Billy Ocean
Encyclopedia
Billy Ocean is a Trinidad
-born English
Grammy Award
winning popular music
performer who had a string of rhythm and blues
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.
parents, and moved to Romford
, London
, England with his family at the age of eight. Ocean's musical influence came at an early age of his life, as his father was a musician, and realised he was in line to follow those ambitions as he was growing up. During his teenage years, he sang regularly in London
clubs
while also working as a tailor
in London's Savile Row
. He released his first single
in 1972 on Spark Records
as Les Charles.
He took his stage name from the Ocean Estate, Stepney
, where he was living at the time. In 1976, he recorded
his first album
, Billy Ocean, with its first single release, "Love Really Hurts Without You," charting at number 2 in the UK Singles Chart
and number 22 in the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
. He enjoyed club success from the songs "Are You Ready" and "Stay The Night" from the album City Limit - both of which were later covered by La Toya Jackson
(see below). More successes ensued, including "L.O.D. (Love On Delivery)". He also wrote
song
s for other artists
. In 1981, he scored the U.S. R&B
chart
with "Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)".
Ocean's period of greatest success began with Suddenly
during 1984, and its main single, "Caribbean Queen". 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 February 1986, Ocean's video
of "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" was banned by the BBC
, owing to non-union members (including Michael Douglas
, Kathleen Turner
and Danny DeVito
) miming to backing vocals
.
Ocean's next album, Tear Down These Walls (1988) featured another number one single, "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car
", while the album was certified platinum
.
album for Jive Records
was Time to Move On, which he recorded in Chicago
with R&B
star R. Kelly
. It turned out that R. Kelly had been a long-time admirer of the way Ocean was able to mix the more emotive soul
style with a crossover popular style.
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 student
s.
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.
In October 2007, Ocean commenced his first UK
tour in over 15 years. In February and March 2008 he toured Australia
and the Far East
. His album, Because I Love You was released on 2 February 2009. To coincide with this tour and album launch, Ocean worked with Adoseof Design on a revision of Ocean's website
.
In April 2010, an eighteen track compilation album
was released in the UK by Sony Music entitled The Very Best of Billy Ocean, to tie in with a thirty date tour of the UK and Ireland
. Featuring Ocean's biggest hits, the album debuted in the UK Albums Chart
at number 17.
On 20 October 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
. His title was presented by Sir Paul McCartney
.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
-born English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
performer who had a string of rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
international pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
number ones.
Early life and stardom
He was born in Trinidad and Tobago to GrenadianGrenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
parents, and moved to Romford
Romford
Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England with his family at the age of eight. Ocean's musical influence came at an early age of his life, as his father was a musician, and realised he was in line to follow those ambitions as he was growing up. During his teenage years, he sang regularly in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
clubs
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
while also working as a tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
in London's Savile Row
Savile Row
Savile Row is a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring. The term "bespoke" is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers...
. He released his first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in 1972 on Spark Records
Spark Records
Spark Records was a record label started by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller c. 1954. Artists released on Spark Records included Willy & Ruth, The Sly Fox and The Robins....
as Les Charles.
He took his stage name from the Ocean Estate, Stepney
Stepney
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...
, where he was living at the time. In 1976, he recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
his first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Billy Ocean, with its first single release, "Love Really Hurts Without You," charting at number 2 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and number 22 in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. He enjoyed club success from the songs "Are You Ready" and "Stay The Night" from the album City Limit - both of which were later covered by La Toya Jackson
La Toya Jackson
La Toya Yvonne Jackson is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, television personality, actress, businesswoman, philanthropist, activist and former model. She is the fifth child of the Jackson family...
(see below). More successes ensued, including "L.O.D. (Love On Delivery)". He also wrote
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s for other artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. In 1981, he scored the U.S. R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
with "Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)".
Ocean's period of greatest success began with Suddenly
Suddenly (Billy Ocean album)
Suddenly is the fifth studio album by Billy Ocean, released in 1984. It featured his first major U.S. pop hit single "Caribbean Queen ", which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart.-Track listing:...
during 1984, and its main single, "Caribbean Queen". The song's title and lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
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
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...
at the 1985 Grammy Awards
Grammy Awards of 1985
The 27th Grammy Awards were held February 26, 1985, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1984.- Award winners :*Record of the Year...
. The album's title track
Suddenly (Billy Ocean song)
"Suddenly" is a popular song from 1985 written and performed by the Trinidadian-born, British-based pop music singer Billy Ocean. It is the title track to the singer's 1984 breakthrough album, which was produced by Keith Diamond....
also became a success, peaking at #4 in both the US and the UK and the song "Loverboy
Loverboy (Billy Ocean song)
"Loverboy" was Billy Ocean's second single from his 1984 album, Suddenly. It was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange and reached a chart high of number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and number 15 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1985. It also reached the top spot of the Hot Dance Music/Club...
", while also being a #2 US success in 1985 was also featured in the very first scene of the popular UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
TV series, Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
, in 1986.
Ocean appeared at Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
in 1985, singing "Caribbean Queen" and "Loverboy", from the JFK Stadium
John F. Kennedy Stadium
John F. Kennedy Stadium was an open-air stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that stood from 1925 to 1992. The South Philadelphia stadium was situated on the east side of the far southern end of Broad Street at a location that is now part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
His 1986 album Love Zone
Love Zone
Love Zone is the sixth album recorded by R&B singer Billy Ocean. The album includes the hit singles "Love Zone" and "There'll Be Sad Songs ," as well as "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going," which had originally been featured on the soundtrack to the 1985 film The Jewel of the...
also sold well. It included the successful singles "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going
When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going" is a popular English language proverb. A song of the same name was recorded by Billy Ocean in 1985 at Battery Studios North London.-Phrase:...
