Editing Billy Ocean (section)

== International success ==
[[File:BillyOcean.jpg|thumb|Ocean performing in [[New York City]], 1988]]
Between 1976 and 1982, Ocean released four studio albums: ''Billy Ocean'' (1976), ''City Limit'' (1980), ''Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)'' (1981) and ''Inner Feelings'' (1982)<ref name="LarkinSM">{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1993|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-733-9|page=187}}</ref> through his record label [[GTO Records|GTO]], none of which scored success on any musical charts, aside from his biggest single up to that point, 1976's "[[Love Really Hurts Without You]]", which was a top 40 and a top 10 hit in both the UK (no. 2) and the U.S. (no. 22).<ref name="LarkinSM"/>

As [[Sony Music]] acquired GTO Records in 1978, Ocean was shifted to [[Jive Records|Jive]] from [[Epic Records|Epic]], in which he received a second breakthrough in his career in the early 1980s. Late 1984 saw the release of his fifth studio album ''[[Suddenly (Billy Ocean album)|Suddenly]]'' and its main single, "[[Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)]]" becoming successes on the charts.<ref name="LarkinSM"/> "Caribbean Queen" became Ocean's first no. 1 single on both the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|Hot Black Singles]] charts in late 1984, and the album debuted in the top ten, peaking at no. 9 on both the [[Billboard 200|US ''Billboard'' 200]] and the [[UK Albums Chart]] simultaneously in the U.S. and UK.<ref name="LarkinSM"/> ''Suddenly'' reached gold in the UK, and was certified double platinum by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA). He also recorded with [[Scott Walker (singer)|Scott Walker]] in 1984, singing harmony vocals on "[[Track Three]]" from Walker's eleventh studio album ''[[Climate of Hunter]]''.

“Caribbean Queen” scored Ocean two [[Grammy Awards|Grammy Award]] nominations, and he won the [[Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance]] at the [[27th Annual Grammy Awards|1985 Grammy Awards]]. Ocean was later presented his award by [[Jeffrey Daniel]] of vocal group [[Shalamar]] on ''620 Soul Train'', a UK incarnation of the American musical variety television show ''[[Soul Train]]''. The album's [[Suddenly (Billy Ocean song)|title track]] also became a success, peaking at no. 4 in both the U.S. and the UK. The song "[[Loverboy (Billy Ocean song)|Loverboy]]" was a no. 2 U.S. success in 1985. Ocean appeared at [[Live Aid]] from [[John F. Kennedy Stadium (Philadelphia)|JFK Stadium]] in Philadelphia in 1985, singing "Caribbean Queen" and "Loverboy".{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

His sixth studio album ''[[Love Zone]]'' (1986) also sold well. It included the successful singles "[[When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going (song)|When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going]]", the theme from the film ''[[The Jewel of the Nile]]'' (1985); this was a no. 1 success in the UK and a no. 2 in the United States; and "[[There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)]]" (a U.S. no. 1 and a major UK success). Also included were the title track and "[[Love Is Forever (Billy Ocean song)|Love Is Forever]]", which were no. 10 and no. 16 U.S. successes for Ocean, respectively. It also earned Ocean a second nomination for [[Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance|Best Male R&B Vocal Performance]] at the [[29th Annual Grammy Awards|1987 Grammy Awards]].

In February 1986, Ocean's music video for "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" was banned by the BBC, owing to such non-[[Trade union|union]] members as the American actors [[Michael Douglas]], [[Kathleen Turner]] and [[Danny DeVito]], all three of whom were cast members of ''[[Romancing the Stone]]'' (1984) and ''The Jewel of the Nile'' (1985), miming to the backing vocals.<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{cite book| first= John| last= Tobler| year= 1992| title= NME Rock 'N' Roll Years| edition= 1st| publisher=Reed International Books Ltd| location= London| page= 415| id= CN 5585}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b048wwlk|title = BBC Four - Britain's Most Dangerous Songs: Listen to the Banned|website=Bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/love-zone-expanded-edition/|title=Billy Ocean: Love Zone, Expanded Edition|website=Cherryred.co.uk}}</ref> In 1987, he was nominated for the [[Brit Awards|Brit Award]] for [[Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist|Best British Male Artist]].<ref name="BRITS">{{cite web|url=http://www.brits.co.uk/artist/billy-ocean|title=Billy Ocean BRITS Profile|website=Brits.co.uk|access-date=19 September 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025041737/http://www.brits.co.uk/artist/billy-ocean|archive-date=25 October 2014}}</ref> He was the most popular British R&B singer-songwriter of the early to mid- 1980s.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=David |title=British Hit Singles & Albums |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |location=London |edition=19th |year=2006 |pages=402–403 |isbn=1-904994-10-5}}</ref>

''[[Tear Down These Walls]]'' (1988), Ocean's next studio album, featured the no. 1 single "[[Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car]]", and the album was certified platinum.<ref name="AMG"/>