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Imagination | |
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 Imagination & others (1984) | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1981–1992 |
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| Past members |
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| Website | imaginationband |
Imagination were an English trio, who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They had hits in 28 countries, earning four platinum discs, nine gold discs, and more than a dozen silver discs around the world between 1981 and 1983. [4]
Singer/keyboardist Leee John (born 23 June 1957, Hackney, London) was working as a backing vocalist for the Delfonics, Chairmen of the Board, the Velvelettes and the Elgins [5] when he met Ashley Ingram, a guitarist/bassist (born 27 November 1960, Northampton). John and Ingram formed a songwriting partnership, resolving to start their own "slinky, sexy, and erotic" group, working in a short-lived band called Fizzz. While they were auditioning for another short-lived band, Midnight Express, they met drummer Errol Kennedy (born 9 June 1953, Montego Bay, Jamaica), who at a very young age had learned to drum in the Boys' Brigade and Air Training Corps. Kennedy was a member of the London-based soul-funk band TFB (Typical Funk Band), later known as Central Line, prior to co-founding Midnight Express.
Formed in early 1981, [5] the trio took a demo tape of a track called "Body Talk" to producers Jolley & Swain. It was released as a single in April 1981 under the group name "Imagination", which the group chose as a tribute to John Lennon. [6] The track reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1981, selling 250,000 copies in the UK and spending 18 weeks in the Top 50. They had two more hit singles that year, "In and Out of Love" (September 1981) and "Flashback" (November 1981), both of which peaked at number 16, all from their debut album, also called Body Talk .
Their biggest hit, "Just an Illusion", peaked at number two in March 1982 ("Just an Illusion" would later be used as the end title song to the 1986 film, F/X ), followed by "Music and Lights" (number five in June), "In the Heat of the Night" (number 22 in September, also the name of their second album), and "Changes" (number 31 in December). [7] This was accompanied by a sell-out concert tour of Europe, with 22 dates in the UK. The trio frequently appeared on BBC Television's Top of the Pops , and other pop music television programmes, with a distinctive exotic style, reminiscent of Roman senators, harem orderlies and slaves. John made a guest appearance on Doctor Who in 1983. They were also known for their esoteric album sleeve notes.
Following this, the success of the group in the UK waned, but they continued to perform, tour and record. [5] In 1987, they were signed to RCA Records, but by the end of that year Ingram and Kennedy left the band. John with new members, Nat Augustin and Peter Royer, continued and recorded a last album, The Fascination of the Physical, in 1992. The band split up the same year.
John went back to acting, but re-surfaced as a singer in the reality television show Reborn in the USA . Ingram also enjoyed success as a songwriter for Des'ree.
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You " (1985), which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Other commercially successful singles include "Promised You a Miracle" (1982), "Glittering Prize" (1982), "Someone Somewhere in Summertime" (1982), "Waterfront" (1983) and "Alive and Kicking" (1985), "Sanctify Yourself" (1986), "Let There Be Love" (1991), "See the Lights" (1991) as well as the UK number one single "Belfast Child" (1989).
Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth and as a side project from Talking Heads. Their best known songs include the UK top 10 hit "Wordy Rappinghood" and the US top 40 hit "Genius of Love", both from their 1981 debut album, and a cover of The Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk" that reached the UK top 30.
Steven Nicholas Jolley and Tony Swain were a successful songwriting and record production duo in the United Kingdom in the early to mid-1980s, producing some of the top artists and songs of the era.
Freeez were an English electronic music group, initially known as one of the UK's main jazz-funk bands of the early 1980s before transitioning to an electro style. Initiated by John Rocca, Freeez consisted of various musicians, originally with Rocca and others such as Andy Stennett (keyboards), Peter Maas and Paul Morgan or Everton McCalla (drums). They had an international hit with "IOU", and a UK top 10 with "Southern Freeez".
Leslie McGregor "Leee" John is a British musician, singer and actor of St Lucian descent. He was born in Hackney, London, and educated in New York City, later studying drama at the Anna Scher Theatre School. He is perhaps best known as the lead singer of the soul band Imagination, which had three UK top 10 hits in the early 1980s.
