Billy Ocean's 1988 hit "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" reached in the US and in the UK.
25 Facts About Billy Ocean
2.
Billy Ocean's 1986 hit "There'll Be Sad Songs " reached No 1 in the US.
3.
In 2010, Billy Ocean was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the MOBO Awards.
4.
On 29 July 2011, Billy Ocean became a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, the award being presented to him by Sir Paul McCartney.
5.
Billy Ocean was born on 21 January 1950 in Fyzabad, Trinidad and Tobago, to Hainsley Charles, a Grenadian musician, and his wife Violet.
6.
Billy Ocean moved to Romford, east London, England, when he was ten years old, shortly before Trinidad and Tobago became independent in 1962.
7.
Billy Ocean was discovered by his first manager, John Morphew, who recorded a double A-side single at Pye Studios in London with a full orchestra.
8.
However, the ballad-singing style of Billy Ocean was going out of fashion, and Morphew was unable to get any major label to release it.
9.
Between 1976 and 1982, Ocean released four studio albums: Billy Ocean, City Limit, Nights and Inner Feelings 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 and the US.
10.
Billy Ocean recorded with Scott Walker in 1984, singing harmony vocals on "Track Three" from Walker's eleventh studio album Climate of Hunter.
11.
Billy Ocean appeared at Live Aid in 1985, singing "Caribbean Queen" and "Loverboy", from JFK Stadium in Philadelphia.
12.
At the 1987 Brit Awards, Billy Ocean was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male.
13.
Billy Ocean is a patron for Tech Music Schools in London, made up of Drumtech, Vocaltech, Guitar-X and Keyboardtech.
14.
In October 2007, Billy Ocean commenced his first UK tour in more than 15 years.
15.
On 20 October 2010, Billy Ocean was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the MOBO Awards in London.
16.
On 29 July 2011, Billy Ocean became a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
17.
Billy Ocean's title was presented by former Beatle Paul McCartney.
18.
In 2012, Billy Ocean made a cameo appearance in the British comedy film Keith Lemon: The Film as Lemon's father.
19.
In January 2016, Billy Ocean appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to perform some of his classic hits as part of a promo tour for his new album.
20.
Billy Ocean recorded a new studio album in mid-2019 at Eve Studios in Stockport, working again with producer Barry Eastmond as co-writer.
21.
Billy Ocean has lived in Sunningdale, Berkshire, England, with his wife Judy, since 1978.
22.
Billy Ocean's son played rugby sevens at the 2014 Commonwealth Games for Barbados.
23.
Billy Ocean decided to become vegetarian after the loss of his mother, who died from ovarian cancer in 1989.
24.
Billy Ocean was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to music.
25.
Billy Ocean has been nominated three times for a Grammy Award, with one win.