Leslie Sebastian Charles (born 21 January 1950), known professionally as Billy Ocean, is a

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

ian-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 ten weeks later. Ocean won the 1985

Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male *From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B ...

for the song. It also charted in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and across Europe under three different titles. Across the next three years, Ocean accumulated a series of international hit singles. Released in 1985, "

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going "''When the going gets tough, the tough get going''" is a popular phrase of witticism in American English. The phrase is an example of an antimetabole. The origin of the phrase has been attributed to various sources. It appeared to come from A ...

" peaked at no. 1 in the UK and no. 2 in the U.S. the following year. In the same year, he achieved an American no. 1 with the single " There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)". In 1988, his single " Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" reached no. 1 in the U.S. and no. 3 in the UK. 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 Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

at the

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Ba ...

. The following year, he became a Companion of the

Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, cul ...

Early life and stardom

Ocean was born on 21 January 1950 in

Fyzabad Fyzabad is a town in southwestern Trinidad, south of San Fernando, west of Siparia and northeast of Point Fortin. It is named after the town of Faizabad in India. Colloquially it is known as "Fyzo" by many people. History Fyzabad was founde ...

, Trinidad and Tobago, to Hainsley Charles, a Grenadian musician, and his wife Violet. He moved to

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, 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 while also working as a tailor in London's

Savile Row Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...

. He was discovered by his first manager, John Morphew, who recorded a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

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 a David Myers and John Worsley composition, "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 "Super Woman, Super Lover" in 1974. In an interview with Myf Warhurst on

ABC Radio Melbourne ABC Radio Melbourne (official List of radio station callsigns in Victoria, callsign: 3LO) is an ABC Local Radio station in Melbourne, Australia. It began transmission on 13 October 1924 and was Melbourne's second licensed radio station after Radi ...

, Ocean stated that the story of his stage name being taken from the local Ocean Estate, Stepney in London's East End, 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".

International success

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) 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). As

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

acquired GTO Records in 1978, Ocean was shifted to Jive from

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

, 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. "Caribbean Queen" became Ocean's first no. 1 single on both the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and

Hot Black Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

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 The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

simultaneously in the U.S. and UK. ''Suddenly'' reached gold in the UK, and was certified double platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). He also recorded with Scott Walker in 1984, singing harmony vocals on " Track Three" from Walker's eleventh studio album '' Climate of Hunter''. “Caribbean Queen” scored Ocean two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nominations, and he won the

at the 1985 Grammy Awards. Ocean was later presented his award by

Jeffrey Daniel Jeffrey Glen Daniel (born August 24, 1955) is an American dancer, singer-songwriter, and choreographer, and a founding member of the R&B vocal group Shalamar. In Nigeria, he is best known as a judge on the first three seasons of '' Nigerian ...

of vocal group Shalamar on ''620 Soul Train'', a UK incarnation of the American musical variety television show ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. After airing locally on WCIU-TV in Chicago, Illinois, for a year, it aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featu ...

''. The album's

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...

also became a success, peaking at no. 4 in both the U.S. and the UK. The song "

Loverboy Loverboy is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in Calgary, Alberta in 1979. Loverboy's hit singles, particularly "Turn Me Loose (Loverboy song), Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend", have become arena rock staples and are still hear ...

" was a no. 2 U.S. success in 1985. Ocean appeared at

Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...

from JFK Stadium in Philadelphia in 1985, singing "Caribbean Queen" and "Loverboy". His sixth studio album '' Love Zone'' (1986) also sold well. It included the successful singles "

", the theme from the film '' The Jewel of the Nile'' (1985); this was a no. 1 success in the UK and a no. 2 in the United States; and " There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" (a U.S. no. 1 and a major UK success). Also included were the title track and " Love Is Forever", which were no. 10 and no. 16 U.S. successes for Ocean, respectively. It also earned Ocean a second nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 1987 Grammy Awards. 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 Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the ...

Kathleen Turner Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. Known for her distinctive deep husky voice, she is the recipient of two Golden Globes, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy, and two Tony Awards. After debuting ...

and

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...

, all three of whom were cast members of '' Romancing the Stone'' (1984) and ''The Jewel of the Nile'' (1985), miming to the backing vocals. In 1987, he was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist. He was the most popular British R&B singer-songwriter of the early to mid- 1980s. '' Tear Down These Walls'' (1988), Ocean's next studio album, featured the no. 1 single " Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car", and the album was certified platinum.

Later career

Ocean's eighth studio album '' Time to Move On'' (1993) failed to produce any major successes, but his 1989 ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' 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 Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chic ...

