WIN TWO VIP TICKETS FOR IMAGINATION AT THE EXCHANGE, TWICKENHAM
With an amazing chart-topping career of 40 plus years, Leee John of Imagination is one of the UK’s finest 80s soul legends, hit makers and music industry influencers.
In an interview with The Exhange in Twickenham talked to Leee about his incredible career, the upcoming Flashback tour at The Exchange, making new music and his recent experience of meeting the King and Queen!
Q) Hello LEEE and welcome to 60 Seconds with The Exchange, it’s great to be talking with you, how are you keeping?
A) Great but massively busy
Q) Where are you right now in the world and what are you doing at this moment now?
A) I’m in St Lucia working and preparing for my Flashback Greatest Hits 40th Anniversary UK tour, as well as promoting my new album Intimate Glow with Bill Sharpe of Shakatak. There’s been great feedback on this album following the Number 1 in the UK Soul Charts entry for the single “Take Me Back” which received album of the week on many radio stations.
Q) We’re delighted you’re going to be performing at The Exchange on Thursday 1 May. Am I correct in saying this UK tour continues from last year and will be your biggest UK tour in years?
A) Yes, it’s been one of my biggest live tours in a while and after the UK we will be taking the Flashback Greatest Hits Tour to different parts of the globe.
Q) How did the tour come about, and do you still enjoy the buzz and excitement when performing live. What’s the feeling like when you’re out there on the stage seeing all the love and appreciation from people singing your songs back at you?
A) We decided to set up a tour as it had been a while since I had performed across the UK and following the 40th anniversary and new music releases, this was a perfect opportunity to take to the stage again. Also, seeing all the incredible warmth and love across social media from die-hard fans remembering all the classic Imagination hits helped and made up my mind to tour. I really do love the live stage atmosphere, seeing all those wonderful people singing back to you your own songs, especially after 40 years plus as a writer and composer, it can be extremely humbling and quite gratifying.
Q) What motivates you as a live recording artist, does it get tougher as you get older in performing as well as continuously being creative in making music?
A) I never get bored with the creative process; learning to adapt and evolve with new technology has made it easier by moving forward so quickly, it’s just having the inspiration.
W) What can the fans expect to see on this tour, any surprises in store for The Exchange that you can tell us about?
A) Just have to wait and see!
Q) New music. I hear you have a new album out now called “Intimate Glow” with the wonderfully talented Bill Sharpe from Shakatak. How would you describe the music and how did this musical collaboration come about?
Q) I have known Bill for many years, we had the same agent and promoter back in the early 80s and we have performed many times together. We first started writing together about 20 years ago when we wrote two songs, one appeared on the superb Shakatak album Blue Savannah, then during lockdown we had the time to create more music which then followed on to the Intimate Glow album which we composed, wrote and recorded, played, produced and mixed in three weeks.
Q) Congratulations are in order, as I hear the first single from the album is called Take Me Back and it went in at No1 in the UK Soul Charts.
A) Yes and in the national charts, Heritage charts and many more along with the album, which DJs are continuously supporting with various tracks off it, which is great and organic. We have also released another single, Double Dilemma, which is on my favourites from the album.
Q) There’s a rumour going around that you had tea with the King and Queen. What was that experience like?
A) My mother Jessie has been working for many years in the North London community and was invited to have her portrait painted by the wonderful artist Sahara Longe, which was exhibited as part of the recent Windrush Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery with ten other people. Following this, my mother and I were kindly invited to a private viewing by Sahara at Buckingham Palace in the presence of the King and Queen. Thereafter, we received an invite to the King’s 75th birthday party, a small group of us, which was such a lovely special memorable day.
Q) You’re someone who never stops Leee, where do you find the time to look after yourself and rest; do you follow a strict health routine?
A) I swim most days and practice Qigong, a form of yoga which I have been doing for years now. I try to keep myself as balanced as I can, with a clear mind.
We are offering a lucky winner, and plus one, a special VIP Meet ‘N’ Greet experience at the Leee John of Imagination Flashback tour at The Exchange on 1 May. This offers an exclusive invitation experience to see Leee John and his band at sound check prior to the show, followed by a Meet ‘N’ Greet including photo opportunity. Dinner for two at The Fox, Twickenham.
For further information see link. To enter, answer the following question and send to archie@bossa-brazil.com
What was the name of IMAGINATION’S biggest hit record? Closing date is today April 2025 .
For more information and to book tickets go to: https://www.exchangetwickenham.co.uk/show/leee-john-of-imagination-flashback-greatest-hits/