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. For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation). ... The 1980s refers to the years of 1980 to 1989. ... Look up black in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe music groups comprising members who had already achieved fame or respect in other groups or as individual artists. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with RIAA certification. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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.

Leee John was born John Lesley McGregor in Hackney of St Lucian descent. ... The Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was a metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1899 to 1965. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lc redirects here. ... Nickname: Big Apple, Gotham, NYC Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1613  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... The Anna Scher Theatre is a community theatre in Islington, north London. ... The Delfonics were a quintessential Philadelphia soul singing group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ... Chairmen of the Board was a 1970s, Detroit based soul group. ... The Velvelettes were an American singing girl group on the Motown label. ... The Classic 5 lineup of The Temptations, circa 1965. ... A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. ... A bassist is a musician who plays a double bass or electric bass (also referred to as bass guitar). ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... Northampton Guildhall, built 1861-4, E.W. Godwin, architect Northampton is a large market town and a local government district in central England on the River Nene, and the county town of Northamptonshire, in the English East Midlands region. ... A songwriter is someone who writes either the lyrics or the music for songs. ... An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performing artist. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... A drummer at practice A drummer is a musician who plays the drums, particularly the drum kit, marching percussion, or hand drums. ... Doctors Cave Beach Club is a popular tourist destination in Montego Bay Montego Bay is a city in Jamaica that contains Jamaicas largest airport, Sangster International Airport. ... The Boys Brigade Corporate Logo The Boys Brigade (the BB) is an international non-denominational Christian youth organisation. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

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". A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. ... Steve Jolley (1950) and Tony Swain (January 20, 1952) were a successful pop musician, songwriting and record production duo in the United Kingdom in the early to mid-1980s, producing some of the top artists and songs of the era. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Imagine is a utopian song performed by John Lennon, which appears on his 1971 album Imagine. ... An album is a collection of related audio tracks distributed to the public. ...

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. 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... World map exhibiting the location of Europe. ... Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a long-running British music chart television programme, made and broadcast by the BBC. It was originally shown each week, mostly on BBC One, from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. ... The terms exotic dancer and exotic dance can have different meanings in different parts of the world and depending on context. ... The Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus) was the main governing council of both the Roman Republic, which started in 509 BC, and the Roman Empire. ... Coming from the Arab tradition, the harîm حريم (compare haram) is the part of the household forbidden to male strangers. ... The Buxton Memorial Fountain, celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, London. ... Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme (and 1996 television movie) produced by the BBC about the adventures of a mysterious time-traveller known as the Doctor, who explores time and space with his companions, solving problems and righting wrongs. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Esotericism is knowledge suitable only for an inner circle of the initiated, advanced or privileged. ...

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. This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... Reborn in the USA, was a 2003 ITV reality TV show, in which ten former British pop acts were transported to the USA, where they were not known, in the hope of reviltalising their music career. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Discography

Albums

• Body Talk (1981) UK #20
• In The Heat Of The Night (1982) UK #7
• Night Dubbing (1983) UK #9
• Scandalous (1983) (re-titled "New Dimension" for US market) UK #25
• Trilogy (1986)
• Closer (1987)
• All The Hits - Hot Sensational Remixes (1989) UK #4
• Fascination Of The Physical (1992)

Singles

Reference

• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X

The cover of the 1989 7th edition of the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles Guinness World Records - British Hit Singles & Albums is a music reference book, published in the United Kingdom, by Hit Entertainment, the company that owns such childrens entertainment brands as Bob the Builder and Thomas...

External links

• Discography from Leee John's personal website
• Biography from unofficial website
• Biography at AMG website
• Imagination Original Picture Sleeeve Discography at Quasimodobell

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart