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Imagination

Imagination (band)

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Imagination (band)

Imagination were a three piece British soul and funk band, who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They had chart hits in 28 countries, earning four platinum discs, nine gold discs and more than a dozen silver discs around the world between 1981 and 1983.

Band members

Singer Leee John was working as a backing vocalist for The Delfonics, Chairmen of the Board, The Velvelettes and The Elgins[1] when he met Ashley Ingram, a guitarist/bassist (born 27 November 1960, 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 drummer Errol Kennedy (born 9 June 1953, Montego Bay) who had learned to drum in the Boys' Brigade and Air Training Corps.

Career

Formed in 1981,[1] 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 group name Imagination, a name that the group chose as a tribute to John Lennon. The track reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1981, selling 250,000 copies in the UK and spending eighteen 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 ("Just an Illusion" would later be used as the end title song to the 1986 movie, F/X); 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).[2] This was accompanied by a sell-out concert tour of Europe, with 22 dates in the UK. The trio frequently appeared on BBC Television's Top of the Pops, and other pop music TV 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.[1] In 1987, they were signed to RCA Records and recorded two albums and seven more singles. Their last album Fascination Of The Physical, recorded in 1990, was a commercial failure. This caused the band to split in 1992.

John went back to acting, but re-surfaced as a singer in the reality television show, Reborn in the USA. Ingram also enjoyed success as a songwriter for Des'ree. John is currently working on a project documenting British black music.

Sampling in later songs

  • 88-Keys sampled Imagination's song, "All Night Loving", for his hit song, "Stay Up! (Viagra)", from 88-Keys' debut album, The Death of Adam (2008).
  • The hit song "Get Your Number", co-written by Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Johntá Austin and Bryan-Michael Cox, and recorded by Carey for her album The Emancipation of Mimi (2005),[3] is built around a sample of "Just an Illusion" by Imagination.
  • British band VS sampled Imagination's song, "Body Talk" in their song "Call U Sexy" taken from their debut album All Kinds of Trouble (2004).

Discography

Albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
UK
[4]
NLD
[5]
NO
[6]
SWE
[7]
1981 Body Talk 20 - 21 7
1982 In the Heat of the Night 7 12 26 16
1983 Night Dubbing 9 24 - -
Scandalous (1983)

(re-titled New Dimension for the U.S. market)

25 16 - -
1986 Trilogy - - - -
1987 Closer - 70 - -
1989 Imagination - All The Hits 4 - - -
1990 Fascination Of The Physical - - - -

Singles

Year Title UK Singles Chart[2] U.S. Hot 100/bubbling under U.S. R&B[9] Switzerland Austria Germany Netherlands Norway Sweden
1981 "Body Talk" #4 - - - - - #11 - -
"In And Out Of Love" #16 - - - - - - - -
"Flashback" #16 - - - - - - - -
1982 "Just an Illusion" #2 #102 #27 #2 #6 #7 #8 #5 #3
"Music And Lights" #5 - #52 - - #18 #12 - -
"In The Heat Of The Night" #22 - - - - #48 #14 - -
"Burnin' Up" - - #68 - - - - - -
"Changes" #31 - #46 - - #43 #23 - -
1983 "Looking At Midnight" #29 - #64 - - - - - -
"New Dimension" #56 - - - - #61 #12 - -
1984 "State Of Love" #67 - - - - - - - -
"This Means War (Shoo Be Doo Da Dabba Doobee)" - - #29 - - - - - -
"Thank You My Love" #22 - - - - - - - -
1985 "Found My Girl" - - - - - - - - -
"Last Days Of Summer" - - - - - - - - -
1986 "Sunshine" - - - - - - - - -
1987 "The Last Time" - - #88 - - - - - -
"I Know What Love Is" - - - - - - - - -
1988 "Instinctual" #62 - - - - - - - -
"Hold Me In Your Arms" - - - - - - - - -
1989 "Love's Taking Over" - - - - - - - - -
1990 "I Like It" - - - - - - - - -
1991 "Call On Me" - - - - - - - - -

See also

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

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 [Imagination (band) at All Music Guide Biography by Andy Kellman]. Allmusic.com. Retrieved on 3 March 2009.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums, 19th, London: Guinness World Records Limited.
  3. Bluebeat Music: The Emancipation Of Mimi by Mariah Carey
  4. Chart Stats - Imagination. theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-02.
  5. Discografie Imagination. DutchCharts.nl. Retrieved on 2011-10-02.
  6. Discography Imagination. norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved on [[1 October 2011]].
  7. Discography Imagination. SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-02.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved on 2 October 2011. Note: User needs to enter "Imagination" in the "Search" field, "Artist" in the "Search by" field and click the "Go" button. Select "More info" next to the relevant entry to see full certification history.
  9. [Imagination (band) at All Music Guide Allmusic.com - Charts & Awards (singles)]

External links

This page was last modified 10.12.2011 20:48:31

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