BILLY OCEAN RELEASES NEW VIDEO FOR SMASH HIT ‘LOVE REALLY HURTS WITHOUT YOU’
Billy Ocean by Dean Chalkley
British music legend, Billy Ocean has released a stunning new animated video for his 1976 hit single, ‘Love Really Hurts Without You’, in celebration of his self-titled debut album’s 45th anniversary this year.
The album was originally released on the GTO Records label, the Mowtown-ish groove was produced by Billy’s frequent early collaborator, Ben Findon and whilst it was the second single from his debut album, it was the one which catapulted a young Billy Ocean into stardom, reaching #2 on the UK chart, Top 10 in numerous other countries and even hitting #12 in the US, no mean feat for a new artist. Since then, ‘Love Really Hurts Without You’ has been certified Gold in the UK, and amassed almost 100 million streams, becoming one of Billy’s best-loved songs.
Check out the new video below:
Pre-dating the MTV era, the single has never had an official video, so to celebrate the anniversary, British animator Malikah Holder has created a stunning animated video which tells the story of how the track came to be, and the success that followed. It tells how, while working in the London ‘rag trade’, Billy borrowed money from his boss to buy a piano for the princely sum of £23, on which he composed the now famous riff which opens ‘Love Really Hurts Without You.’ After flying up the UK charts, the success of the single provided Billy the opportunity to find fame in the US, and set up a career which, more than four decades later, has truly cemented Billy as a music icon around the world.
Billy had a truly remarkable 2020 – he turned 70, received an MBE, and released the critically acclaimed studio album ‘One World.’ Earlier this year, he released his version of the Bill Withers classic ‘Lovely Day’ with the Young Voices Choir, YolanDa Brown and Ruti Olajugbagbe, in aid of children’s mental health charity Place2Be.
Billy looks back fondly on ‘Love Really Hurts Without You: “It was the first song that I ever wrote that I really felt good about, and 45 years later, I’m blessed to continue my career with the ambition I started off with. It’s a joy to see a story I hold near and dear to my heat brought to life in this new video.”
With three of Billy’s studio albums celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2021, the video is a taste of what’s to come throughout the year, ahead of the rescheduled dates for his ‘One World’ UK Tour.
