Leee John | |
|---|---|
 John performing in Olonne-sur-Mer | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Leslie McGregor John |
| Born | 23 June 1957 Hackney, London, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | leeejohn |
Leslie McGregor "Leee" John (born 23 June 1957) is an English musician, singer and actor of St Lucian descent. He rose to fame as the lead singer of the soul band Imagination, which had three UK top 10 hits in the early 1980s.
John was born in Hackney, London, and educated in New York City, later studying drama at the Anna Scher Theatre School.
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John was working as a backing singer when he met Ashley Ingram (born 27 November 1957, Northampton, England) a guitarist/bassist. They formed a songwriting partnership, working in a short-lived band called Fizzz. Together with Ingram and Errol Kennedy (born 9 June 1953, Montego Bay, Jamaica) they formed Imagination, a three-piece soul music band, in the early 1980s. Produced by Jolley & Swain, their hit "Body Talk" reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1981. Their biggest hit, "Just an Illusion", peaked at number 2 in March 1982. The trio frequently appeared on Top of the Pops and other pop music programmes.
Despite not being an actor, John made a guest appearance in the Doctor Who story Enlightenment in 1983, playing the character Mansell; he replaced actor David Rhule, who had dropped out at short notice due to an industrial strike at the BBC after the rehearsals had begun. [1] The group's fortunes waned but they continued to perform, tour and record until the early 1990s. John went back to acting, but in 2003 resurfaced in the reality television show Reborn in the USA , alongside other singers such as Elkie Brooks and Tony Hadley.
He released a number of dance singles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including the UK garage and house tracks "Your Mind, Your Body, Your Soul" on Locked On Records and "U Turn Me" with Ten City vocalist Byron Stingily (2000). Under the artist name Johnny X, he also co-wrote and performed vocals on "Call on Me" which was released on Higher State. In 2005, John released a jazz album, Feel My Soul, on Candid Records, featuring a mixture of jazz standards and original compositions. Since the album's release, John has been touring the UK and Europe with his jazz quartet, as well as performing with Imagination.
John is an ambassador for SOS Children's Villages, [2] an international orphan charity providing homes and mothers for orphaned and abandoned children. He supports the charity's annual World Orphan Week [3] campaign which takes place each February. In 2012, he performed at the Leicester Square Theatre. Special guests included Mike Lindup from Level 42.
John appeared on the track "The Lost Chord" by Gorillaz for their Song Machine project, which was followed by the album Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez . [4]
Gorillaz are an English virtual band created in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle and Russel Hobbs (drums). Their universe is presented in media such as music videos, interviews, comic strips and short cartoons. Gorillaz's music has featured collaborations with a wide range of featured artists, with Albarn as the only permanent musical contributor.
Damon Albarn is an English musician. He is the frontman and main lyricist of the rock band Blur and the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual band Gorillaz.
Dohnyale Sharon "Deni" Hines is an Australian singer who has been releasing music since the early 1990s, with chart success in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Europe. She is the daughter of American-born Australian singer Marcia Hines.
Anthony Fitzgerald, known professionally as Tony Christie, is an English musician and singer. He is best known for his recording of "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo", a double UK chart success.
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.
The London Community Gospel Choir is Britain's first renowned contemporary "performance touring, inspirational gospel choir band", fusing gospel with multi-genres of music, including pop, soul, jazz, R&B, and classical. It was founded in 1982 and has performed with people including Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Gorillaz, and Kylie Minogue.
"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.
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.
"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 appears 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).
Song Machine is an audiovisual project by British virtual band Gorillaz. It is a music video web series consisting of a collection of music videos and singles that are released monthly by the band as episodes of the series, with each episode featuring additional guests. Each episode is released with accompanying interludes called "Machine Bitez", a series of skits consisting of short conversations and interviews with Song Machine's guests from Gorillaz' virtual band members. The project was officially launched on 30 January 2020. Season one of Song Machine consists of 9 episodes and was released as an album titled Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez on 23 October 2020. A second season was announced in 2020, though it was later scrapped in favor of Cracker Island.
"Désolé" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz featuring Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara. The track was released on 27 February 2020 as the second single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez. The song is part of the Song Machine project, which is a web series involving the ongoing release of various Gorillaz tracks featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020.
"Friday 13th" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz featuring French-British rapper Octavian. The track was released on 9 June 2020 as the fifth single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, and the fourth episode of the Song Machine project, a web series involving the ongoing release of various new Gorillaz singles and music videos featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020.
Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez is the seventh studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz, released on 23 October 2020 via Parlophone and Warner Records. The album was released as the culmination of Gorillaz' Song Machine project, a web series consisting of a collection of singles and music videos, dubbed "episodes" each featuring different guest artists. The album marked the return of the character Murdoc Niccals in promotional material, after his absence from The Now Now in 2018. The record received positive reviews from music critics.
"Strange Timez" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz featuring The Cure frontman, Robert Smith. The track was released on 9 September 2020 as the seventh single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, and the sixth episode of the Song Machine project, a web series that involved the release of various Gorillaz tracks featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020.
"The Pink Phantom" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz, featuring British singer Elton John and American singer 6lack. The track was released on 1 October 2020 as the eighth single for Gorillaz' seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, and the seventh episode of the Song Machine project, a web series involving the ongoing release of various Gorillaz tracks featuring different guest musicians over the course of 2020. The song was later included on John's 2021 album The Lockdown Sessions.
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