Billy Ocean Artistfacts

January 21, 1950
Billy Ocean claims to be the best-selling British-based Black artist in history, and there's ample evidence for support. He was one of the biggest hitmakers of the 1980s, with most of his success in America, where he went to #1 with "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)," "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)," and "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car."
Ocean was born in Trinidad and moved with his family to the East End of London when he was 10 - he and his five siblings split two bedrooms. He learned the trade of tailoring which he used to earn a living while pursuing music, first as a member of bands, and later as a solo artist. His first few singles flopped but he got a break in 1975 when he signed with GTO Records and teamed with producer Ben Findon. In 1976 he landed his first hit with "Love Really Hurts Without You." He had a few more UK hits over the next few years but hit a dry spell in the early '80s until breaking through with "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)" in 1984.
Ocean co-wrote all of his hits, usually with his producers. His early hits were mostly produced by Keith Diamond, who like Ocean, was born in Trinidad and moved to London. Diamond also produced and co-wrote "Object Of My Desire" for Starpoint and "When Love Cries" by Donna Summer. Ocean also worked with Mutt Lange, the South African producer behind classic albums for AC/DC, Def Leppard and Shania Twain. He worked with Ocean on "Loverboy" and "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car."
For a few decades, Ocean had a tight grip on the claim of being the most famous and successful Trinidad-born singer in history, but then Nicki Minaj came along. Like Ocean, she left the island when she was young, in her case moving to New York City.
He met his wife Judith when he was 13; they married in 1978 when Billy was 28. They couple have three children: Cherie, Anthony and Rachel. Cherie is also a singer, performing under the name Cherie Charles.
Working with Mutt Lange led to a major lifestyle change for Billy Ocean: he became a vegetarian. Lange prohibited meat products in the studio and convinced Ocean that a vegetarian diet was the way to go.

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