This allowed him to pursue his musical ambitions during the day, but after twelve months he felt it was time to move on. Leslie took a job working nights at the giant Ford Motors plant in Dagenham Essex. Unfortunately not everyone felt the same and later that day the singer was promptly sacked. Leslie recalls “It was a magical moment,” as sewing machines stopped and the volume on the radio went up. The single had its first airing on Radio One thanks to Annie Nightingale. One of these was “On The Run”, released under the name Scorched Earth in 1974, although some of the others would not see the light of day until 1986. In 1973 Leslie met Ben Findon at Tangerine studios and together they worked on a number of compositions. Which was the UK’s entry in that year’s Eurovision Song Contest.Ī second single “Reach Out A Hand” was released the following year but failed to bring the success he desired, so he returned to the session work. “Nashville Rain” was written and produced by John Worsley and David Meyers who were responsible for Clodagh Rodgers hit “Jack In The Box”. To supplement his income he would perform with various local bands including Shades of Midnight at the Bluecoat Boy public house in Norton Folgate, as well as working as a session singer around the recording studios.Īfter recording as Joshua, Piggy bank and Sam Spade amongst a variety of other pseudonyms, his first single was released under his own name Les Charles in 1971. Whilst serving his apprenticeship in the Spitalfields rag trade, he bought an old Berry piano from one of the sewing machinists with £30 lent to him by his boss Benjamin Sollinger.Īs a fully qualified tailor Leslie worked for Norton and Sons in London’s famous Savile Row. On leaving full time education Leslie had a variety of jobs including mattress making, carpentry and working as a security guard before going to college on a bespoke tailoring course. In 1958 his family immigrated to England in search of work, settling in the East End of London.Īt the age of eleven he attended Stepney Green School for boys in Ben Johnson Road where he was an active member of both the football and cricket teams.ĭuring this time Leslie would spend hours listening to his dad’s transistor radio, being influenced by American soul singers Brook Benton, Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, along with the British sound of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. So impressive were his vocal performances that the school’s head teacher would often enter him into singing competitions. Young Leslie also attended choir practice with his two elder sisters. Leslie Sebastian Charles was born on Saturday 21st January 1950, in Fyzabad on the Caribbean Island of Trinidad.įrom a very early age he was inspired by his dad’s love of Calypso music and was soon playing a small steel drum pan and a blue ukulele, bought for him by a friend of his mother. His determination to succeed and talent have always shone through even the darkest of times, proving that when the going gets tough… the tough really do get going. However, his success is only the tip of the iceberg.įrom humble beginnings to international stardom his road to fame has at times been tinged with despondency. During a career spanning over 25 years, he has sold in excess of 30 million singles and albums worldwide, reaching his pinnacle throughout the 1980’s. It peaked at number five on the Billboard R&B chart and spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard adult contemporary chart.Billy Ocean holds the prestigious title of being the biggest selling British black artist of all time. The song also reached the same chart peak on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US, spending two weeks at number four in June of that year. Released as the third single from the album (following the success of " Caribbean Queen" and " Loverboy"), the ballad became the album's most successful single in the UK, reaching number four on the UK Singles Chart in mid-1985. ![]() Co-written and produced by Keith Diamond, it is the title track to Ocean's 1984 breakthrough album. " Suddenly" is a popular song from 1985 co-written and performed by the Trinidadian-born, British-based singer Billy Ocean.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |