Billy Ocean (born Leslie Sebastian Charles; 21 January 1950) <br />Pop-song-singer who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. <br />He was the most popular British R&B singer-songwriter of the early to mid-1980s. <br />After scoring his first four UK Top 20 successes, seven years passed before he accumulated a series of transatlantic successes, including three U.S. number ones. <br />In 1985, Ocean won the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his worldwide hit, "Caribbean Queen", and in 1987 was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist. <br /> <br />In 2002, the University of Westminster, London, awarded Ocean an honorary doctorate of music. In 2010, Ocean was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the MOBO Awards. <br />On 29 July 2011, Ocean became a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, presented to him by Sir Paul McCartney. <br />He is a member of the Rastafari movement.
