There was a time on radio in Australia in the mid to late 80s where you were never more than 60 minutes away from a Billy Ocean song.
Those three albums ‘Suddenly’, ‘Love Zone’ and ‘Tear Down These Walls’ came in quick succession and each delivered multiple hits. Billy had five Top 10 hits between 1985 and 1988 included two number one songs and that era forms the backbone of his setlist today.
The Billy Ocean show isn’t all nostalgia. Billy opened with the title track of 2020’s ‘One World’ and dropped another song ‘Mystery’ off the album later in the show.
Fans were pumped up right at the start when Billy’s first hit ‘Love Really Hurts Without You’ appeared two songs in. That one was massive in the day, coinciding with start of the disco era, but for Billy it was short lived until another dance hit ‘Caribbean Queen’ brought him back into the next decade. ‘Caribbean Queen’ was kept to last. I never really noticed until last night how similar it sounds to Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’ from a few years earlier.
Another accelerant in the Billy Ocean story was ‘When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Gets Going’ (or as Australian’s preferred to call it ‘When the Go and Get Stuffed, The Stuffed Get Going’). This one was the main song in the hit movie of the year ‘The Jewel of the Nile’, starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. You could not escape this song in 1985. It was all over the radio, the movies and on Music TV. The stars of the movie also appeared in the music video.
Its been 47 years since Billy had that first hit song. That 80s era of hits is about to started bouncing off regular 40th anniversaries in a couple of years. It is great to see Billy Ocean having so much fun on stage with his legacy after all these years. It was also an audience who loved every moment of the memories he brought back for them.
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- Billy Ocean by Bron Robinson
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- Billy Ocean by Winston Robinson from his Dachs cam
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- Billy Ocean by Bron Robinson
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- Billy Ocean by Bron Robinson
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- Billy Ocean by Bron Robinson
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- Billy Ocean by Bron Robinson
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- Billy Ocean by Bron Robinson
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- Billy Ocean by Bron Robinson
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- Billy Ocean by Bron Robinson
Billy Ocean setlist, 20 June 2023, Melbourne
One World (from One World, 2020)
Love Really Hurts Without You (from Billy Ocean, 1976)
Nights (Feel Like Getting Down) (from Nights (Feel Like Getting Down), 1981
There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry) (from Love Zone, 1986)
Love Zone (from Love Zone, 1986)
Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car (from Tear Down These Walls, 1988)
The Colour of Love (from Tear Down These Walls, 1988)
Red Light Spells Danger (single, 1977)
No Woman, No Cry (Bob Marley & The Wailers cover) (from Here You Are, the Best of Billy Ocean, 2013)
Mystery (from One World, 2020)
Suddenly (from Suddenly, 1984)
Loverboy (from Suddenly, 1984)
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going (from Love Zone, 1986)
Encore:
Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run) (from Suddenly, 1984)
BILLY OCEAN 2023 AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES
Thursday 22nd June
Darling Harbour Theatre, Sydney
Sunday 25th June
Royal Theatre, Canberra
Tuesday 27th June
Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
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