80's Music Junkies: Billy Ocean

When I was going to discos in the 80s, this song “Caribbean Queen” by Billy Ocean will always do the job of getting the dance floor packed with people. If you don’t know who’s Billy, let me introduce you to him. Billy was born in Fyzabad, Trinidad and Tobago to Grenadian parents and moved to England with his family at the age of eight. He was performing way back in the 70s, but Billy's period of greatest success began with “Suddenly” in 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". Wonder if there is one in your country. The album's title track also became a hit. His 1986 album “Love Zone” also sold very well. It included the hit 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 hit 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, although it performed less well in the UK). Watch his videos “European Queen” or "Caribbean Queen". Let’s take a stroll with Billy’s greatest hits.

Billy Ocean was on his way to superstardom with this album, his first big hit release on Epic. The title song was his first R&B Top 10 record, and he got another couple of chart singles before beginning his run of R&B and pop hits. It also demonstrated his equal ability doing exuberant up tempo dance tunes and convincing, if at times over sung and vapid, ballads. Epic was later left red-faced when an act they developed moved over to Jive/RCA and went platinum.

Bookmark this page. More albums will be featured soon.

Caribbean Queen