Leee John

Leee John

Born: June 23, 1957
in Hackney, London, England, UK
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. He is perhaps best known as the lead singer of the soul band Imagination, which had three UK top 10 hits in the early 1980s. John 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) they formed Imagination, a three-piece soul music band, in the early 1980s. Produced by Jolley & Swain, their hit "Body Talk" reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart 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 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, alongside other singers such as Elkie Brooks and Tony Hadley. He appeared on The Adam and Joe Show, in the series four segment "The 1980s House", a spoof of the popular reality series putting families into homes with period features, with John playing the house designer.

He released a number of dance singles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including the UK garage and house tracks "Your Mind, Your Body, Your Soul" on Locked On Records and "U Turn Me" with Ten City 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 album, Feel My Soul, on Candid Records, 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's album Northern Soul 2007.[citation needed]

John is an ambassador for SOS Children's Villages, an international orphan charity providing homes and mothers for orphaned and abandoned children. He supports the charity's annual World Orphan Week campaign which takes place each February. In 2012, he performed at the Leicester Square Theatre. Special guests included Mike Lindup from Level 42.

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 John participated in the "Disco Diva" Festival of the Disco Music which is held every year to Gabicce Monte with the artistic direction of the journalist Cristina Tassinari.

Source: Article "Leee John" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Movies for Leee John...

Everything: The Real Thing Story
Title: Everything: The Real Thing Story
Character: Self
Released: January 24, 2020
Type: Movie
Dubbed 'the black Beatles' by the British tabloids, the 'other' four lads from Liverpool recount their incredible story from the tough streets of Toxteth to the bright lights of New York - a journey of international stardom as Britain's pioneering million-selling soul and funk band.
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Title: TV Story Superstar
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 23, 2020
Type: TV
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Dumar Volume Two
Title: Dumar Volume Two
Character: Conrad
Released: July 18, 2018
Type: Movie
Fund Manager 'Dumar' is on a personal quest against his employer, a corrupt fund manager whom has framed him for fraud, however unknown to both parties they both have ulterior motive.
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La story des années 80
Title: La story des années 80
Character: Self
Released: November 25, 2017
Type: Movie
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Dumar
Title: Dumar
Character: Conrad
Released: December 27, 2013
Type: Movie
Fund Manager 'Dumar' is on a personal quest against his employer, a corrupt fund manager whom has framed him for fraud, however unknown to both parties they both have ulterior motive.
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Title: Reborn in the USA
Character: Self
Released: March 8, 2003
Type: TV
Reborn in the USA was a 2003 ITV reality TV show, in which ten British pop acts were transported to the USA, where they were supposedly not known in the hope of revitalising their music career. Each week, the American audience voted for their favourite act. The two acts with the fewest votes would then face the vote from the British public, where the following week the act with the fewest votes was eliminated from the contest and sent back to Britain. The series was presented by Davina McCall and the eventual winner was ex Spandau Ballet lead singer Tony Hadley, who was awarded with the prize of a recording contract.
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Title: Star Academy
Character: Self
Released: October 20, 2001
Type: TV
Star Academy is a French reality television show produced by the Dutch company Endemol. It consists of a contest of young singers. It spawned an equally successful show in Quebec called Star Académie. It is broadcast on TF1. At the end of each season, selected contestants would go on tour around France, Morocco, Switzerland, Belgium, Tunisia, and other French-speaking countries.
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Title: Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Released: November 12, 1996
Type: TV
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game show with a pop and rock music theme. The show is infamous for its dry, sarcastic humour and scathing, provocative attacks on the pop industry.
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Doctor Who: Enlightenment
Title: Doctor Who: Enlightenment
Character: Mansell
Released: March 9, 1983
Type: Movie
An Edwardian yacht in deep space races around the planets. There is a double agent in the TARDIS crew. The White Guardian warns the Fifth Doctor of great danger. Turlough must finally choose sides and at the end of the race lies the prize of Enlightenment.
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Title: Champs-Elysées
Character: Self - Imagination
Released: January 16, 1982
Type: TV
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Title: Pop Quiz
Released: July 4, 1981
Type: TV
A British television quiz programme hosted by Mike Read that originally aired on BBC1 from 4 July 1981 to 28 December 1984, with a Top of the Pops special on 4 January 1994. It was then revived from 21 May to 9 July 1994 on the same channel but this time with Chris Tarrant in charge.
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Title: Midi Première
Character: Self - Imagination
Released: January 6, 1975
Type: TV
Midi Première is a French variety show presented by Danièle Gilbert, directed by Jacques Pierre and broadcast from January 6, 1975 until January 1, 1982 on TF1. The program was generally broadcast between 12:15 p.m. and 12:55 p.m., then giving way to the 1:00 p.m. TV news. However, the broadcast schedule could change, depending on the guests, and the setting where the recording of the program was shot. Certain performances by artists who have become cult like the one where Ringo jostles with a demonstrator in interpretation (1977), that of Dalida with the title There is always a song with the soundtrack that does not start, twice, at the right speed (1978), Claude François and his Clodettes, who, in the provinces, are unable to join "the set" in order to interpret his song, the latter being taken by the crowd of delirious fans (summer 1977) . The group Supertramp performed there with the title "Dreamer" on March 8, 1975.
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Title: Top of the Pops
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1964
Type: TV
The biggest stars, the most iconic performances, the most outrageous outfits – it’s Britain’s number one pop show.
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Title: Doctor Who
Character: Mansell
Released: November 23, 1963
Type: TV
The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.