Leee John

Leee John is a British musician and actor from Hackney, London, of St Lucian descent. Born John Leslie McGregor in 1957, he spends part of his early life in New York, where he is exposed to R&B and soul music from the 1970s. He studies drama at the Anna Scher Theatre School after being educated in New York.

Imagination

He is best known as the lead singer of Imagination, the pop, dance and soul group active from 1981 to 1992. The original line-up changes by 1991, but John continues to tour internationally through the 1990s and beyond. Imagination records seven albums and achieves major success with sales that exceed twenty million copies across CDs, albums, singles, videos and DVDs.

The group’s early releases include the double gold albums Body Talk and In The Heat Of The Night. Its best-known singles include Just An Illusion, Music And Lights and Changes. John’s work with producer Trevor Horn on Got To Be Good brings him to the attention of Tony Swain, who encourages him to finish the lyrics and melody for Body Talk, which becomes Imagination’s first Top 5 single.

Solo work and other projects

Before Imagination, John signs his first record deal as part of a duo with family friend Russell Fraser. He later records with producer Arthur Baker on the Back Beat Disciple album Give Into The Rhythm and scores a UK and US dance club hit in 1996 with The Mighty Power Of Love. In 1997, under the name Johnny X, he has another UK dance hit with Call On Me.

He presents his own British television chat show, Leee's Place, and later works as a roving reporter and interviewer for VHI. He also appears in the ITV show Reborn In The USA in 2003.

Writing, collaborations and recognition

John writes songs for Pete Hunnigale, Maxi Priest, Alison Limerick and Ultimate Chaos, among others. He works with a range of producers and musicians including Frankie Knuckles, Arthur Baker, Nick Martinelli, David Morales, Tony Humphries and Mike Pickering. His career includes performances for Prince Charles and Princess Diana, dinner at Nelson Mandela’s home and a rare Soul Train appearance in which he sings for Marvin Gaye.

He receives numerous silver, gold and platinum discs, as well as a Diamond Award.

Solo album

In 2005, John releases his first solo set, Feel My Soul, on Candid Records. The album includes versions of standards such as Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit, Embraceable You and Cole Porter’s Someone To Watch Over Me, alongside original songs including Sensuality, Jazzmatazz, Now Is The Time (C'est Le Moment) and Thin Line.

Other act

He is also connected with Winjama.