Leslie McGregor "Leee" John (born 23 June 1957) is a British musician, singer, and actor of St Lucian descent. He was born in Hackney, London, and educated in New York City, later studying drama at the

Anna Scher Theatre School The Anna Scher Theatre is an independent and co-educational performing arts school based in Islington, Greater London. It was founded in 1968 by Anna Scher. It is considered among the first schools of its kind geared towards working class stude ...

. He is perhaps best known as the lead singer of the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

band Imagination, which had three UK top 10 hits in the early 1980s.

Career

He was working as a backing singer when he met Ashley Ingram (born 27 November 1957, Northampton, England) a guitarist/bassist. They formed a songwriting partnership, working in a short-lived band called Fizzz. Together with Ingram and Errol Kennedy (born 9 June 1953, Montego Bay,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

) they formed Imagination, a three-piece

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

band, in the early 1980s. Produced by

Jolley & Swain Steven Nicholas Jolley (born April 1950) and Tony Swain (born 20 January 1952, London, England) were a successful songwriting and record production duo in the United Kingdom in the early to mid-1980s, producing some of the top artists and song ...

, their

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

"Body Talk" reached number 4 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in May 1981. Their biggest hit, " Just an Illusion", peaked at number 2 in March 1982. The trio frequently appeared on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...

'' and other pop music programmes. Despite not being an actor, Leee John made a guest appearance on '' Doctor Who'' in the story " Enlightenment" in 1983, playing the character Mansell; he replaced actor David Rhule, who had dropped out at short notice due to an industrial strike at the BBC after the rehearsals had begun. The group's fortunes waned but they continued to perform, tour and record until the early 1990s. John went back to acting, but in 2003 resurfaced in the reality television show ''

Reborn in the USA ''Reborn in the USA'' is a British reality television show broadcast on ITV, in which ten British pop acts were transported to the US, where they were supposedly not known in the hope of revitalising their music career. Each week, the American ...

'', alongside other singers such as

Elkie Brooks Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1946) is an English rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest success in the late 1970s and 198 ...

and

Tony Hadley Anthony Patrick Hadley (born 2 June 1960) is an English pop singer. He rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the new wave band Spandau Ballet and launched a solo career following the group's split in 1990. Hadley returned to the ban ...

. He appeared on ''

The Adam and Joe Show ''The Adam and Joe Show'' is a British television comedy show, written and presented by Adam and Joe (Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish), which ran for 22 episodes and four series on Channel 4 from 6 December 1996 to 16 May 2001. All four series are ...

'', in the series four segment "The 1980s House", a spoof of the popular reality series putting families into homes with period features, with Leee playing the house designer. He released a number of dance singles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including the

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

and house tracks "Your Mind, Your Body, Your Soul" on

Locked On Records Locked On Records is a British record label, concentrating on UK garage and grime music. Founded in 1996 in London by Tarik Nashnush who was working at the record shop Pure Groove at the time, it is a subsidiary of XL Recordings. Among the artis ...

and "U Turn Me" with

Ten City Ten City (derived from ''intensity'') is an American, Chicago, Illinois-based R&B and house music act, that enjoyed a number of club hits and Urban radio hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was one of the first exponents of deep house. ...

vocalist Byron Stingily (2000). Under the artist name Johnny X, he also co-wrote and performed vocals on "Call on Me" which was released on Higher State. In 2005, John released a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

album, ''Feel My Soul'', on

Candid Records Candid Records was a jazz record label first established in New York City. Early Candid Records The CANDID jazz label was founded in New York City in 1960 as a subsidiary of Cadence Records, owned by Archie Bleyer. The jazz writer and civil right ...

, featuring a mixture of jazz standards and original compositions. Since the album's release, John has been touring the UK and Europe with his jazz quartet, as well as performing with Imagination. In 2007, he submitted the track "Trust My Heart" for

Ian Levine Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, and DJ. A moderniser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of Hi-NRG, he has written and produced records with sales totalling over 40 million. ...

's album ''

Northern Soul 2007 Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

''. John is an Ambassador for SOS Children's Villages, an international orphan charity providing homes and mothers for orphaned and abandoned children. He currently supports the charity's annual World Orphan Week campaign which takes place each February. In 2012, John performed at the

Leicester Square Theatre The Leicester Square Theatre is a 400-seat theatre in Leicester Place, immediately north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It was previously known as Notre Dame Hall, Cavern in the Town and The Venue. The theatre hosts st ...

. Special guests included

Mike Lindup Michael David Lindup (born 17 March 1959) is a musician best known as the keyboard player and falsetto voiced singer, who joined with Mark King and brothers Phil and Boon Gould to form the British jazz-funk/pop rock band, Level 42. Early lif ...

from

Level 42 Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on th ...

. John appeared on the track "The Lost Chord" by Gorillaz for their '' Song Machine'' project, which was followed by the album '' Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez''. In 2022 he participated in the "Disco Diva" Festival of the Disco Music (https://discodiva.it/) which is held every year to Gabicce Monte with the artistic direction of the journalist Cristina Tassinari. *''Feel My Soul'' (2005) *''Live in Paris at the New Morning'' (2007) *''The Voice of Illusion Vol. 1'' (2008) *''Now Is the Time'' (2008)

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:John, Leee 1957 births Alumni of the Anna Scher Theatre School 20th-century Black British male singers English male television actors English songwriters Living people People from Hackney Central English people of Saint Lucian descent British male songwriters Locked On Records artists