MUSIC fans will be able to go back to the 1980s as Leee John and Imagination come to Manchester.
And in his Break-a-Leg column, Ian Cheeseman got the story on what makes the singer and why some tracks he performs are as relevant now as when they were first released.
IT’S NOT your ‘Imagination’ and it wasn’t ‘Just an Illusion’ – Leee John produced music that was part of the soundtrack to the 1980s.
He was one third of Imagination, who hit the singles chart with Body Talk in 1981, but it was Just an Illusion which was their biggest hit.
It peaked at number two a year later.
Imagination was a disco/funk trio, who got its name from John Lennon’s iconic song, Imagine, and Leee says that is just as relevant today.
Which is why he’ll be performing it, alongside his own big hits when the tour visits Manchester at the end of this month.
“Imagine was at number one when I wrote Body Talk and we were looking for something memorable to call our band and it was a spiritual song which we were talking about and so the name seemed right and it just worked,” he said.
“Imagine is just as relevant today as when John Lennon first sang it and I’ve been singing it in the show, all throughout the summer, while I’ve been on tour.
“Every generation knows the song and it’s just so amazing the impact and empowerment of it. We need that right now.
“I was in a steel band when I was younger, sang in a reggae band and had signed with a record label when I was only 15-years-old but despite that early breakthrough, I knew we weren’t the finished article.
“Perhaps the timing wasn’t quite right. I felt that I was still learning my trade at that stage and I still needed to be better.
“By the time Imagination happened, and we had the success with Body Talk, things were right.
“Once we became successful, it was a lot of work. It’s not like you can just sit back when that happens, though.
“All of a sudden, we had to go to all these different territories. We went to France, Italy and to every single radio station. We went all over France and when we came back to Paris everybody knew who we were.
“As a result, every song from that first album became a hit. The second album was even bigger, so we were on our way.
“I’ve always had a theatrical sensibility and visuals on stage have always been important to me. I do a hell of a lot of preparation.
“I don’t just go out on stage. Performing for an audience is very important to me. Sometimes I’ll be wearing an outfit that explodes in people’s eyes.
“I do like intimate venues and I started out in pubs and bingo halls, so I’ve been used to that.
“I’m also aware that in big venues there is so much technology these days that you’re looking at the screen rather than the show.
“I still try to bring that intimacy into my performance.”
*LEEE John and Imagination are at the Band on the Wall in Manchester on Tuesday, October 29. Tickets are available from www.Leeejohn.com and www.ticketmaster.co.uk .
You can hear the full interview in Ian’s radio show Break-a-Leg, which is on various radio stations, including Oldham CR 99.7FM, DAB and OnDemand, during the next few days.