billy Ocean. A surname that is taken from the Ocean estate in Stepney, where he lived. His debut hit album ‘Billy Ocean’ came in 1976 with tracks like ‘Love Really Hurts Without You’Stop Me (If You’ve Heard it All Before)’ and ‘L.O.D. (Love on Delivery)’, all of which made it to the UK Singles Chart in 1976, with the former charting at number 2.
In 1980, Billy released his second album ‘City Limit.’ An album that included the hits ‘Are You Ready’ and ‘Stay The Night’. Tracks that La Toya Jackson later covered. He also had a hit with ‘LOD’ (Love On Delivery). Limited success would follow with the album ‘Nights.’ (Feel Like Getting Down) in 1981 and ‘Inner Feelings’ in 1982 through his record label GTO. However, this dip in his career wouldn’t last long as, in 1984, Ocean released his fifth studio album ‘Suddenly’ which contained the track ‘Caribbean Queen.’ A song that earned Billy his first number-one in the USA and a number-nine hit in the UK. It also won a Grammy award. He also had a hit with the song ‘Loverboy’.
In 1986, Billy released his sixth album ‘Love Zone’. This album was a hit, thanks mainly to the song ‘When the Going Gets Tough’. A song used on the soundtrack for the 1985 film The Jewel of the Nile starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. This track reached number one in the UK and number two in the USA and a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance in 1987. The BBC banned the video as the actors appeared miming and were all non-union members.
The album ‘Tear Down Walls’ followed in 1988 with the hit ‘Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car’. An album that went platinum. His eighth album followed ‘Time to Move On’ in 1993. One that wasn’t a success. A compilation album, ‘L.I.F.E. – Love Is Forever’ in 1997 did well, as did his greatest hits album in 1989. Three further albums would follow this: ‘Because I Love You’ in 2009, ‘Here You Are’ in 2013 and ‘One World’ in 2020.
The Ocean Legacy
Billy Ocean is a music great in his own right. A winner of a MOBO Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 and an artist who has had numerous smash tours, Billy was awarded an MBE for services to music in the New Year’s Honours in 2020. With Ivor Novella awards, a Soul Train Award, ASCAP Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards, a Brit nomination and an honorary doctorate of music from the University of Westminster to his name, Billy has earned his right as a music legend. Living in Sunningdale, Berkshire, since 1978, Ocean lives with his wife Judy and has three children: Cherie, Anthony and Rachel. His son Anthony played rugby sevens for Barbados during the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
