Billy Ocean has to be one of the most easy-going people in the music business. His almost permanent smile is testament to the personal happiness of a 38-year marriage to his wife Judy, their three children and much loved grandchildren, one of whom is undoubtedly Billy’s biggest fan.
“That’s my granddaughter,” laughed the man born Leslie Charles. “I used to listen to some of my old songs in the car when she was nothing more than a baby. She obviously enjoyed them because every time she is with me in the car now she says ‘Grandad music, grandad music.’ She doesn’t want to hear songs by anyone else, just my music.”
His granddaughter is by no means alone in wanting to hear Billy’s music. Nineteen years after “L.I.F.E. - Love Is For Ever” reached number seven on the UK albums chart, Billy is back in the top ten debuting at number four with his latest LP, “Here You Are: The Best of Billy Ocean.”
“It’s amazing how beneficial doing a little promotional work has been. My heyday was during the mid to late-1980s although I’d had a pair of massively successful singles in the mid-1970s.
“I’ve never actually stopped working but I’ve never worked anything like as much in recent years as I did in those early days. When the average pop fan doesn’t see your name in the charts, they tend to think you’ve retired. The promotional tour has reminded people I’m still around.”
Now 66, the success of his new LP will provide Billy with a tidy sum to top up his old age pension. The album is a two-CD hybrid of his best loved hits and cover versions of songs chosen by Billy for their influence on him both personally and professionally.
The 12 tracks on the covers CD include his new single, A Simple Game, plus classic songs such as A Change Is Gonna Come, Cry Me A River, No Woman No Cry and These Foolish Things.
The 19 tracks on his greatest hits CD feature massively popular songs such as Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car, Suddenly, When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going and Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run).
The latter holds a special place in Billy’s heart. It was his first chart-topping single holding the number one spot in Canada, New Zealand and on Billboard’s Hot 100. The song, which Billy co-wrote with producer Keith Diamond, also earned him the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
“Caribbean Queen was so popular that I even recorded two other versions of the song, European Queen and African Queen. This wasn’t my idea. It was a marketing strategy dreamed up by the record label. They thought switching ‘Caribbean’ with ‘European’ or ‘African’ would have more appeal in different territories around the world. It seemed a bit silly to me but each version proved very popular so the idea certainly worked.”
Born in Fyzabad, Trinidad and Tobago, Billy’s family moved to England when he was a child. The influence of his musician father saw Billy sing in London clubs when he was a teenager. His regular work was as a tailor in London’s Savile Row. It was a profession which would aid his music career.
“I used to make all my own stage suits during the height of my career in the 1980s. Image is so important in the music business. I wanted quality tailoring, good colours and great styles. I had the ability so I thought it was best to make the suits myself.”
Billy’s artistry has been recognised with an honorary Doctorate of Music from the University of Westminster, a Lifetime Achievement Award at the MOBOs and a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts presented to him by Sir Paul McCartney.
“I’ve been blessed by the appreciation of so many people throughout my career. Those awards were so special. I really treasure them.”
Before his success with the new album, Billy found himself in the news in a more unlikely context.
“I had people asking me about an interview given by the singer Frank Ocean. He said I was his uncle. Apparently, he just made up the story to mess around with the interviewer but some people thought it was true. I suppose it might have been worse. He could have said I was his dad!”
in
brief
Beyonce
Beyonce has broken a Hot 100 chart record. The superstar singer became the first female artist to have 12 songs listed in the same singles chart. This is each track on her chart-topping album, “Lemonade.”
The previous mark of 11 had been held by Taylor Swift with tracks from her 2014 album, “1989.” The overall record for any artist is held by Justin Bieber who had 17 songs from his album, “Purpose,” in the same Hot 100 last year.
Beyonce also set a new record when “Lemonade” entered the Billboard 200 in pole position. This made her the only artist to have their first six studio albums debut at number one. She had previously been tied with rap star DMX on five straight chart-topping debuts.
Modern Baseball
American indie-rock quartet Modern Baseball have just released their third studio album, “Holy Ghost.” Only four of the 11 tracks last longer than three minutes. But the band can say a lot in a short time as proved by the songs on their first two albums, 2012’s “Sports” and 2014’s “You’re Gonna Miss It All.”
Both albums can be heard in full online. “Sports” is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7uLo7qHlb8 while “You’re Gonna Miss It All” is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vGUY0XdkaQ
Modern Baseball say their new album is like a time capsule for the two years since the release of their last LP. Each track can be heard in full at (no www.) runforcoverrecords.bandcamp.com/album/holy-ghost
The video for lead single, Wedding Singer, is as much a mini-drama as a music video. The ending is initially chilling but then heart-warming. It can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJXGscQdKyQ
Tegan and Sara
Canadian identical twins Tegan and Sara return to the music scene with their eighth studio album, “Love You To Death,” which is set for release on June 3.
It is the follow-up to their 2013 album, “Heartthrob,” which was by far their biggest hit to date. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and sold well throughout the world.
The girls have released Boyfriend as the official lead single. The accompanying video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJOHoiPGpac
Another track, U-turn, was also issued at the same time. This song was tagged as a promotional single. An official video has been released. It can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpfJfSG_c1g
A further promotional single, 100x, has also now been released. The video, which features some incredibly cute dogs, is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XEkXvUp8VM
Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake has released his latest single, Can’t Stop The Feeling. It forms part of the film soundtrack on the upcoming DreamWorks Animation musical comedy, Trolls.
Justin is the executive producer for the soundtrack music and stars opposite Anna Kendrick in voicing the main characters. He will be contributing three more original songs along with a number of covers. These include Justin and Anna performing together on their cover of Cyndi Lauper’s 1986 classic, True Colors.
The video for Can’t Stop The Feeling can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5RobDomh5U
It features cameo appearances by other members of the movie vocal cast including Gwen Stefani, James Corden, Icona Pop, Kunal Nayyar, Ron Funches and, of course, Anna Kendrick.
Justin’s first public performance of Can’t Stop The Feeling was given last Saturday during the voting interval at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm, Sweden. This was the first occasion on which an artist of such international acclaim had performed during the Eurovision interval.
SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS: Billy Ocean’s almost permanent smile is testament to the personal happiness of a 38-year marriage.
