| Name |
Billy Ocean |
| Height |
|
| Naionality |
English |
| Date of Birth |
21-January-1950 |
| Place of Birth |
Romford, London, England |
| Famous for |
Singing |
Billy Ocean is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British-based R&B singer-songwriter of the early to mid-1980s. After scoring his first four UK top 20 successes, seven years passed before he accumulated a series of transatlantic successes, including three U.S. number ones.
In 1985, Ocean won the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his worldwide hit, "Caribbean Queen", and in 1987 was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male. In 2002, the University of Westminster, London awarded Ocean an honorary doctorate of music. In 2010, Ocean was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the MOBO Awards. On 29 July 2011, Ocean became a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, presented to him by Sir Paul McCartney. Ocean's period of greatest success began with the releases, during 1984, of the album Suddenly and its main single, "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)." The song's title and lyrics were changed for different regions, such that the song is also known as "African Queen" or "European Queen." The song won Ocean the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 1985 Grammy Awards. The album's title track also became a success, peaking at #4 in both the US and the UK and the song "Loverboy", while also being a #2 US success in 1985 was also featured in the very first scene of the popular UK BBC One TV series, Casualty, in 1986.
Ocean appeared at Live Aid in 1985, singing "Caribbean Queen" and "Loverboy", from the JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His 1986 album Love Zone also sold well. It included the successful singles "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going," the theme from the film The Jewel of the Nile; this was a number one success in the UK and a number two in the U.S.; and "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" (a U.S. number one, and also a major UK success). Also included were the title track and "Love Is Forever", which were #10 and #16 U.S. successes for Ocean, respectively. In 2002, the University of Westminster in London awarded Ocean an honorary doctorate of music. The awards ceremony took place in the Barbican Centre, in London. He continues to tour and record in Europe. He lives in Sunningdale, Berkshire with his wife of 27 years, Judy; and their three children Cherie, Antony and Rachel. 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" was re-released as a digital single for its 20th anniversary, shooting up to #25 on the Billboard digital singles chart and garnering radio play across the US and UK. A remix of the single by will.i.am was released in 2005, and it later appeared on Pitchfork's "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s" countdown, at #87.
