Lead singer of Imagination, Leee John, has a new album for 2024 and decades after he first found fame his voice – and sound – haven’t aged at all
I know time flies by, but it’s still hard to believe it was decades ago that I was dancing at parties and discos to the likes of Body Talk, Flashback and Just an Illusion by 80s soul favourites Imagination.
And who would have thought in 2024 I’d still be listening to lead singer Leee John belting out tracks with a voice that sounds like it hasn’t aged at all? Since those heady days of Imagination, music has gone through all sorts of metamorphoses, from punk and new wave to synth, from dreary to not bad again, from electronica back to guitar playing etc etc.
But soul has kind of remained a constant and Leee delivers another reminder of how timeless the genre is with his and former Shakatak star Bill Sharpe’s new album Intimate Glow. The title sums it up, it is intimate and in parts it glows. From the title track with its haunting sound and melody to the soulful Double Dilemma, it tugs at your heartstrings.
Take Me Back, which has also been released as a single and hit Number One in the UK Soul Charts breakers, is a nostalgic a trip down memory lane that reminds us of our youth and those “crazy days” when we thought anything was possible. And if it wasn’t possible we’d have a hell of time trying anyway. It features Mark King from Level 42 on bass guitar.
The video for this track has some fabulous images and footage of both Leee and Bill in their Imagination and Shakatak heyday, proper blasts from the past. Leee said of the record: “It’s kind of a tribute to the 80s. The period in which we grew up. I was reflecting, going back in time. When I wrote Flashback, that was about what we’d done in that year. We put it in a song and with Take Me Back I thought I’d do the same thing.”
Then there is the more jazzy Your Magic, which has a gentle sax guiding us through and an ascending and descending piano rift that conjures up that lazy, hazy image of an intimate basement club in Soho way back when. We move on to the track Fool in Love, which appears to me a lovely reminder that however old we get, the feeling of falling is love is as strong as ever and age plays no part in this enduring emotion. I mean, I’ve been watching football since I was a child and still love it, despite it causing me more heartache over the years than any woman. Leee does a solo version but also one with Jill Saward, former Shakatak lead singer.
Leee describes the album as “soul/jazz”. He added: “You have real musicians playing on it. You hear me sing, there is no autotune or effects. You’re hearing it very raw and as it is. Double Dilemma has a sort of pseudo reggae kind of feel to it, but the lyrics are very heavy. It’s hard for me to sing. It’s about a relationship and the scenarios of it. But it’s been a wonderful experience and I hope people enjoy the album.”
There are more tracks, but rather than me trying to convince you of their worth, go and try them for yourself. And with a Flashback Greatest Hits UK tour hitting the road in May, why not grab a ticket at leeejohn.com and head off down memory lane to the “crazy days”.