" (the theme from the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
The Jewel of the Nile
The Jewel of the Nile
The Jewel of the Nile is a 1985 romantic adventure film, and a sequel to the 1984 film Romancing the Stone, with Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito reprising their roles...
); 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)
There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)
"There'll Be Sad Songs " is a 1986 single by Billy Ocean. The song was written and produced by Wayne Brathwaite and Barry Eastmond; Ocean was also credited as a co-writer for the song. It appears on Ocean's 1986 album Love Zone, which was released on Jive Records...
" (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 February 1986, Ocean's video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
of "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" was banned by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, owing to non-union members (including Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
, Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor...
and Danny DeVito
Danny DeVito
Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...
) miming to backing vocals
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
.
Ocean's next album, Tear Down These Walls (1988) featured another number one single, "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car
Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car
"Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" is a number one single by singer Billy Ocean. Part of its popularity lay in its cutting-edge video, which featured cartoon mixed with live-action sequences. The song went to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Black Singles chart. It also...
", while the album was certified platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
.
Later career
His 1993 album Time to Move On failed to produce any major successes, but his 1989 Greatest Hits collection has been a steady seller over the years, and his 1997 compilation Love Is For Ever made #7 on the UK album chart. Ocean's last studioRecording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
album for Jive Records
Jive Records
Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...
was Time to Move On, which he recorded in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
with R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
star R. Kelly
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
. It turned out that R. Kelly had been a long-time admirer of the way Ocean was able to mix the more emotive soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
style with a crossover popular style.
In 2002, the University of Westminster
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
in London awarded Ocean an honorary doctorate
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
of music. The awards ceremony took place in the Barbican Centre
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the City of London, England, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory...
, in London. He continues to tour and record in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. He lives in Sunningdale
Sunningdale
Sunningdale is a large village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England.-Location:Sunningdale is located close to the present border with Surrey, and is not far from Ascot, Sunninghill and Virginia Water. It is situated 24 miles west of London and 7...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
with his wife of 27 years, Judy; and their three children Cherie, Antony and Rachel. Ocean is now a patron
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
for Tech Music Schools
Tech Music Schools
Tech Music School is a contemporary music school that trains musicians for the music industry in the following disciplines: drums, vocals, guitar, bass guitar and music business...
in London, made up of Drumtech, Vocaltech, Guitar-X and Keyboardtech. He regularly visits to hold clinics and seminars for the student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s.
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
Will.i.am
William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...
was released in 2005, and it later appeared on Pitchfork's "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s" countdown, at #87.
In October 2007, Ocean commenced his first UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
tour in over 15 years. In February and March 2008 he toured Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
. His album, Because I Love You was released on 2 February 2009. To coincide with this tour and album launch, Ocean worked with Adoseof Design on a revision of Ocean's website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
.
In April 2010, an eighteen track compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
was released in the UK by Sony Music entitled The Very Best of Billy Ocean, to tie in with a thirty date tour of the UK and Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. Featuring Ocean's biggest hits, the album debuted in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
at number 17.
On 20 October 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
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts is, despite its young age, one of the United Kingdom's leading institutions for the performing arts. The university is situated in the English city of Liverpool...
. His title was presented by Sir Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
.
Ocean-penned songs recorded by other artists
- "Are You Ready?" – LaToya Jackson
- "Stay the Night" – LaToya Jackson
- "Love Is a Dangerous Game" – Millie JacksonMillie JacksonMildred "Millie" Jackson is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter and comedienne. Three of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies....
- "Love Is" – Randy CrawfordRandy CrawfordRandy Crawford is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist...
- "Taking Chances" – Ray, Goodman & BrownRay, Goodman & BrownRay, Goodman & Brown is an American R&B vocal group. The group originated as The Moments, who formed in the mid-1960s and whose greatest successes came in the 1970s with hits including "Love on a Two-Way Street", "Sexy Mama" and "Look at Me "...
- "Waiting For You" – BoyzoneBoyzoneBoyzone are an Irish boy band comprising Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating,Shane Lynch, and formerly Stephen Gately. Boyzone have 19 singles in the top 40 UK charts and 21 singles in the Ire charts. The group currently have 6 UK number one singles and 9 number one singles in Ireland with 12...
- "Whatever Turns You On" – The DellsThe DellsThe Dells are an R&B and crossover musical group. Their successful recordings spanned more than four decades. Formed in 1952 after attending high school together, the Dells' repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul, disco and contemporary rhythm and blues...
- "Who's Gonna Rock You" – The NolansThe NolansThe Nolans are an Anglo-Irish all-female band consisting of a group of sisters. The group, best known for their song "I'm In the Mood for Dancing", gained prominence as guest performers on numerous television shows in the United Kingdom...
- "Red Light Spells Danger" - Top Gear Band
- "Suddenly" - Marti PellowMarti PellowMarti Pellow has been the lead singer of the Scottish pop group Wet Wet Wet since their formation in 1982. He has also recorded solo material.-Early life:...
See also
- List of number-one singles (UK)
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
- List of Euro disco artists
- List of Eastern Caribbean people