Billy Ocean

There were few artists who dominated the 1980s like Billy Ocean. 

The Trinidad native was born Leslie Sebastian Charles, but moved to England as a child. His gift for song was obvious even as a teen, and, taking on the name Billy Ocean, he becme a fixture on the London scene.

Ocean scored his first hit in 1976 with "Love Really Hurts Without You," and five years later shot even higher with the dance smash "Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)".

Nothing could have prepared the world for what would happen next: Ocean's 1984 album Suddenly became an across the board monster of a disc, yielding three international hits, including the charttopping "Caribbean Queen," "Loverboy,” and the beautiful title song.

For the next half decade, Ocean repeatedly topped the charts, landing hit after hit such as "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going," “Love Zone,”  "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)," and "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car."

The hits slowed toward the end of the millennium, but Ocean re-emerged with new music and live shows every few years in the 00s and 10s. And he continues to be a crowd favorite around the world.

By Chris Rizik