Billy Ocean is the biggest black recording star Britain has ever produced, one who has sold over 30 million records in his lifetime to date.

He has collected a pile of Gold and Platinum records across the world and hit the number one spot worldwide in the pop charts including the USA, Australia, Germany, Holland, and the UK. Billy has achieved extraordinary success as both an artist and a songwriter.

Born in Trinidad, Billy settled in London’s East End when just seven years old. The calypso crazy kid soon got turned on to soul singers like Otis Redding and Sam Cooke, as well as pop groups like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, leading him to spend much of his study time in the music room.

Billy got his first break when he signed to GTO records, for whom his second single was the Motown-ish Love Really Hurts Without You, which reached No. 2 in the UK charts and No. 12 in the US.

Two top twenty singles followed; Love on Delivery and Stop Me, then Red Light Spells Danger became a smash in both the UK and the US. Billy changed record labels and his move to Jive Records provided instant success, with the million selling American number one single Caribbean Queen (for which Billy won a Grammy for best R&B Vocal), followed by Loverboy, and Suddenly, which became the first of Billy’s killer ballads. The Album from which these singles came from spent a year in the US Charts selling double platinum (triple in Canada). Billy also performed on the American half of Live Aid, making 1985 a truly incredible year for him.

1986 wasn’t bad either, opening with When the Going gets Tough (the tough gets going), the theme song to the Michael Douglas/Kathleen Turner/Danny Devito movie Jewel of the Nile. Billy then launched the Love Zone album, which went straight to No. 2 in the UK charts, staying in the top 40 for six months. In the US, there was a No. 1 single with There’ll be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry). More Hits were to follow with the now classic Get Outta My Dreams; Get Into My Car, giving Billy yet another US No. 1 hit.

Billy proved himself to be one of the most hardworking artists on the live stage, touring the world to ever-growing enthusiastic audiences. After huge worldwide successes and years of touring, Billy decided to take a break to spend some well- earned time at home with his family.

In 2007, Billy decided to get back out to perform his hits again, this time with his daughter Cherie on backing vocals, with live dates in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and the Caribbean. The tour was a great success and culminated in his getting the bug once more for writing and recording.

2008 saw Billy back in the studio for the first time in 15 years, recording his new album ‘Because I Love You’ which was released in 2009. In 2010 Billy went back on the road again with his band in the UK, Europe and the US with the release of ‘The Very Best of Billy Ocean’, which entered the UK album charts at number 17 and sold 72,000 copies in 4weeks.

In 2012 he went back into the studio with his old buddy Barry Eastmond to record tracks that became the album “Here You Are” which was released in 2016 entering the charts at No 4- His highest chart position since 1988.

2017 saw the “Here You Are” album released in the USA. The year was another fantastic one for him; playing shows in Dubai, USA, Canada, Spain, Mozambique, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Germany and even Luxumbourg.

In 2018 Billy played a sell out The Royal Albert, which he felt was a real landmark.

Throughout 2018 and 2019 Billy continued to play shows around the world, and also finished his latest album, ‘One World’, out now.

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When I was little, I had problems sleeping. I wasn’t putting myself to bed ever, really. My parents tried everything in the book to get me out, but nothing worked. One night, my dad was at the bar doing his funny dance to Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” and I asked him to pick me up. Less than five minutes later, I was out. Every night thereafter, he slung me over his shoulder just before bedtime and danced me to sleep—to Queen, Styx, Chicago, Meatloaf and lots and lots of Electric Light Orchestra.

ELO was our personal favorite. I ended up memorizing every word to every song off “Out of the Blue.” Anytime we were in his Honda Accord ’87, that 8-track went in. My mom had her input, too. Mostly Billy Joel, Tom Jones, maybe some Diana Ross.  She tried singing me to sleep some nights, but “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” doesn’t really set the mood for deep slumber. She gave me my very first piece of vinyl—1966’s “The Best of the Beach Boys.” After the needle gave up trying to stick to that record, she handed me the soundtrack to “Hair.” When the day finally came for me to start learning the value of a dollar and buy my own music, the first tape I went out and purchased was Run DMC’s “Raising Hell.”

How I got from 70s orchestral rock, surf ditties, and Broadway musicals to hip-hop, I’ll never know. But that diversity has stuck with me to this day. Just when I pledge allegiance to some new rap artist, I’m a bloodthirsty digger searching for a new, synthetic electronic sound I heard on satellite radio or on somebody’s blog. And then I’m back frantically Googling a soul or disco sample I recognized from an old tune or putting the finishing touches on a Dubstep mix I took way too much time obsessing over or re-organizing my play lists so I know the difference between bounce, trap and an old Dirty-South anthem.

The question of how I ended up spending half my waking hours in a nightclub is easy: I practically grew up in one.  Again, my father is to blame. He used to be the Food & Beverage Manager at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ, my hometown. I clocked more hours at that place than some of the people on payroll. And this was the 80s, mind you, when the casino strip was as glamorous as it would ever be: fur coats, pearl necklaces, big Cadillacs and Liberace (who I saw live…many times). The lights, the sounds, the electricity in the air, even the smells…these things never left.

Nor has my penchant for making people smile. In grade school I brought class clown to a new level. It cost me my grades, and also led to a few suspensions, but there was nothing I enjoyed more than leaving my classmates in stitches. Sometimes even the teacher had to take a second to regain composure. I thought maybe I’d make a good psychiatrist, helping people smile, so I went premed at NYU, till I realized the night before classes started that I’d have to sit still and study a lot. (Hence the B.A.) Naturally, I tried my hand at comedy (performed improv at the UCB Theater in 2001 and put together a sketch group called “Plan B”), but I couldn’t afford to be broke, and I was already getting gigs and discovering my knack for making dance floors pop. So, it was settled: I was to be a professional DJ.

Today, my career is in its 15th year with no signs of slowing down. I’ve played just about every NYC lounge, bar and dance club from Wall Street to 125th, from Brooklyn to the Bronx, not-to-mention residencies and guest spots across the globe; I continue to work with a growing list of high-profile clients, event-production teams and world-renown artists; I spin some of the most celebrated annual events in NYC, including the Brooklyn Black Tie Ball and Central Park SummerStage; I’ve created the most legendary old-school dance party in NYC history, the award winning Freedom Party® (voted “Best Party” by Papermag in 2010 and “Best Dance Party” by Village Voice in 2015; also a monthly in Chicago); and I continue to create unforgettable dance floors for people from all walks of life.

After years of hard work, dedication and professionalism, my name and reputation as a DJ in the music and entertainment industry precedes itself.  And though I don’t get to play nearly as much ELO at the gigs as I’d like to, and 8-track tapes (and Liberace) are long gone, my love for the music, the night, and for making people smile are still here.