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. The awards ceremony took place in the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...

in London. He continues to tour and record in Europe. Ocean is now a patron for Tech Music Schools in London, 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 William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

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. In April 2010, an 18-track compilation album was released in the UK by

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

at no. 17. Cmglee Cambridge Billy Ocean

In October 2007, Ocean commenced his first UK tour in more than 15 years. On 20 October 2010, Ocean was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the

in London. On 29 July 2011, Ocean became a Companion of the

. His title was presented by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

. In 2012, Ocean made a cameo in the British comedy film '' Keith Lemon: The Film'' as

Lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

'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. After a delay, it was later released on 4 September 2020.

Personal life

Ocean has lived in

Sunningdale Sunningdale is a village and a civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. It takes up the extreme south-east corner of Berkshire, England and is adjoined by green buffers including Sunningdale Golf Club and Wentworth Golf ...

, Berkshire, England, with his wife, Judy, since 1978. They have three children. His son played

rugby sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...

at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

for

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. Ocean decided to become

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

after the loss of his mother, who died from ovarian cancer in 1989. He is a member of the

Rastafari Rastafari is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion. There is no central authori ...

movement.

Honours

Ocean was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to music.

Awards and nominations

ASCAP Pop Music Awards

!Ref. , - , rowspan=3, 1986 , rowspan=1, " Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)" , rowspan=7, Most Performed Songs , , rowspan=3, , - , "

" , , - , " Suddenly" , , - , rowspan=2, 1987 , " There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" , , rowspan=2, , - , "

" , , - , 1988 , " Love Is Forever" , , , - , 1989 , " Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" , ,

''Billboard'' Music Awards

!Ref. , - , rowspan=6,

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, rowspan=3, Himself , Top R&B Singles Artist , , rowspan=6, , - , Top R&B Album Artist , , - , Top Adult Contemporary Artist , , - , '' Suddenly'' , Top R&B Album , , - , rowspan=2, "Suddenly" , Top R&B Song , , - , Top Adult Contemporary Single , , - , rowspan=18, 1986 , rowspan=9, Himself , Top Artist , , rowspan=18, , - , Top R&B Artist , , - , Top R&B Singles Artist , , - , Top R&B Album Artist , , - , Top ''Billboard 200'' Artist , , - , Top Billboard 200 Artist – Male , , - , Top Hot 100 Artist , , - , Top Hot 100 Artist – Male , , - , Top Adult Contemporary Artist , , - , '' Love Zone'' , Top R&B Album , , - , rowspan=3, " There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" , Top Hot 100 Song , , - , Top R&B Song , , - , Top Adult Contemporary Single , , - , rowspan=3, " When the Going Gets Tough" , Top Hot 100 Song , , - , Top R&B Song , , - , Top Adult Contemporary Single , , - , rowspan=2, " Love Zone" , Top R&B Song , , - , Top Adult Contemporary Single ,

Grammy Awards

Billy Ocean has been nominated three times for a

, with one win. , - , rowspan="2",

, rowspan="2", " Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)" , Best Male R&B Vocal Performance , , - , Best R&B Song (shared with Keith Diamond) , , - , ,

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, '' Love Zone'' , Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ,

Ivor Novello Awards

, - , 1985 , " Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)" , rowspan=2, International Hit of the Year , , - , rowspan=2, 1989 , rowspan=2, " Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" , , - , Most Performed Work , , - , 2018 , Himself , International Achievement ,

Pollstar Concert Industry Awards

!Ref. , - , 1985 , Himself , Comeback of the Year , ,

Soul Train Music Awards

, - ,

, '' Love Zone'' , Album of the Year – Male ,

Discography

Studio albums * ''

Billy Ocean Leslie Sebastian Charles (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 sev ...

'' (1976) * ''City Limit'' (1980) * ''Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)'' (1981) * ''Inner Feelings'' (1982) * '' Suddenly'' (1984) * '' Love Zone'' (1986) * '' Tear Down These Walls'' (1988) * '' Time to Move On'' (1993) * ''Because I Love You'' (2009) * ''Here You Are'' (2013) * ''One World'' (2020)

References

External links

*
Billy Ocean official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ocean, Billy 1950 births Living people English soul singers English dance musicians English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago singers 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago singers Grammy Award winners 20th-century Black British male singers 20th-century British male singers Spark (UK record label) artists Epic Records artists Jive Records artists Trinidad and Tobago people of Grenadian descent English Rastafarians People from Siparia region People from Romford People from Sunningdale Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United Kingdom English people of Grenadian descent Members of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century Black British male singers 21st-century British male singers