Imagination (band)
Encyclopedia : I : IM : IMA : Imagination (band)
Imagination were a three piece soul music band from the United Kingdom in the early 1980s, sometimes described as Britain's first black supergroup. They had chart hits in 28 countries, earning four platinum discs, nine gold discs and over a dozen silver discs between 1981 and 1983.
Band Members
- Leee John was born John Lesley McGregor in Hackney, London, on 23 June, 1957, of St Lucian descent. He was educated in New York, later studying drama at the Anna Scher Theatre School. He was working as a backing singer for The Delfonics, Chairmen of the Board, The Velvelettes and The Elgins when he met ...
- Ashley Ingram, a guitarist/bassist born on 27 November, 1960, in 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. Whilst auditioning for another short-lived band, Midnight Express, they met ...
- Errol Kennedy, born on 9 June, 1953, a drummer who was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and learned to drum in the Boys' Brigade and Air Training Corps.
Career
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 name Imagination, a name that the group chose as a tribute to John Lennon. The track reached number 4 in the UK in May 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) and "Flashback" (November), 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, 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). This was accompanied by a sell-out tour of Europe, with 22 dates in the UK. The trio frequently appeared on Top of the Pops, and other pop music 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 until the early 1990s. John went back to acting and recently resurfaced in the reality TV show Reborn in the USA. Ingram enjoyed success as a songwriter for Des'ree.
References
- British Hit Singles - 14th Edition - ISBN 0-85156-156-X
- British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 085112-190-X
External links
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.