"Get Your Number" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was written by Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Johntá Austin and Bryan-Michael Cox, and produced by the former two and LRoc. It was released on October 3, 2005 by Island Records, as the third international and fourth overall single from Carey's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). The song is built around a sample of "Just an Illusion" (1982) by British band Imagination. Due to the inclusion of the sample, several other writers are credited as songwriters. Lyrically, the song features the protagonist persistently asking for the phone number of an individual at a club.
Midnight Star is an American musical group that had a string of hit records in the 1980s.
Blackfoot Sue was a British pop / rock band, formed in 1970 by twin brothers Tom and David Farmer and Eddie Golga. A single released in August 1972, "Standing in the Road" on the Jam label No. JAM 13, reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart. Lack of further tangible success left them labelled as one-hit wonders. However, they did have another record enter the UK Singles Chart. "Sing Don't Speak" reached number 36 in December 1972. In November 1972, they appeared on the German television programme, Disco. Further unsuccessful singles appeared on the DJM Records and MCA labels. According to AllMusic, "they were written off as a teen sensation and broke up in 1977".
Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call is the (double-LP) fourth album by Scottish post-punk band Simple Minds. It was released in September 1981 and was their first to reach a wide international audience. It includes the singles "The American", "Love Song" and "Sweat in Bullet".
"Changes" is the eighth single by the British soul and post-disco band Imagination, released by R & B Records in 1982 in the United Kingdom and by MCA Records in 1983 in the United States. The song was produced and arranged by Tony Swain and Steve Jolley.
British soul, Brit soul, or the British soul invasion, is soul music performed by British artists. Soul has been a major influence on British popular music since the 1960s, and American soul was extremely popular among some youth subcultures, such as mods, skinheads, and the Northern soul movement. In the 1970s, soul gained more mainstream popularity in the UK during the disco era.
Body Talk is the debut album by British soul/dance group Imagination, produced by Steve Jolley and Tony Swain and released in October 1981. It is one of the earliest albums of its genre to have a distinctive 'British' sound as opposed to being an attempt to recreate contemporary American styles.
In the Heat of the Night is the second album by British soul/dance group Imagination, produced by Steve Jolley and Tony Swain and released in 1982.
Scandalous is the third album by British soul/dance group Imagination, produced by Steve Jolley and Tony Swain and released in November 1983. In the US and Canada, the album was issued under title New Dimension in February 1984.
"Just an Illusion" is a song by the British trio Imagination. Co-written by Steve Jolley, Tony Swain, Ashley Ingram and Leee John, the song was a major European hit, peaking at number 2 in the group's native UK. In the United States, "Just an Illusion" went to number 27 on the Black chart. The song also peaked at number 15 on the dance charts. It plays over the closing credits of the movie F/X.
"Promised You a Miracle" is a 1982 song by Scottish band Simple Minds and was released as the first single from their fifth studio album New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84). It was the band's first chart hit in the UK, reaching #13 in the UK Singles Chart and charting for 11 weeks. Their previous nine UK singles yielded no Top 40 hits in that country although some had sold well in Scotland.
"Burnin' Up" is a 1982 song recorded by British post-disco/soul trio Imagination, published by R&B Records in UK and MCA Records in the United States. "Burnin' Up" was composed by Leee John, Ashley Ingram and the Jolley & Swain duo. The song has appeared on their debut album titled Body Talk.
Errol Kennedy is a Jamaican-British musician, songwriter, composer, producer and original member of the British soul, funk and pop band Imagination.
"Body Talk" is the debut single by English trio Imagination, taken from their debut studio album, Body Talk (1981). It is their second biggest single on the UK Singles Chart, reaching a peak of number four, just behind their 1982 hits "Just an Illusion" (#2), but just ahead of "Music and Lights" (#5).
Breaking Point is the debut studio album by Britfunk band Central Line, released by Mercury Records in February 1982 in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it was released under the name Central Line with a different track listing and artwork. Recorded with producer Roy Carter, formerly of Heatwave, the album features a distinctly English style of synth-funk similarly to contemporaries Hi-Tension and Light of the World. The record was well-received and reached number 64 on the UK Albums Chart and 145 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart. The hit single "Walking Into Sunshine" was also remixed by Larry Levan and became a popular club hit in New York. In 2007, The Guardian included Breaking Point on their list of "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die".
the U.K.-rooted John is best known to dance enthusiasts as the leader of famed post-disco trio Imagination
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