According to his website, Grammy-winner Billy Ocean is the best-selling Black recording star that Great Britain has ever produced. Starting in the late 1970s, Ocean, born Leslie Sebastian Charles in Trinidad, had a number of hits throughout the mid-1980s.
The last time Ocean performed in Northeast Ohio was at Blossom in 1992. He returned Wednesday night, performing with a full nine-piece band at the Goodyear Theater. Ripping through the majority of his hits, the 76-year-old singer gave the audience his first international smash “Mystery Lady” early in the set. Peppering his hits throughout the show, he offered some of his lesser-known tunes as well. Covering Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry” at about the halfway point, the song allowed him to show off his Caribbean roots.
Stalwarts such as “Suddenly” and “Loverboy” were late-set anchors, while the theme song from the romantic comedy Jewel of the Nile (“When the Going Gets Tough”) came towards the end of the show; his Grammy-winning tune “Caribbean Queen” wrapped up the night.
