5. Floorfillers Part 2: Billy Ocean - Love Really Hurts Without You

 Floorfillers Part 2- Billy Ocean - Love Really Hurts Without You

Picture Credit Ronzoni wikipedia creative commons


Background

If at first you don’t succeed, try try try again. Billy Ocean’s song, Love Really Hurts Without You was his tenth release after his first nine songs completely flopped. It reached number 2 in 1976 and from then on, life was never to be the same again. In the early 70s, Billy Ocean, real name Leslie Charles was working on the production line at Ford in Dagenham by day and at night, a struggling singer doing demos at Southern recording studio in London. It was here he met producer, Ben Findon. Around the same time, he bought a second hand piano for 30 pounds and started composing a demo for ‘Love Really Hurts Without You and played it to Findon who added his own parts to it, before releasing it in January 1976. The song steadily rose the charts to its peak, only being held off the Number 1 spot by the Eurovision winning song, Save All Your Kisses for me by Brotherhood of Man. While at work on the Ford Assembly line he heard the song being played on Radio Luxembourg. He immediately took off his overalls and left the factory for good, A a life of fame and fortune awaited. Ocean would go on to have hits throughout the 1970s and 80s, becoming a real dancefloor favourite in the process.

From a DJ’s Perspective

Many DJs would agree with me when I say that if I had to put money on any song filling a dancefloor, Love Really Hurts Without You by Billy Ocean would be my choice. Those unmistakable opening bars followed by Ocean’s silky vocals and Motown-esque bassline provide the ingredients for a great floorfiller. I often play this song at the start of my set after the buffet to get people onto the dancefloor straight away. It seems to have the same magic effect on everyone, young and old and so makes it particularly useful for events where there are mixed ages, like a wedding. The other great thing about the song is its versatility, so I can play this first and then depending on the age of the audience can head for Motown, or proceed onwards into the 80s and beyond.

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